2009-06-11T14:46:21-04:00 <div class="photo_container image_right"> <div class="photo"><img title="Ned Yost" src="http://i.cnn.net/si/fannation/yost-firing.jpg" alt="Ned Yost" width="298" height="340" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align: right;">Yost (left) was sacked with just 12 games left in the season.<br /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align: right;">Darren Hauck/AP</div> </div> <p><strong>By John Donovan, SI.com</strong></p> <p>Right now, in the greater Milwaukee metropolitan area, you won't find many tears being shed for <strong>Ned Yost</strong>. The sometimes humorless, oft-condescending and almost always maddening manager of the Brewers is gone, fired with 12 games left in the season. And the Brew Crew faithful -- a large part of them, anyway -- are, at first blush, OK with that.<br /><br />But what about the timing on this? Is this good for the Brewers and their chances to get to the postseason? Can it shake them out of their funk? Or will this blow up in their faces and drive them, finally, so far away that they'll never get back?<br /><br />What a stunning, possibly unprecedented axing this one is. The early word from management is just what you'd expect. "This was a collaborative decision made to put our club in the best position for the final two weeks of the season," general manager <strong>Doug Melvin</strong> said.<br /><br />What Melvin <em>really </em>is saying is this: "We're at wit's end. We don't like how we're playing. We're running out of time. We have to do something. This is a last resort."</p> 2008-09-15T16:50:28-04:00 25 2008-09-15T16:47:28-04:00 1 3 10 2008-09-16T11:24:52-04:00 5 WI ardententity22 Neenah 160424 27 Anyone who thinks this is a bad move is smoking something. Ned Yost is loathed by Brewer fans by his questionable decisions and his unwillingness to change the lineup. Melvin has assembled a stellar team for this year and Yost pretty much squandered it. BTW, the Gagne signing maybe a bad signing, but it is only a one year mistake. Yost has continually underachieved and I think Sveum will rally the troops. At least he has the balls to change the lineup!!! PS- Fielder needs to eat a brat and start producing. 2754469 2008-09-16T09:06:18-04:00 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/419/46/thumb/packersdeadhead.jpg 96 WI scarynitschke Madison 42166 24 gotta agree with Nate on this one. The decision to keep a struggling Weeks as a starter, when you have a better hitting switch hitter, that you just picked up, was working me over. Billy Hall hasn't helped us much either. Billy would show flashes of excellence, but it is too little, and too far in between. His management of the pitchers has rubbed my fur the wrong way for several seasons now. How many times have we seen him stay with a pitcher while they are giving up a 6 run 5th or 6th inning. I like Ned, but it wasn't like he didn't have enough pieces to get the job done. Something has to be changed up when playing in your own ball park itself has become a liability. Sveum needs start penalizing hitters when all they try to do is hit a home run. CREW, STOP TRYING TO HIT HOME RUNS, AND JUST GET A FREAKIN' BAT ON THE BALL ALREADY! 2752747 2008-09-16T10:04:58-04:00 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/442/279/thumb/pat.jpg 2662 MrMiyagiJr Japan 442719 Sveum needs start penalizing hitters when all they try to do is hit a home run. 26 You mean like Fielder who goes for the upper deck on each swing? 2753398 2008-09-16T10:04:38-04:00 1 MA dutchboy Lexington 537079 25 Wonder if this is partly due to what happened to the Mets last year. They didn't fire Willie at the end and missed the playoffs and eventually had to fire him this year before the team played up to expectations. 2753397 2008-09-16T09:06:18-04:00 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/419/46/thumb/packersdeadhead.jpg 96 WI scarynitschke Madison 42166 24 gotta agree with Nate on this one. The decision to keep a struggling Weeks as a starter, when you have a better hitting switch hitter, that you just picked up, was working me over. Billy Hall hasn't helped us much either. Billy would show flashes of excellence, but it is too little, and too far in between. His management of the pitchers has rubbed my fur the wrong way for several seasons now. How many times have we seen him stay with a pitcher while they are giving up a 6 run 5th or 6th inning. I like Ned, but it wasn't like he didn't have enough pieces to get the job done. Something has to be changed up when playing in your own ball park itself has become a liability. Sveum needs start penalizing hitters when all they try to do is hit a home run. CREW, STOP TRYING TO HIT HOME RUNS, AND JUST GET A FREAKIN' BAT ON THE BALL ALREADY! 