Editor’s Note: I like to think I’m a pretty level-headed guy when it comes to the Brewers. I’ll get a little grumpy after a tough loss, but I can usually put it behind me after a few minutes. It’s a long season and you can’t live and die with every game. Even when the Brewers started stringing together losses after the calendar flipped to September, I kept telling friends and co-workers that the team still had a nice lead and it wasn’t time to panic. However, as the cushion continued to shrink, the losses mounted and the Brewers looked nothing like a playoff contender, worry started to creep in. After two crushing losses to the Reds this week, I felt for the first time since the Brewers took a nice lead in the Wild Card race last month that there was a real chance this team could blow it down the stretch. I was on the verge of slamming that panic button myself. So, what better way to calm myself than to shoot an e-mail tirade to a player that is as familiar with what’s going on in Milwaukee right now as anyone who’s not sporting a Brewers uni on game days?
And Jeff Cirillo came through with some thoughtful responses.
Me: It seems like every time this team plays meaningful games, especially late in the season, they go into a full collapse. Now the Brewers are losing in every way possible at a time when they absolutely need to win. Why do they have these struggles? Is this team mentally weak? Is this just a case of a team full of young players going through growing pains? How long is that excuse viable?
‘Rillo: You have to remember that every team in the majors will win 60 and lose 60. The other 42 seperates the teams. The Brewers have done a great job of beating up the teams they have to beat up. The Dodgers got swept two weeks ago in Washington, the worst team in the Majors. Yes, they have had their struggles, but what about the ride they were on from late May, when they were under .500, to August 31? When you look at a season you cannot judge your team on one series, week or even month. Two teams come to mind when I think of this: The (2005) Houston Astros, who were 10 games under .500 in late May, World Series. The (2007) Colorado Rockies, under .500 late August, World Series. Every team is beat up, tired and looking forward to the season being over.
The players are not young when it comes to Major League Baseball years of service. What happens is teams find ways to lose instead of playing to win. It is hard to put into words, it is more of a feel for the attitude of the team at that time. When they played that series in St Louis, you could see the swagger of a ballclulb that expected to win. Unfortunately, that gate can swing the other way. You get caught on your heals and instead of playing your game, you play not to lose. In the big leagues the seperation in talent is pretty equal. It is this mental swagger that seperates that last 42 games. Today was a must win. They showed great competitiveness today in coming back in CC’s game. You lose today with CC, it shows a vulnerability even when the best pitcher in baseball gets beat. Now you roll into the next stop, realize that this is a playoff series against Philadelphia. I can’t think of a bigger series the Brewers have played in the last 15 years, since ‘93.
I’ve defended Yost for the entire time he’s been here. I think he has weaknesses (managing a bullpen, dealing with the media, being very stubborn with struggling players, etc.), but I also believe he’s a player’s manager that helps keep the clubhouse tight and does everything he can to put a winning team on the field. That said, it’s beginning to seem like he just has no answers when his team is in a stretch like this. I believe one of the main jobs of a manager is to make sure his team stays out of funks like this (especially late in the season) and if they do begin to struggle, the manager should make sure the team gets out of it, and fast. Do you think part of these struggles can be put on Yost? If so, what could he do differently?
Ned Yost, if you look at the stats compared to their rankings in hitting, fielding and pitching. The team should be about 10 games over .500 so if a manager w/l record is a plus/minus 5. The Brewers are probably 10 games over what their record should be. It is an objective formula, but the manager is not a magician. Ned always protects his players, whether he wants to or not! That type of loyalty goes over well in a clubhouse. Players have tons of pressures to perform on a nightly basis and there is enough arm chair managers that are very quick to doll out criticism to the players. It is a nice luxury to have when you know the manager doesn’t show you up on the field or throw you under the bus in the media.
Players like Bill Hall and Eric Gagne, who have struggled all season, remain in prominent roles on the team despite the fact that there are other players on the roster that could certainly contribute as much, if not significantly more, if given the chance. I understand having loyalty to players that have been grinding all year and have made sacrifices for the team in the past, but this team is in the heat of a playoff chase and it’s all about winning now. Shouldn’t Yost be plugging holes in the line-up instead of allowing the team to continue to sink?
