Tuesday, September 16, 2008

On Yost

I was driving home from work yesterday afternoon when my phone exploded. Texts and calls alike. I figured some fun new firm had collapsed. I was wrong. It was good news! Ned had been Yosted.

It was an excellent and ballsy decision that seems to have come from Mark A. Melvin is an off-season kind of GM. He prefers to jettison major organizational figures in the winter, when possible. His complete lack of even a BS answer to the "why now" question pretty much makes it clear.

The timing was right. The team was terrible and Yost had no ideas. Hart leading off and Durham in the 3 hole was the last act of a desperate man. Walking Howard (as discussed earlier) just clearly shows how rattled Yost was. There is no question in my mind this was the correct move.

As far as Svuem, I don't think it really matters. As all involved have said, this was intended to shock the team out of complacency. Svuem isn't going to come in and with 12 games left turn Weeks into a major league hitter and make Gamel an every day three bagger. He will, however, be a constant reminder that this is more than a game. There are consequences for losing, there are consequences for failure. Yost didn't really believe in that, and he is gone.

Yost didn't make this team better. He wouldn't have helped the Brewers win these last 12. Svuem probably won't either, but sometimes any jolt is a positive jolt in the short term, and that is exactly what the Brewers are hoping.

The Brewers are suddenly a serious organization. They aren't messing around, happy to be here, glad to be winning. They want the playoffs. This is an incredibly positive step for the organization. They won't become the new lovable losers, because Attanasio apparently won't suffer a loser.

If the Brewers do complete the collapse, look for some overarching organizational upheaval that only Jack Zduriencik and Bob Uecker will survive.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I heard on the radio that George Carl and Larry Krystowiak were having lunch together at the hotel where the Brewers announced Ned's firing.