WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, SIR?!?!

The inaugural WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, SIR?!?! award goes to Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio. Last night the Brewers fired manager Ned Yost, and have replaced him with former Brewer (among MANY other teams) cult favorite Dale Sveum, who had been third base coach. The Brewers have lost 11 of their last 14 to fall into a tie with the Philadelphia Phillies for the NL Wild Card spot. Even still, the Brewers have been a joke for a long time. Cmon, they were owned by Bud Selig after all. Under Yost, they've built the right way, drafting cornerstones such as Ben Sheets, Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, and Rickie Weeks, and making key acquisitions that have worked well for them, i.e. C.C. Sabathia, Jason Kendall, and Mike Cameron. They've climbed back into relevancy, and have been strong challengers for the Wild Card, or even the division, all year. Now that the Cubs have pulled away, they are focusing more on the Wild Card, but this recent downturn may cost the Brewers more than their managers job. It might cost them their first playoff berth since 1982.

Given Yost's sometimes fiery personality, I can't imagine it was a necessarily cordial conversation between him and Attanasio when the owner broke the news. Maybe it went a little something like this:

Skinner : I'm sorry, did you just call me a liar?

Chalmers : No, I said you're fired.

Skinner : Oh..., that's much worse.


I can't help but question this move. The Brewers mortgaged their future with the Sabathia deal in an all or nothing attempt to win this season. Sabathia cost them their top prospect, Matt LaPorta, and is an unrestricted free agent after this season. Their other stud pitcher, Ben Sheets, is a UFA as well. There is little to no chance that the Brewers will be able to sign both. They may not even be able to bring back one. Why then, with 2 weeks left in the season, do you fire a manager who's brought you from obscurity to this point. The move was mostly met with shock around the league, and my guess would be that the players were pretty shocked as well. Is there an underlying method to this? Had Yost lost control of the team? You could see potential evidence of that when Prince Fielder went after Manny Parra in the dugout in an August game. Did Yost not handle the situation properly? Was he ever Attanasio's guy? Attanasio bought the team in 2005, Yost had been manager since 2002. Maybe Attanasio didn't have confidence that Yost could be the guy to get them over the hump. My take is that given where the Brewers were before Yost, to where they are now, he at least earned the opportunity to do so this season. They are now in the hands of Sveum, who has no MLB managerial experience. (But hey, he managed the Curve to a .502 winning percentage!)


I don't expect Mr. Yost to be unemployed long, especially with whats sure to be another glut of managerial openings after the season. I wouldn't be surprised to see Ned with the Phillies next year as a matter of fact.



WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, SIR?!?! Part 2.

This video speaks for itself. Welcome to the show, rook. At least someone hit the ball out of Leon Lett's hands.

Steeler fans, we have a similar gaffe of our own in this instance...Remember?


OTHER NEWS AND NOTES:

RIP Richard Wright. Shine on, you Crazy Diamond.

The Red Sox have climbed into a tie for 1st place in the AL East with Tampa Bay. I still think the Angels will be tough to beat in the postseason, but the races for first in the other two divisions will be compelling as we're now into the final 2 weeks.


Pirate fans, be sure to check out the latest edition of Inside Pirates Baseball. Sources tell me that there will be an interview with one of the biggest pirate fans there is (literally and figuratively), Big Yellow.

Bad day yesterday? You'll have a tough time topping major knee surgery and a $7,500 fine...

Not too shabby on my prediction last night. A lot more firepower than I expected, but I did get the Dallas win but not cover portion right. The Steelers travel to Philly next week. Hopefully the defense can hold Philly to fewer than 37 points.


On that note, terrible news for Steeler nation. Brett Keisel looks to be out for up to 2 months with a calf injury. The Post-Gazette reports that this is similar to the calf injury that Dan Kreider suffered in 2001. As I stated yesterday, don't underestimate the effect this may have on the defense. Nick Eason is no Brett Keisel. The Steelers could line the Diesel up almost anywhere on the field and his size and athleticism will be tough to replace. The only potential silver lining is that we may get to see one of my personal former favorite, Orpheus Roye, suit up this Sunday. Let it be recommended that since Keisel is the Diesel, we now refer to Nick Eason as Unleaded. Fills the same need, serves the same purpose, but not quite as effectively.


4-0 for the Jon in the Fantasy Football world this week! Also picked up my second straight office pool victory as well, after laying a big fat egg last season.


Full Preview of the Steelers - Eagles and Cardinals - Redskins games coming later this week. Also, full slate of week 3 NFL picks, and some college matchups to look forward to. September is always busy. Enjoy it while it lasts!