You play manager! The Brewers play in Philly this next series. Go to Fox Sports or another Web page. Go to batter vs. pitcher and left/right splits. The lineup you come up with will probably not waver much from what Ned’s lineup would be. We also don’t have the information from the trainers. Cameron’s knee, Durham’s shoulder, Weeks’ wrist. They have team meetings and for the most part they are for a fire-up type approach. I am sure they probably had one last night, usually they are planned around who is pitching that night’s starter, i.e. CC. You can only have so many meetings though, because they lose their affect.
P.S. I just heard on a show, Lou Pinella said, “We are playing not to get beat.” Sound familiar?
Gagne had a horrible first month of the season. For a reliever, who is a one-inning guy, it takes a long time to get your ERA down. You have to judge him on when he came back from the DL and make your decision. He throws strikes and can strike people out. That is what you need late in the ballgame. Unfortunately, when his strikes get hit, they are leaving the ballpark.
Billy Hall has a great energy about him. Every day he comes with a great attitude, works hard and plays all out. His struggles come from power right-handed pitchers, who run the ball under his hands or elevate the ball with above-average fastballs. Keep in mind, the Brewers hitters are all very streaky. But, when two or three are streaking (hot), they can carry your team. During the season, Braun, Fielder, Hart, Cameron and especially Hardy have carried this team on their backs.
Yost is very loyal to his players and defends them to the media even when they are clearly not getting the job done. He says things like ‘He’s throwing well. They just hit a good pitch’ or ‘We just ran into a good pitcher today.’ On one hand, I think that’s admirable, but on the other, I think the manager should hold these guys accountable for not getting it done. Maybe he does that behind closed doors, but I think the perception that he pats his players on the back and tells them they’re great even when they are playing horribly is part of the reason a lot of fans have soured on Yost. I don’t think it takes the criticism off of the player. It just makes Yost look foolish. Why does he continue to do this? And do players appreciate it?
Look back to 1.
Publically, the players back Yost all of the time, which is understandable, but this year and at times last year it has seemed like there are some tensions. There have also been rumors that some players will not talk about extensions while Yost is manager. (Editor’s Note: The “rumors” are very much hearsay and from no sources that I would even consider close to reliable. It’s just a “guy at the bar” kind of rumor. So, I wouldn’t put much faith in it, but it makes for interesting fan conversation). Is Yost well liked in the locker room? Why or why not?
Players, if they are paid according to the other players in the league, will sign long-term deals. Agents have all the comparisons to the other players in the league and what they are paid. Ryan Howard won his arbitration and got $10 million in his first year of arbitration. Some agents want their players to go year to year. Guys like Hardy, Fielder and Hart, if they go year to year, will be free agents at 27, 27 and 28, I think. For general managers in baseball they know that those years are the prime years for great players.
A week ago, you felt very good about the Brewers chances of making the playoffs and about how they’d play once they got there. Do you still think this team will make some noise in October? What can you tell us fans to make us feel better?
Fans are panicking right now, but what would be the feeling if the Brewers had won every game on their homestand to get to within 3 1/2 games of the Wild Card? Who is in a better position? The Cardinals and a beat-up starting rotation? The Astros with a questionable rotation, offense?
The thing I get pissed at is the national attention the Brewers don’t get! The Brewers have lost seven of 10, but all you hear about is the Rays, Red Sox, Toronto and the Cubs. I think that is a joke. The Brewers have all the ingredients to get to the World Series and hopefully their snag is right now instead of going into the final week.
Playoffs, First Round: CC, Sheets for four of the five games. Is there another team in baseball that can match that twosome? The only snag for the Brewers would be if teams pitched tons of righties against them, but the Mets’ and Phillies’ top pitchers are lefties and Perez and Moyer are also lefties. So, these next four games should be very fun to watch. Have fun watching and realize that these are all playoff games…
Between Jeff’s responses, a nice come-from-behind victory for the Crew this afternoon and a Phillies’ loss today, I feel a little more at peace going into this big Phillies series. How about everyone else?