Who kidnapped Ned Yost? (all things Yost)

[Thurston Fluff]

I think the team's circumstances somewhat dictate how Ned handles things. In the past he was working with a team that was in a build for the future stage. He let players work through things, figure out how to handle certain situations, basically let them learn how to be big leaguers. Now the team is built and ready to contend. Thus he manages in a more results oriented fashion. I've always liked him and now it makes me even happier to have him as the manager. He has shown the ability to handle differant types of teams correctly. Something that isn't all that common in baseball.

[Roscoe Chill]

He's definitely been a different manager lately just on bady language alone. As far as the issue with pulling Bush before the big inning, yes, it was pointed out that Bush did give up a homer, a base hit, and then got the hook...but not too long ago, that's when someone would START WARMING UP in the bullpen, so I agree with AJAY totally.

[Bucky Rules]

I don't believe he's any different than he has been with the exception (as others have stated) that he's shifted his focus in the last year or two towards production over development. But, he's the same guy.

 

More importantly, the team's win totals have much more to do with talent and execution, than with strategy and in-game management. I'll say it unitl I'm blue in the face. Ned Yost's - or any manager's - impact on this team is much greater in the locker room than on the field. I laugh when managers get credit or blame for a particular win/loss. And I laugh harder when they try to attribute one isolated decision as an example of how good/bad a manager is. I think Yost is a good manager. I think he's a good leader. Guys seem to want to play for him. He has the respect of his team. But in the end, the players win or lose the games.

[GenoSeligPrieb]

If Ned would have pre-emptively pulled Bush before the HR and the single that day, then I'd grant you that he's doing something different. But the wheels always seem to come off the cart for DB in the 6th or 7th, and Ned should have sensed that earlier.

 

As for his bullpen usage since the ASB, it sure helped that Derrick has been so solid, as well as the outings for CV (5 K's in 2 IP!), and the Sheets-saving performance by YoGa. If any of them falter, Ned's wearing the dunce cap, regardless of whether he deserved it or not.

 

I did like the way he handled "Goosio" Vargas (any fellow MST3K mysties out there?) yesterday, though. Of course, it helped that CV was well-rested, and everyone else has been so tough to hit, lately.

 

And if we jump out to a good 3-run lead tonight, I expect us to finally see Parra and/or Balfour in there as long as the game doesn't get too close. The fact that Ned hasn't turned to either of them yet tells me he's not confident in them, and he's playing it very cautiously against Arizona, which has worked out well so far...

[Lil Dummy]

"The fact that Ned hasn't turned to either of them yet tells me he's not confident in them"

 

Parra is the long man, at least for now, and we haven't seen a scenario in the last two nights warranting the use of a long man.

 

Wasn't last night Balfour's first game? And wasn't he the one warming in the 8th when Villy was in trouble? Ned stuck w/ Villy, and it paid off, but I don't see any evidence that he's worried about using either of these guys.

[TooLiveBrew]

Quote:

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Yost isn't pulling [bush] any sooner than before, his LOB% has just regressed towards the mean like expected and his BABIP dropped like we knew it would.

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good gravy I love peripherals more & more with each passing day!

 

EDIT: Clarity

[BillScottCanRake]

Parra is the long man, at least for now, and we haven't seen a scenario in the last two nights warranting the use of a long man.

 

Wasn't last night Balfour's first game? And wasn't he the one warming in the 8th when Villy was in trouble? Ned stuck w/ Villy, and it paid off, but I don't see any evidence that he's worried about using either of these guys.

 

Just to confirm, Balfour wasn't in Milwaukee on Tuesday, and he was up in the 8th inning. I imagine that Carlos was going to get one more hitter and then it would be Balfour.

[dadofandrew]

I don't think Ned has changed at all. He's just managing to the situation a bit more because the team is in contention. Dave Bush was unable to get through the 7th inning the other day, but he had to use the bullpen that extra frame.

 

As for going to the mound, it doesn't take a pitching coach to say throw strikes. Carlos is probably spent until Friday now because it took him so many pitches to get through 2 innings. Claudio aims for the black almost every pitch...there's nothing wrong with a corner, or dare I say, the outside third of the plate.

 

Rickie has simply been Barnwellishly bad the past couple weeks. I think he's still hurt, they say his mechanics got messed up when he was hurt, whatever. Maybe a few days in the cage will help, or maybe he'll admit he's still in pain if he has to take 200 swings a day in practice. That's why we have Tony and Craig.

