Yost Fired, Sveum named Acting Manager; Yount bench coach, Iorg 3B coach

[thablingster]

I would like to thank Ned for his contributions to this organization. Where we were after the Lopes/Royster era, Yost was the right type of guy to hire. He's hard nosed, never gives up on his players, and is loyal to a fault.

 

Unfortunately, those qualities aren't good qualities for a team trying to contend, because ultimately a coach has to make tough decisions and sometimes hurt feelings if people aren't getting the job done. Ned never really could bring himself to do all the things that were best for the team instead of what was best for each individual player. If he could, we never would have seen Kevin Mench hit against Ryan Dempster in Chicago. We never would have seen Eric Gagné relieve CC Sabathia a few weeks ago. We wouldn't have been subjected to as many Turnbow meltdowns, Bill Hall strikeouts vs. RHP, and we most assuredly never would have seen Brian Shouse walk Ryan Howard to pitch to Pat Burrell. I do wish Ned the best, but I think this is the right thing for the team.

[BrewCrewForever]

Sveum SOLVDD WOAHS
Yount wears dresses?
Yount wears cans?
I don't get it

 

I just laughed out loud. And I'm alone.

[brewerjamie15]

I've had time to digest and lose the knee jerk reaction ideas.

I can say that the timing is odd to say the least, but hardly a major surprise after the Philadelphia disaster.

Even if Sveum has different ideas as to how to run a club, he does not have the time to implement too many ideas.

He won't be able to switch the philosophy that was instilled into the club as far as offense. We already know there aren't any players who can bunt, hit and run is a foreign concept.

How on Earth does a guy step in and make things well in just 12 games?

And, if Sveum in fact -does- have the answers to the woes, just why in the name of all things holy has he not fixed the problems already? huh?

 

I have traveled the path that is Brewers baseball for many years. This is truly the darkest part of my journey so far. I have survived 9/14/08. I'm battered and bruised, and perhaps even permanently scarred, but I have survived.

[bklynbrewcrew]

Better late than never but this move should have been made after last season. Hopefully we can hire Davey Johnson or Bobby Valentine as the next Brewers manager.

[windiv07]

I remember a Sunday in June of 2006 when the Royals were in town for the final game of a 3 game series. The Brewers were going for the sweep with a 3 run lead in the top of the 8th. Buddy Bell had stacked the Royals lineup with 8 left handed hitters against our RHP starter who was by now over the 100 pitch mark. Shouse had 3 days rest and was warming up alongside Turnbow (our closer then) while the Brewers were batting in the bottom of the 7th. Yost actually brought Turnbow (NOT Shouse) in at the top of the 8th to face the first of 8 consecutive left-handed hitters and by the time he yanked Turnbow, the game was tied and the bases were loaded. Then he brough in Shouse and Bell simply PH righties until KC had the game in the bag (by several runs). I began to count the number of times similar pitching moves (defying the fundamentals of baseball) were made by Yost that season...dozens. I have since been mystified that this club has kept him on as manager this long. I say roll the dice...anything is better than what we had.

[kramnoj]

I wouldn't take everything Sveum said at the presser at face value. I don't think Melvin and Attanasio would have put Sveum in charge if he didn't have a few ideas about what could be done to get this team out of a slump. If Sveum has ideas on what he is going to do to make some changes, he's not going to tell us before he talks to his team.

 

Now the changes could be simple, and already discussed in this thread. Don't use Gagne in high leverage situations (even if he wouldn't use those words, it's the same idea). Don't hurt the team by running Kendall into the ground every dang day. If he was helping the pitchers, that would be one thing, but if the pitchers are struggling and Kendall is struggling, we really need Rivera's bat more often. Don't let Hall face a righty.

 

Managers matter. How they matter, and how much they matter, well that's hard to quantify. But if managers didn't matter, some team would just have a Baseball Operations guy with a laptop in the dugout punching in the game situation and getting out the most likely result. It will be hard to show that Sveum will be the ingredient needed to spark this team. But making a change to get Yost out of there may be what it takes to motivate this team, anger this team, relax this team, whatever they need to produce better.

