Pinella's post-game comments - wish we had a little of that in Ned

[LouisEly]

I was listening to ESPN radio on Sirius today and they played audio comments from Lou Pinella after yesterday's game (comments aired on AM1000 in Chicago). To paraphrase he said, "I have no problem with the effort" but that they needed to "find a way to get the job done, and go out there and kick somebody's ---!" Did anyone else hear these comments?

 

I thought the way that he worded it was magnificent. He both stood up for his players (by saying, "I have no problem with the effort") as well as called them out anonymously and generated a sense of urgency (by saying that despite the effort they need to find a way to get it done and "go out there and kick somebody's ---!").

 

Anyone else wish we had a little bit of this in Yost right now? I know he's a player's manager and will never throw them under the bus, but at the same time I think it is well established that he does not do a good job of generating a sense of urgency. Sorry Ned, it isn't April - there isn't a whole lot of time left to struggle and let it work itself out. You just went 3-7 on a 10-game home stand and now have 10 in a row on the road with seven against Philadelphia and Chicago. The time is now Ned, and there better be some screaming to go out there right now and start kicking some behind.

[logan82]

LouisEly wrote:

Anyone else wish we had a little bit of this in Yost right now?

No, and I am going to agree with Tom H on this one. It would be out of character for Yost to do that. I think it would send the message that he is panicking and cause the players to panic as well. That is how Pinella has always done things so it isn't out of character for him to do it. Homer asked Tom H about this and that was pretty much his answer. Also we really don't know how he is with the players behind closed doors. For all we know he has been on them for the last few weeks.

[Invader3K]

Calling out players publicly only serves to make fans happy, really, and that's not the manager's job.

[sheethead]

instead we get, "...see if we can't get on a big roll."

 

How about we see if we CAN get on a roll Ned.

[danzig6767]

If yelling to the media about that the team is stinking up the joint during a rough stretch is all it took to turn things around, we'd be seeing quotes like this every week from various different managers. I'm much more bothered that Ned in back to back nights in 5-4 games during our last at bats, he let both Counsell/Kendall hit against Cordero than i am that Ned doesn't tell a reporter that the team is playing like crap.

 

During this bad homestand, Braun, Fielder, and Hart aren't hitting much at all. When the 3-4-5 guys in a batting order are making tons of outs except for an occasional walk or single, we are going to struggle badly to score runs. I don't think those three guys need to be reminded that they aren't producing or that telling a reporter that the heart of our lineup has been miserable would suddenly make them start hitting.

 

I'm not a Yost fan, but i'm not sure there is much of anything he can do to make our key hitters get back on track except hope it happens quickly.

 

Prince-- .176 BA/.263 OBP/.206 SLG/.469 OPS

 

Braun-- .250 BA/.357 OBP/.306 SLG/.663 OPS

 

Hart--- .194 BA/.237 OBP/.250 SLG/.487 OPS

 

Those are the numbers this month for the heart of our batting order, 0 home runs and 6 RBI's combined, a massive reason for team struggles

[Brian the Automator]

I agree with TH that it would smack of panic. What would be more appropriate would be for an established player to pull a "Ryan Braun post-Fenway" if we're looking for some sort of media quote jolt... I'm not sure if it would help, but I don't think it would hurt.

[naivin]

The time is now Ned, and there better be some screaming to go out there right now and start kicking some behind.

What tangible impact do you expect that would have on the field?

[BrewCrewForever]

It is just not the way Ned is. So I would rather not have Ned make some statement like that anyway.

[rluzinski]

Unless Yost is questioning the effort of his players, it would be a waste of time.

[jazzytrav]

Ned Yost could be in the 9th inning of Game 7 of the World Series, and he would look at his two out hitter with the bases loaded down by 2 runs and say "just be patient, you'll come out of this slump at some point".

 

But I actually agree with the general sentiment here. Because of the way that he's been all season, if he panicked now it would be out of place and his players might follow suit.

[fondybrewfan]

Yost is yost, he simply isn't going to air dirty laundry to the media. It has never happened and it never will. I am fairly confident that Yost will rip into guys in private, at least I hope.

 

Fiery managers tend to fire up a fan base and that is about it. Yost certainly doesn't help the situation though with his "I hate the media, this is a waste of my time, unless we are winning" attitude.

[endaround]

I'd trade 200 tirades for pinch hitting for Kendall when down in the 9th.

[eanelson4]

I think these are completely different situations as well. Our team is quite young with many players only having gone through this once. The cubs on the other hand, are an older, veteran team with many starters who have been through this time and time again.

 

Also, I agree that it would be out of character for Ned. He is not the type of manager to yell at his players through the media (see: Lou Pinella & Ozzie Guillen). He tries to remain as balanced as possible, and I think it would be wrong to change that now.

[bcf5575]

i have never been a fan of manager/coach tirades in public. if you have something to tell your team then tell it to the team behind closed doors. I have never gotten the public tirade as a motivational tool.