[kilgore37]

Dude I own every episode.

[Roscoe Chill]

He's just managing to the situation a bit more because the team is in contention.

 

Someone's going to have to explain this one to me.

[homer]

I don't think one game or a handful of situations signifies anything different in Ned.

 

If it becomes habit, then I'll agree.

[Schlitz001]

He's just managing to the situation a bit more because the team is in contention.

 

Someone's going to have to explain this one to me.

 

The Brewers have been in first place all season long, so I think that his use of the word "contention" is more of a reference to a division position versus time. It's no longer April and the Brewers no longer have an 11 game lead over the Cubs.

 

In my opinion this is exactly why Yost has been more agressive with his moves. I think it's been pretty visible with his mound visits and his stance on benching players. How many visits to the mound did Mike Maddux make yesterday? I like Maddux and his hand on the shoulder talks seem to motivate some pitchers, but I'd bet players listen a lot closer when the vein in Yost's neck is popping out during a mound visit.

 

Winning these close games at this point of the season is great to see and probably has a fair amount to do with how the game is being managed.

 

What would we be discussing if Graffanino hadn't pinch hit and Weeks popped up to 2nd?

[dadofandrew]

Ndogg, Ned is simply doing more to win each game, managing a bit more to a minute advantage. If the team was 10 below .500, they'd let Rickie hit his way out of it.

 

Still, he isn't forgetting about the season...they gave Derrick a night off, and will probably give Frankie off either tonight or tomorrow.

[don1481]

Quote:

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What would we be discussing if Graffanino hadn't pinch hit and Weeks popped up to 2nd?

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We'd be discussing how long Braun admired his GW shot the following inninghttp://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

 

Sorry - the optimist in me thinks we would have won that game no matter what.

 

But I agree with the premise of this thread: It seems like Ned just has more urgency in general of late. Plus he's not afraid to be more vocal to the public about issues, such as Wise fielding that grounder to Graffy that eliminated a double play.

[brettac1]

and will probably give Frankie off either tonight or tomorrow.

 

That's something I'll have to see to believe. I can think of only one time when he's given someone else the save. If there's one thing that annoys me about Yost it's the insistence to go to Cordero just because it's a save situation, regardless of other issues (like how many days in a row he has pitched). Every pitcher in that pen - even Spurling - can hold a two or three run lead for three outs once in a while when Cordero has gone three in a row or something.

[Bruce Ciskie]

Well, they brought Ned back last night.

 

Gee, thanks for that. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/frown.gif

[Thurston Fluff]

That's something I'll have to see to believe. I can think of only one time when he's given someone else the save. If there's one thing that annoys me about Yost it's the insistence to go to Cordero just because it's a save situation, regardless of other issues (like how many days in a row he has pitched).

 

He must have read your post.

 

Quote:

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Having used Francisco Cordero four straight days, manager Ned Yost said Derrick Turnbow would be his closer for the night. Turnbow was given the night off Tuesday after working in three games in a row. Cordero pitched six days in a row earlier in the season, but Yost said that won't happen again. "Common sense comes into play, especially in the second half," said Yost. "Five days in a row is getting a little crazy."

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Every pitcher in that pen - even Spurling - can hold a two or three run lead for three outs once in a while when Cordero has gone three in a row or something.

 

No one would crucify him if he tried that would they?http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[pg44]

Whoever kidnapped Yost, must have returned him already. Putting a guy in a tie game who hasn't pitched in the bigs in 3 years. The ultimate in stupidity when Wise hadn't pitched in 3 days. That's Ned for ya.

[brewcrew00]

This is getting ridiculous. I know so many people just bash Ned for what seems like something to do, but it's getting down right ridiculous! This team hasn't won in YEARS and here they sit on the verge of August with the best record in the National League, with a team of 21-24 year olds running the infield, had to deal with SP that didn't live up to expectations, and was STILL able to dip into their farm system to maintain the pace without having to make trades to stay above water.

 

Villanueva has had 2 bad outings, and they just happen to be within the last week. He had 2 outs in the inning, and you hate to burn another arm from the pen just to get 1 out. I swear, I don't know how much more of the "Ned is an idiot" crowd I can handle. You can't even turn on sportsradio 1250 anymore without hearing someone rip Ned to shreds.

