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Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Could Yost return to Braves?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Don’t know if you all remember, but I mentioned quite a while back that Ned Yost and family kept their home in Atlanta while he was managing the Brewers, living in an apartment in Milwaukee during the season.
To repeat what I said yesterday after the surprising announcement that the former Braves third-base coach was fired by the Brewers, I think if he’s not hired to manage another team next season, there’s a good chance Yost will be back on Bobby Cox’s staff in 2009.
That’s just a gut feeling, not anything I’ve heard since the firing yesterday, but it’s a pretty strong gut feeling.
When asked in the past about who I thought was heir apparent to Bobby Cox, I always mentioned Terry Pendleton at the top of the list. I think he’s still on it, but I also think former Braves third-base coaches Fredi Gonzalez and Yost have become strong possibilities, too.
Even if Ned gets another managerial offer this winter, you gotta wonder if he might turn it down if he he believes he’s got a good chance to get the Braves job in a year or two, to follow in his mentor Cox’s footsteps in Atlanta.
But hey, that’s getting ahead of ourselves. I’ve given up — or at least I should — predicting when Bobby’s going to step down. And I don’t really know how Frank Wren feels about the possible candidates we list, whether he has an aversion to one or a particular fondness for another. That’ll go a long way in the decision, I’d guess, assuming Wren is still the GM when that time comes.
By the way, don’t you think getting fired must’ve been about the last thing on Yost’s mind just a couple weeks ago? Just consider this: The Brewers won 18 of 23 games from Aug. 5 to Aug. 31, posting a 2.43 ERA and averaging six runs a game in that stretch as they improved their season record to a robust 80-56.
But since then, they are 3-11 with a .207 batting average, 4.68 ERA and three runs or fewer scored in 10 of 14 games. Ouch.
Still, I gotta say this announcement came completely out of the blue, from all I’ve heard. You just don’t hear of teams firing the manager of a contending team with only two weeks left in the season.
Yost appeared on XM Satellite Radio’s MLB Home Plate channel this morning with hosts Buck Martinez and Mark Patrick. Here’s a few of Ned’s quotes from the interview:
— When asked if he had hard feelings toward Brewers’ general manager Doug Melvin:
“Do I agree with Doug’s decision? No, I don’t agree with his decision. But do I respect it? Yes, I respect it. That what I’ve always asked my players to do: ‘Look, you may not agree with what I decide here or what I’m telling you, but I do ask that you respect the decision,’ and my players always did.
“That’s my philosophy. I can’t tell someone to do something and turn around and do another thing. I think the world of Doug Melvin. I think he’s one of the top three general managers in the game. If he thinks that a change was needed, I don’t necessarily need to agree with it, but I will respect his decision.”
— When asked if he was caught off guard by the firing:
“Yeah, a little bit. We were in Chicago and we got in late from Philadelphia the night before, and Doug called and asked if we could have a meeting, and I just thought it was one of our regular meetings that we have from time to time. When I got in there, I saw Mark Attanasio, our owner, and I knew that this would probably be a bit of a different meeting then we’d ever had before, and it ended up to be the case.”
— On what’s up next for him and his career plans:
“Right now, I’m packing up my apartment and moving a little slowly doing that. Just trying to find my way to get home back to Atlanta. You know, I’m just going to sit back and root for the Brewers for the next 12 games. When this is all said and done, we’ll see what happens, and go from there”
— And finally, when asked if he was too loyal to his players:
“I don’t know if it’s a bad trait. I understand that these guys are players, and as long as they’re playing hard and playing with some heart and some intensity, they’ll find a way — they’re good players — to work their way out of it, especially really talented players and guys that have done it before would find a way to work their way out of it.
“A lot of times, fans would get upset with that because I’d be playing a slumping player when I had other options. I just felt real strongly about a player that had a gamer’s heart. I wanted him on that field.”
Streaking trios: The Braves have three of the NL’s highest batting averages in the past 10 days: 2. Chipper Jones (.481), 7. Kelly Johnson (.400) and 9. Brian McCann (.385).
Milwaukee has three of the “coldest” five NL hitters in that period: Corey Hart (league-low .069, 2-for-29), Ryan Braun (.091, 3-for-33), Jason Kendall (.107, 3-for-28). That’s one way to help get a manager fired.
Hard to believe: Greg Norton’s is tied for the Braves’ homer lead since the All-Star break with five. Folks, Norton has only 55 at-bats since the break, and five other Braves have at least 155, including Jeff Francoeur (two homers in team-high 195 at-bats since break), Yunel Escobar (four homers in 181 at-bats since break) and Brian McCann (five homers in 158 at-bats since break).
Coen Brothers do it again: Mentioned last night that we saw the fine new Coen Brothers movie, Burn After Reading, and that while I didn’t think it cracked the top five of their incredibly rich and varied filmography, it certainly was close and a worthy addition to the catalog. It’s hilarious, at times in a deliciously dark way, as the Coens do so uniquely and consistently well.
Anyway, after careful consideration, here’s my Top 10 films of the Coen Brothers, though it’s really too difficult to rank them because some (most) of them are just so different. If you’re a big fan of theirs, please let us know if you agree or how you’d rank their movies, be it a top five, eight, 10, whatever.
No. 1 The Big Lebowski, 2. No Country For Old Men, 3. Raising Arizona, 4. Fargo, 5. Blood Simple, 6. Miller’s Crossing, 7. Barton Fink 8. O Brother, Where Art Thou, 9. Burn After Reading, 10. The Man Who Wasn’t There.
Other diversions: More interesting CDs released today, including the first full-length from local dudes Dead Confederate, Wrecking Ball, and a solo disc from Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham that’s getting rave reviews, and a new one from re-formed Brit rock band James.
If the Dead Confederate album is as good as the outstanding EP of theirs that I bought a year or so ago, then it’s a must-purchase. These young guys really are on the cusp of blowing up nationally. Gotta be. They’re an outstanding rock band, with a lot of grungy Neil Young influence. By the way, they’re having CD release shows Friday at the 40 Watt in Athens and Saturday at the EARL in East Atlanta.
“SIDE OF THE ROAD” by Lucinda Williams
You wait in the car on the side of the road
Lemme go and stand awhile, I wanna know you’re there but I wanna be alone
If only for a minute or two
I wanna see what it feels like to be without you
I wanna know the touch of my own skin
Against the sun, against the wind
I walked out in a field, the grass was high, it brushed against my legs
I just stood and looked out at the open space and a farmhouse out a ways
And I wondered about the people who lived in it
And I wondered if they were happy and content
Were there children and a man and a wife?
Did she love him and take her hair down at night?
If I stray away too far from you, don’t go and try to find me
It doesn’t mean I don’t love you, it doesn’t mean I won’t come back and stay beside you
It only means I need a little time
To follow that unbroken line
To a place where the wild things grow
To a place where I used to always go
La la la, la la la, la la la, la la la
La la la la, la la la, la la la, la la la
If only for a minute or two
I wanna see what it feels like to be without you
I wanna know the touch of my own skin
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