[JJHardy7]

I respect and agree with the fact Yost probably wasn't going to be brought back. My question is just why do the move for Sveum? Is there something the Brewers management/players see that we don't know. I'd have to believe that he's gone over his ideas and the Brewers management agreed. I just hope that's the case. Getting Yost out of town may or may not help, but getting Sveum in there really doesn't get me 'pumped' up about the move. Some of the ideas here (don't use Gagne unless the game is out of hand, play Rivera, use the bullpen in a better way, etc) are good ideas. Can these ideas make an impact over 12 games though? I still think something else is going on. What? I'm not so sure on that part, but I still predict (probably wrong) that Yount is your 2009 manager.

[holybannana]

At least si.com had the headline: Yost is toast. Thank God someone used that canned headline.

[logan82]

I think the best case scenario short term is that we win the World Series. I also think that is the worst case scenario long term. I think it would result in more meddling form Mark A. I remember him saying early on that he would let his baseball people handle things until he learned more. I was hoping he would learn to keep his hands out of things and let his baseball people run things.

 

One more thing, would people please lay off of Weeks hitting. He is the only starter on our team hitting well this month and one of our best players in the 2nd half.

[homer]

News flash, you can be educated and intelligent and still be an idiot (or more accurately act like an idiot) like a lot of people on this very site do.

I don't feel thats an accurate discription of the people of this site. The posters here are extremely kind and civil to each other, and help make this site th finest fan site on the web. Ned Yost could have learned alot from this site, and it would have helped his career immensely.

Did Ned Yost call the people on this site idiots? I vaguely recall him saying something like he couldn't "listen to what some idiot thinks" or something along those lines. I can't remember what it was in regards to. In any case, I'm pretty sure he didn't straight up call the fan base "idiots" or "idiotic".

[holybannana]

I think the best case scenario short term is that we win the World Series. I also think that is the worst case scenario long term. I think it would result in more meddling form Mark A. I remember him saying early on that he would let his baseball people handle things until he learned more. I was hoping he would learn to keep his hands out of things and let his baseball people run things.

Well, I could care less what negatives it brings if it brings a WS. 1 WS would be so great. Oh.....so, so great. Please let this be the most dramatic WS run ever...

[Grateful cub]

Not sure if this is a double post-sorry if it is...

 

 

This is not welcome news to anyone--especially as a cub fan. The one thing we could count on with the Brewers is that they would have a manager that would not help matters, whatever they were. I'm impressed that you're GM had the guts to do this even if he was the one who hired Yost in the first place. This could be a spark for you guys.

[windiv07]

I think it would result in more meddling form Mark A. I remember him saying early on that he would let his baseball people handle things until he learned more.

Better him than Wendy Selig. After watching Yost since he bought this team, anyone would learn the fundamentals by inversion, exactly what NOT to do in baseball.

[giffted1]

I remember a Sunday in June of 2006 when the Royals were in town for the final game of a 3 game series.... I began to count the number of times similar pitching moves (defying the fundamentals of baseball) were made by Yost that season...dozens. I have since been mystified that this club has kept him on as manager this long. I say roll the dice...anything is better than what we had.

You can have a lot of qualms with Yost if you make-up or mis-remember stuff. I think you're referring to the June 24th game against the Royals last year and would just suggest you look back at it.

[razzzorsharp]

You may ask why Svuem and here is my wacked out thoery. Cue X-Files Music....

 

I think Svuem was picked after he talked to Melvin and Melvin gave him ideas as to how he should use various players. Melvin saw that Ned was not putting players in situations to win and decided that he needed a manager that would do what he thinks is best for the team regarding bullpen, pinch hitting, and lineup issues. Melvin is now the puppet master and Svuem is now the puppet that Simmons refused to be.