 

They players love him, they organization loves him, they are 12 games above .500 with a division lead in late July. How fast everyone forgets how bad it's been for so long. I think some in this city need to flip on another game and just watch how "bad" every manager is in the entire league. This is just getting tiring.

[logan82]

Yeah no kidding. It is amazing how good a manager looks when the players do what they are supposed to and how bad he looks when they don't. We currently have the best record in the NL and we havent' had a winning season for 15 years. I still believe that if the Brewers went 162-0 there would still be people upset we didn't win by enough runs or something else.

[SeriesFinale]

What is he doing with the bullpen? Everyone's roles have been topsy-turvy this week--Wise and SHouse taking multiple innings, and now bringing in D-Bow for one-out mop-up in the 9th with Parra and Balfour and Wise available?

[Bruce Ciskie]

Unsolicited advice from Ned Yost:

 

Quote:

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Yost said he agreed there was some panic among fans and media over the Brewers' recent slide and warned that it could make its way into the clubhouse if the players allowed it.

 

"It very well could," said Yost. "The only thing you can do is stay focused on what you're accomplishing. I've told them, 'Don't read the papers, don't listen to the radio. Just play your game. Don't buy into the hype. You guys know what's going on. You guys know what's happening because you're living it.'

 

"There's a whole lot that fans don't understand about this game. They think it looks really, really easy and it's not. After not having won (for) 25 years, yes, the fans are nervous. They don't know how to handle it. My only advice to them is to relax, sit back and enjoy it. Have fun with it. That's what we're doing."

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While I really do agree with Ned, I hope he understands that, similar to playing baseball, this is easier said than done. I think a lot of the "panic" we've experienced is natural when you're not used to a pennant race.

[mikerollins]

Bruce, I was also going to comment on this quote. I read it in the paper this morning and couldn't agree with it more.

 

This couldn't be a better quote right here;

 

Quote:

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"There's a whole lot that fans don't understand about this game......the fans are nervous. They don't know how to handle it. My only advice to them is to relax, sit back and enjoy it. Have fun with it. That's what we're doing."

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Thank you Ned Yost for being a manager that knows what he's doing. There is so much that fans don't have a clue about that it drives me away from reading message boards and listening to talk radio after a loss.

[wisconsinfan47]

Ned makes a great point...one that I hadn't really considered yet. Honestly, who here feels "used to" a pennant race? I know I'm not, and it's both exciting and nervewracking at the same time.

 

As to Yost's managerial skills, I still am bothered by some moves that Ned makes (or doesn't make, for that matter). It seems like he often makes a move too late...Too late getting the pen to warmup, too late getting a new pitcher in the game, too late benching a guy who is struggling (a la Jenkins in '06 while Hart rotted on the bench.), etc. I also feel like his in-game managing this year has varied from brilliant (the 12-inning win vs. Chicago in April) to awful (letting Cappy melt in the sun vs. the Nationals).

 

One other thing that bothers me about Ned...his happy-go-lucky attitude after some losses. I don't wanna hear "we played a great game and we lost" when we could only manage 4 solo homers but go 0-fer with runners in scoring position, for example. That game was against the Nats, we lost 5-4, and exposed the "too many home runs, not enough manufacturing runs" weakness this team has. It was exciting, but not well-played at all on our part.

 

I also find it interesting how outside of Milwaukee, Yost is considered a fruntrunner for manager of the year.

 

Just my 2 cents...a little bit of rambling, I know.

[Fatter than Joey]

While I really do agree with Ned, I hope he understands that, similar to playing baseball, this is easier said than done. I think a lot of the "panic" we've experienced is natural when you're not used to a pennant race.

 

Yeah, well Ned needs to understand the following.

 

1.) The thing that gets me, is that we finally have our fanbase growing. There are going to be high-strung fans and low-strung fans. You can't tell high-strung people to "relax" anymore than you can tell penguins to fly. It's like a roller coaster, some people just sit there, others yell and scream -- everybody has a good time, some people exude their emotions.

 

2.) I think a lot of our fans understand the game -- certainly most of them do not think baseball is easy. Ned Yost has won piddly-squat to this point in his career, and we are smart enough to realize, that this is as much new territory to him, as it is to us. Fans will certainly relax, once Ned shows he can manage a team to the playoffs -- this happens with every team in every sport. Teams with proven managers have very trusting fans -- teams with unproven (like Yost) tend to get a lot more nervous.