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Yes, I'm sure labeling the Brewers season as dead-in-the-water is possibly a bit premature. But to say history isn't on their side right now, is a bit of an understatement. But, as much as Ned Yost would like to have us all believe, whenever your team starts fighting each other in the dug out, that is NOT a normal thing. Almost to the day, one year ago, this same thing happened - and also happened to mark the beginning of a slow, painful, second half collapse. So on that note, here's some questions for Ned Yost, which I'm almost positive have been asked of him, but he probably chose not to answer directly;

1) Why are Ricky Weeks and Mike Cameron not either on the bench, or in Nashville? The Mendoza twins aren't even playing good enough defense to help us forget about how absolutely pitiful their offensive numbers are. Neither of these guys are contributing in the slightest bit. Even worse, Ned Yost continues to cling to Ricky as his lead-off guy. Yup, I'm no Lou Piniella, but any time your lead off guy is batting around .220, and has a paltry OBP of .320 - that is BAD FOR YOUR TEAM. I agree with Ned when he says that Ricky has loads of potential. But the word "potential," implies that success will be found in the future. Now, all of this would've been appropriate 4 years ago, when this team was going through a complete overhaul. BUT, the problem now, is that this team is a contender, RIGHT NOW. Not next year, not two years from now - RIGHT NOW. I have no problem with Ricky, and I do believe he's going to be a helluva player one day. But this team can't afford to wait on slowly developing prospects anymore. Why Ray Durham isn't the everyday starter yet, I can't even begin to explain. The guy's BA is only 60 or so points higher then Ricky's, as is his OBP. Sure, he might not give you the same amount of range and speed - but what he has on Weeks is an extra decade of experience (annnnnd better numbers too). As for Mike Cameron; All I can say is, I seriously think, now that I've seen Cameron play for about half a full season now, is that Eric Gagne got a bad rap being labeled the "worst free-agent pick up by the Brewers." Sure, Gagne's struggles earlier in the season have been well documented - but he deserves plenty of credit for pitching very effectively, as of late. Cameron, however, is a completely different animal altogether. Gagne, as a reliever, does not play ever single day. Nor does he usually play more than an inning a game. Cameron is a starting position player, and like Ricky Weeks, he doesn't contribute anything to this offense. Look, to say I don't like the Cubs is a rather nice way of putting things - but, in all honesty, watching them pound the Brewers into complete submission last week...it was rather impressive. Unlike the Brewers, it seemed like every guy in that lineup was capable of hurting you. From Lee, to Soriano, to Ramirez, to even Theriot...I hate to admit it, but THAT is how a lineup should be built. A team with a middle of the lineup like the Brewers should NOT have to depend on a .220 hitter to set the table for them. A team like the Brewers shouldn't have to put up with putting men in scoring position, only to have Cameron or Weeks end the inning. And yes, I realize every guy in that lineup right now is as guilty when we're talking about RISP. But, as they say, hitting is contagious, and those two guys are clearly the antidote for the hitting disease. Any manager with at least some kind of control of his team would've benched, or sent down both of these guys by now.

2) Now, back to the Rumble in Cincy - I really don't care what Prince said or did to Parra, or what Parra said to Prince to set him off like that. But what I do care about, is knowing what kind of control Ned Yost has, if any at all, over his team. I can understand a manager having a bit of a laissez faire approach to managing - but Ned, he takes that approach to a whole different level. Whether it be the aforementioned refusal to take either Weeks or Cameron out of the game, or, as with this latest little scuffle, he basically sat in the corner and did nothing, as Prince physically attacked one of the franchises most promising young players. Instead of confronting the issue, like he should, he instead goes into the press room, and likens the press to "neighbors," and his team he says is a "family," and that it's usually rude for "neighbors" to intrude on his "family's" business. Well, Ned, going along with your stupid little analogy; If I were you're "neighbor," and I saw big brother Prince shove little brother (emphasis on little) Manny into the wall, I'd have to be concerned. Especially since the "family" members we're talking about aren't even related, and happen to be in their mid-20s. I suppose if Ned saw a woman's husband beat up on her, he would choose to do nothing? Because by his logic, that's what he seems to be implying...not saying he would choose to do nothing in real life. But once again, the thought processes of Ned Yost fails to stand up to REALITY.

3) What would Ned have said had Prince's teammates not been so quick to pull him away from Parra? What if Fielder had injured Parra in some way? Because it sure looked like Prince had no intentions of holding back. This is the Brewers #3 starter we're talking about here - not to mention a possible front line starter in the future. Would he choose to again label it as another "boys will be boys, family matter?" Or do you think if something like that happened, that it would be a big slap in the face for Ned, and he'd finally actually do something? My guess is that he would STILL choose to shrug it off as "no big deal." And that's what makes all of this infuriating, and embarrassing as well. Going back to the Cubs - this happened to them last year as well. But what did THEY do, in the much better ran clubhouse? They traded the guy who started it. Now, I'm not saying they should trade Prince Fielder. But any reasonably run clubhouse would have Fielder riding the pine for awhile. But lately, the way this Milwaukee clubhouse is run, it usually defies all logic. I bet anything that maybe, MAYBE, Prince sits tonight. And that is a HUGE maybe, knowing Yost. But even if he does sit tonight, he will be playing tomorrow - and undeservedly so. Me, personally? I would bench him for a full week. Pennant race or not, a message needs to be sent to the rest of the team, that this trash will not be tolerated. But that won't happen in Yost's clubhouse. He'll just shrug it off, Prince will be starting again in no time, and you can pretty much start the ticking time bomb up again - and wait for another blow up to happen. The Brewers' players are rapidly turning into little spoiled kids - the kind of kids whose parents do nothing to discipline them.

4) So here's my opinion of what should happen; Ride the rest of the season out. Obviously, at least to me it's obvious, firing Yost at this point in the season, would probably be too much of a shock to a young team like this. Maybe they turn it around, maybe they don't. Whatever the case, it can be said that this team has to tools in place to contend for many years now. Whether they can keep Sabathia or Sheets (which seems very unlikely), they still have a potential dynamite combo with Gallardo and Parra. They still have an absolutely stacked farm system. Like saying a football team is a quarterback short of being a contender, the Brewers are a manager short of being a contender as well. They need someone like a Charlie Manual - a guy who isn't shy of benching even the team's best player, like Manual did with Rollins twice this year, in the interest of keeping order in the clubhouse. Look at the best teams in this league, and you tell me how many times you see their players beating each other up in the dugout. And if something like that does happen, tell me how many times you see the players involved sitting on the bench the next few days. This kind of discipline does not occur in Yost's clubhouse. In Yost's clubhouse, the team has to depend on a second year player like Ryan Braun to declare that the team "doesn't expect to win." In Yost's clubhouse, you can bat .220, and still get to leadoff. In Yost's clubhouse, you can shove a player into the wall, and not receive any kind of retribution. There is no order, or logic, or reasonable thinking that goes on in Yost's clubhouse. And it's getting very, VERY tiresome to watch.