 

as mentioned before, its only purpose in entertainment for the fans.

[logan82]

"I've got my own style and the way I like to do things," Brewers manager Ned Yost said. "I think everybody wants to just vent and scream and yell, but I just think it's more productive for me and my players if we take a calmer approach.

"Lou's done that forever. We all hate to lose. This is no fun for any of us, going through this. But still, my mind-set and my thought process is that the more steady and even-keeled we can stay, the quicker we'll get out of it. I don't want my kids pressing or stressing because I'm screaming and yelling at them. They got enough of that coming from the radio shows and the fans and their moms and dads, like mine."

My bad,it must have been Yost that said that to TH. Here is the JSOnline article.

Here is the link to audio. It is fairly early in the interview.

[Ennder]

Yelling at people always makes them do better. Just last night my son couldn't figure out a math problem on his homework so I told my wife and other kids that he just stinks at homework lately and he had to step it up a notch and then instantly he was able to figure it out.

[Bring Back the Stein]

I seem to remember Piniella making similar comments managing the Mariners during the ALCS versus the Yankees. Wonder how that turned out.

 

If anyone is going to scruple to such histrionics, I'd rather it be Simba, but he should do it in a low "Kill Bill" voice and puffing on a cigarillo so's that some of the call-ups wet their pants.

[dadofandrew]

I echo John Kruk's feelings:

 

It doesn't mean a thing.

[LouisEly]

So 16 posts of "it's not Ned's character".

 

Well, Ned's character is on the verge of a 2nd-half collapse for the third season in a row. If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got.

 

I think it's time for some different character.

[logan82]

Not really sure where you are getting the idea that we are in a 2nd half collapse. We are 30-21 since the all-star break and have widened our wild card lead from 1/2 game to 3 games. Ned Yost makes many mistakes, but I have a hard time blaming him for our players not being able to hit for 2 weeks. Much like it wasn't his fault when the whole team didn't hit much for the first 2 months or Skalen's for that matter.

[TooLiveBrew]

I'd trade 200 tirades for pinch hitting for Kendall when down in the 9th.

 

I thought that was against MLB rules... no? I agree that since it would be out of character for Ned, no thanks on the 'fire-em-up' stuff. Lou thinks hair smells good. That's ok, but I don't think hair smells good. I wish we had a different manager, but I don't think Yost has a +2 or -2 card hidden anywhere.

 

I really wish he'd throw Shouse against the back-to-back duo of Utley & Howard, though. Ryan Howard used to hit rocks over some creek somewhere. Now he intimidates the crap out of me every time he comes to bat.

[DougJones43]

More than likely, publicly demanding better play wouldn't make the team suddenly start playing better. Who knows though? I'm not saying that their effort is poor, but as a team their discipline sure seems to be poor. They're always swinging for the fences without regard for the situation. It almost seems like there is just a total refusal to make adjustments. Certain guys on the team are out of shape. Estrada was out of shape last season and still started the whole year. Constant baserunning errors and defensive miscues plague the team with little or no consequence.

 

The patience in Milwaukee goes beyond what most other teams would tolerate. How long would Lou Pinella have stuck with Turnbow? Or allowed Jenkins to bat against LHP? Would Pinella continue to tolerate Rickie Weeks and his detrimental play well into his 4th season? And continue to bat him leadoff? Would Prince Fielder dare to be 50 pounds overweight if he was playing for a somebody other than Ned and the Brewers? There is something to be said for managers and organizations that demand excellence.

 

If some of these guys felt a little more pressure to keep their positions, would we see a more disciplined team? You never know. Many of these guys probably wouldn't be coddled so much if they weren't playing for Ned Yost and the Brewers. I get the feeling sometime that there might be a sense of complacency in the organization due to the fact that the franchise is finally competitive and selling lots of tickets. I don't know how everyone can be so sure that "pushing" these guys a little more wouldn't produce some positive results...

[danzig6767]

DougJones43 wrote:

The patience in Milwaukee goes beyond what most other teams would tolerate. How long would Lou Pinella have stuck with Turnbow? Or allowed Jenkins to bat against LHP? Would Pinella continue to tolerate Rickie Weeks and his detrimental play well into his 4th season? And continue to bat him leadoff? Would Prince Fielder dare to be 50 pounds overweight if he was playing for a somebody other than Ned and the Brewers? There is something to be said for managers and organizations that demand excellence.

All those things can be easily done without telling a reporter the obvious that right now the team is stinking up the joint.

 

I share some concerns you have with how Yost sticks with certain players regardless of poor performance or say letting Counsell/Kendall bat down a run in back to back games, but don't care he doesn't yell in the media. I would love though to be able to read Melvin's mind during some of these games, was he wondering why the hell Counsell or Kendall wasn't pinch hit for vs Cordero? Does he cringe when Yost brings Gagne in the 8th inning of a close game?