The firing of Ned Yost was more of a panic attack than anything else. The Brewers failed down the stretch in 2007 and the same was already on its way this season. But Yost gets the team into September with a chance to go to the playoffs and he's axed? Or was it simply that Brewers management was afraid to face the questions when and if the Brewers missed the playoffs without making a change? That seems more likely.
We all saw the Brewers-Cubs game last night. This isn't about Ned Yost. This is about a poor bullpen. This isn't about Dale Sveum. This is about lacking the ability to execute with a game to be had. The Brewers simply don't look like a playoff team. When you have Kerry Wood on the ropes and a chance to take the game, runners on second and third and nobody out, you can't come away from that inning empty. When you have a four run lead and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning on the road, you can't kick balls around and allow fast balls to seep over the heart of the plate.
The Brewers are a 1.5 games behind the Mets for the wild card, but that lead surely feels much more than that. Teams need to be surging heading into late September, not sliding. With the Cubs win and Brewers loss, Chicago reduced it's magic number to clinch the NL Central to 2. I guess everything is OK in Wrigleyville now. At least until the playoffs begin. Remember, it was only a week or so ago when the entire city was just waiting for "the curse" to come in and snatch the playoffs away from the Cubbies. Zambrano had a sore shoulder. Harden needed some rest. Everything continued to pile up and the papers began to speculate. That's what happens in a city with such passion and fervor for baseball. It's a blessing and a curse to play in an environment like that.
* The NL East race has become all the more compelling given the Brewers struggles as New York sits a 1/2 game back of the Phillies. A month ago, there was absolutely no scenario in which I could envision both the Mets and the Phillies making the playoffs. The Cubs were in. The Brewers were in. That left only the division there for the taking. But, wow, how things can change. The final nine days of the season are going to be thrillers for the East Coast, and it will be interesting to see how these teams come out and play knowing that they have a shot to win the wild card if they fail to win that division. How will that affect there play, if it does at all?
On top of that, what is the feeling in New York going to be like if the Mets don't win the NL East, but instead take the wild card? I have a feeling that it won't really be a sense of accomplishment and celebration as much as it will be a feeling of failure. The wild card will almost be a backhanded compliment to the Mets, given the way the media will label it as a failure to hang on to a division lead more than the achievement of playoff birth. What the Mets need to realize if that happens is that the Brewers, Marlins, Diamondbacks, Cardinals, among others, would love to take that backhanded compliment. It will be interesting to see these story lines play out.
* This whole week feels like one big memorial service for Yankee Stadium as the final game will be played there Sunday evening against the Baltimore Orioles. It will certainly be eerie to watch that final inning and see the final out be made and watch the fans stick around and the players walk around the field one last time, and all of that. But this was also the week of records for The Stadium, and it is kind of fitting that it will be sent off with a couple last historic feats, as it has been the home of so many memorable October evenings.
Earlier this week, Derek Jeter eclipsed Lou Gehrig's record of most hits in Yankee Stadium. Just reading that sentence is a bit chilling. We are entering the stage of Jeter's career where his name is going to be popping up on all kinds of lists and records and this is the time where we can begin to realize all of the things he has accomplished. When your name stands ahead of Gehrig, Ruth, Mantle, Dimaggio, et al, you've done something.
Alex Rodriguez accomplished a feat in his own right on Wednesday evening by belting his 35th home run of the season. With the homer, Rodriguez passed Babe Ruth and became the first player in MLB history to hit 35 home runs and drive in 100 runs in 12 separate seasons. That is unbelievable considering the good years that Rodriguez seemingly has left in his career. He keeps himself in such great shape and is such a superior athlete that it is not unthinkable for him to put up those types of numbers for another five or six years. Say what you want about A-Rod, but he will be the best player to ever play when his career is closed in Cooperstown.
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