 

I also figured out what killed the offense. It was Skalin, in Miller Park, with a candlestick.

[crewcrazy]

Ned will probably catch on somewhere else as a coach. At least he still has the numbers on his side.

[logan82]

Yes I do think changing managers in the middle of the year is quitting. You don't have many options available to hire. All you have is what's on the bench or guys nobody else wanted. Of course with my opinion of MLB managers, anybody with a pencil that can write a lineup can do the in game stuff so it really doesn't matter who is the manager. It makes management look like they are trying to do something even if it will more than likely make no difference.

[DougJones43]

One more thing, would people please lay off of Weeks hitting. He is the only starter on our team hitting well this month and one of our best players in the 2nd half.

Can I still rag on him for pathetic defense, and his propensity to do stupid things on the basepaths?

[bigredrobbo]

As much as I am a so-called "Yost Apologist", I've conceded since spring training that not making the playoffs would (and should) result in this being his last year in Milwaukee.

 

With 12 games to go, however, changing the manager without a better reason than "hey, we lost a bunch of games it would have been prudent to win" is just moronic.

 

Having gone 20-7 in August (something Harvey's Wallbangers never managed to do), I don't recall too many "Fire Yost" comments coming into the final month, yet 15 days later, it's all his fault? Seems fair...

 

I feel a Jim Mora moment coming on. Playoffs? Don't talk about playoffs - it'll take at least a few of the remaining 12 games for everyone to get over this ridiculous timing.

 

Mark A has barely put a foot wrong since taking over. This one's a biggie - it'll cost us the postseason waaaay more than a week and a half of underperforming will.

 

Bank it.

[Fatter than Joey]

Are you implying this isn't a desperate team....come on. I don't understand all this "It reeks/smacks of desperation" crap. Duh!

 

No I think the team is desperate -- it does not follow that the move has to be desperate, there is still time to think things through -- the Brewers are tied for 1st in the WC race, I don't think firing Yost at this point will help one bit. Of course if it is true that the players were talking to management about Yost -- then that is a different scenario.

 

I still think that this move is 100% MA, and not DM. I think DM got the option to either fire Ned or get fired himself. My guess is that DM is in fact fired as well, as soon as the Brewers season ends.

 

The only reason that Sveum was hired as interim manager is because he is close to the players and available. The Brewers do not have time to execute any sort of hiring plan. I doubt in any case he is retained in 2009.

 

I guess we will see what will happen.

[sweepscc]

Frankly if I'm Melvin and a California banker starts deciding he wants to fire the manager with TWELVE games left I'd think about walking. "You can't fire me cause I quit"..... And Melvin would have no problem finding another GM gig, sooner or later. I hope this isn't a sign of future George S. type tendencies from Mark A.

 

Final word to Mark A., "The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants them to do, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it" Theodore Roosevelt

[PeaveyFury]

Frankly if I'm Melvin and a California banker starts deciding he wants to fire the manager with TWELVE games left I'd think about walking.

 

And if you're wrong and it was legitimately a mutual decision?

[SeriesFinale]

Not sure if this was covered before (not that I saw), but Glenn Hoffman did a bit on local radio in the Lacrosse area this afternoon and he reports that 'people' close to the team told him that several players went to DM before the Philly trip regarding Ned.

Wow, if that is true that is crazy.

http://chelsearialtostudios.com/maxsteinerpages/caine_mutiny_1sh.jpg

 

Captain Queeg, indeed.

[holybannana]

This has been a very sad couple days for this franchise. We see our playoff hopes drifting away and fire our manager. You never want to be in that position. then our hated rival comes into town to play a couple games and gives up 1 hit in 2 games in front of an intimate Cubs audience. This was probably 2 of their best days: watching us crumble and then celebrate it in our home.

 

What a terrible 2 days.

[mpepy05]

sweepscc wrote:

Final word to Mark A., "The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants them to do, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it" Theodore Roosevelt

Attanasio didn't hire melvin or yost.