Who fires their manager with only twelve games remaining in the season? Only the 2008 Milwaukee Brewers in the history of baseball. After starting September by losing eleven of fourteen games and falling into a tie for the Wild Card with the Phillies, the Brewers decided to relieve Ned Yost of his managing duties. After managing the Brewers through 150 games to a 83-67 record, the Brewers didn't trust him to lead the team for twelve more games. Once again, Yost managed 150 games! ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY. With so little left in the season, Yost should have gotten the opportunity to motivate his team, finish the season strong, and hopefully take the Wild Card. It will be interesting to see how the players react to the firing. Perhaps Yost was well liked by his players and his firing will motivate the players to go on and make the postseason for their fallen manager. Or the firing will completely demoralize the players and the team will crumble with out their beloved manager. I'm hoping that the team did not have a strong liking for Yost and his sacking will enable the team to finish strong. If the Brewers fail to make the playoffs, the firing of Yost will be questioned for a long time. It will not be easy for the Brew Crew as they play the Cubs six more times. CC steps onto the mound tonight and needs to have the best outing of his short Brewers career. The Brewers have never made the playoffs during my life. End the collective misery of Brewers fans everywhere and finish the job that Ned Yost won't be allowed to do.
That other baseball team I like is still hanging around the AL playoff race but also find themselves in a precarious position. The Twins trail the White Sox by a game and a half having played an extra game. If we give the Sox a win in that extra game, the Twins stand two games back with twelve remaining for both teams. As I've written before, the Twins can't be farther back than two games when the Sox come to town on September 23rd. Therefore we all need to be Yankees and Royals fans this week as the Sox visit both teams. The Sox are ripe for a losing streak. After having games postponed on Friday and Saturday due to rain, the Sox played a doubleheader on Sunday. They immediately had to fly out to New York to play last night and lost. The Yankees are in the midst of their final homestand at Yankee Stadium. They will play their hearts out to close out the stadium on a positive note. They do not have a day game on Thursday so they will not leave New York until late Thursday night, hopefully making them tired for their opener in Kansas City on Friday. The White Sox also have the headache of figuring out when to makeup a game against the Tigers. All of these issues could compound and cause the White Sox to crumble and be ripe for a sweep when they visit the Metrodome. Optimism, it's a wonderful thing. I can delude myself into thinking crazy things.
One of these teams has to make the playoffs. It has been the best baseball season of my life and it would be heartbreaking and bad for my mental health if neither team makes it to October. If you don't want to see me in pain throughout October, you will cheer for the Brewers and Twins. The joyfulness I will feel if both teams make the playoffs will be so powerful that it will radiate out in waves and make all the people within a mile radius happier. Cheering for my teams won't just help me. It will help all mankind.
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