2752747 2008-09-16T07:22:36-04:00 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/476/874/thumb/IMG_2473_2.jpg 76 VA JOBEE Virginia Beach 477314 23 I was pulling for the Brew Crew but now I hope they go down in flames !!!! Who cares about next year when CC leaves ...... finnish this season 1st 2752392 2008-09-16T02:31:55-04:00 12 WI nate1554 Appleton 174461 22 avpsteve ummm... Gagne has cost the brewers MORE than just 4 games. Hopefully Weeks is gone after this year to. When we picked up Durham he had the best batting average on the Brewers. What did Yost do? Sat him when weeks is blowing games because he can't make a double play. F*** YOST!!!!! 2752125 2008-09-16T02:27:38-04:00 12 WI nate1554 Appleton 174461 21 Ned Yost isn't to blame right now but he needed to go before the start of this season so thank god he's finally gone and hopefully brewers take back the wild card leade with sveum and yount helping out now. 2752104 2008-09-16T01:46:05-04:00 4 WI Renault Milwaukee 91649 20 The manager's job is to lead the team. It's not a coincidence that the crew's bats are cold right now, they're feeling the pressure and Ned contributed to that. It's foolish to simply think 4 or 5 guys just happen to be in a slump all of a sudden. A good manager would know how to keep the team together, that's why Ned is gone. 2752053 2008-09-16T00:41:53-04:00 1 CA avpsteve Santa Barbara 536665 19 Melvin is the one who should be fired! He let Cordero go and signed Gagne. Gagne alone has cost the Brewers 4 games. Cordero closed out two Reds 1-run victories with 1-2-3 saves, one time striking out the side! 2751897 2008-09-15T23:53:53-04:00 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/520/304/thumb/DSCF8531AAL5Final.jpg 5 XX YankSydneyAus No City 520744 18 Brewers need a dietician more than they need a manager anyway...ahem...CC and Prince. 2751755 25 <div class="photo_container image_right"> <div class="photo"><img title="Ned Yost" src="http://i.cnn.net/si/fannation/yost-firing.jpg" alt="Ned Yost" width="298" height="340" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align: right;">Yost was sacked with just 12 games left in the season.<br /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align: right;">Darren Hauck/AP</div> </div> <p><strong>By John Donovan, SI.com</strong></p> <p>Right now, in the greater Milwaukee area, you won't find many tears being shed for <strong>Ned Yost</strong>. The sometimes humorless, oft-condescending and almost always maddening manager of the Brewers is gone, fired with 12 games left in the season. And the Brew Crew faithful -- a large part of them, anyway -- are, at first blush, OK with that.<br /><br />But what about the timing? Is this good for the Brewers and their chances to get to the postseason? Can it shake them out of their funk? Or will this blow up in their faces and drive them, finally, so far away that they'll never get back?<br /><br />What a stunning, possibly unprecedented axing this was. The early word from management is just what you'd expect. "This was a collaborative decision made to put our club in the best position for the final two weeks of the season," general manager <strong>Doug Melvin</strong> said.<br /><br />What Melvin <em>really </em>is saying is: "We're at wit's end. We don't like how we're playing. We're running out of time. We have to do something. This is a last resort."<br /><br />The thinking here is that firing Yost can't hurt. The Brewers already have blown a five-and-a-half-game wild-card lead, falling into a tie with Philadelphia after a four-game sweep by the Phillies this past weekend. For years Yost has been a target of criticism, for various reasons, from his scrapping with players in the dugout last year to his generally suffocating presence to some funky bullpen management. He's in charge of this ship and, at 3-11 so far this month (after a 20-7 August), this baby is clearly on its way down.<br /><br />Maybe this will stop the sinking. Maybe interim manager <strong>Dale Sveum</strong> can help bail out the Brewers and keep them from choking away a postseason spot for the second straight season.<br /><br />It's a bold, maybe crazy game that the Milwaukee front office is playing. But someone had to do something. And that's what this is: something.</p> 4542 18 NY The SI Staff New York City 21244