Yost Is Toast; No More Action for Jackson ... (and for a time, Arenas)

I meant to post this the other day, but didn't have time. Sorry about the lack of posts. Sometimes actual work derails me and it's tough to get something coherent posted up here. I'll do better this weekend.

Biggest headline of the week thus far is the firing of Milwaukee Brewers Manager Ned Yost ... while his team was tied for the NL wild card lead. For those scoring at home, that makes it FireNedYost.com: 1 - Ned Yost: 0.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it's the latest any manager has been fired in a season and the first time he's actually been in position to make the postseason when it happened.

The Brewers had been struggling lately and watching their once-comfortable lead for the Wild Card disappear. Brewers brass clearly thought something needed to be done and this was their solution. The immediate reaction is definitely, "wow!" and that it's illogical given that they were on track to make the postseason when the axe dropped. But think about it this way: Say Yost, a prickly clubhouse personality, really had lost the team. Consider also that his moves are often questionable: Such as bringing in a left-handed pitching specialist from the bullpen to then intentionally walk the left-handed hitting Ryan Howard and pitch to the right-handed Pat Burrell in Milwaukee's recent series against Philadelphia.

If the team is struggling, a manager isn't particularly popular with the players and his coaching decisions are suspect, why keep him around? How much does that continuity actually help you if your team keeps losing? It didn't work for the Mets in 2007. They kept Willie Randolph, their collapse continued and they missed the playoffs, only to cut Willie early in 2008. When they get rid of him, they get a huge bounce and start playing like contenders again. So the question really becomes, "Why wait?"

Tough break for Yost, but perhaps not as strange a move as we all first thought.

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At the start of the football season I noted that while the Vikings (and several pundits) thought they could win the NFC North this season and even compete for a Super Bowl, QB Tarvaris Jackson didn't have me convinced he could lead the offense.

Apparently I'm not the only one. Vikes' boss Brad Childress benched the QB yesterday in favor of the partially fossilized Gus Frerotte, thereby maintaining the continuity of superfluous r's under center.

While I always like to jab older QBs a little bit, it's the right move. The Vikings want to win now and Jackson is clearly not ready. I can't believe no one saw this from his work last season. How could they not have addressed this in the offseason? Or were they actually planning their season around having Brett Favre at QB? Hmm.

ESPN blogger Kevin Seifert thinks this benching jeopardizes Childress's reputation as a molder of quarterbacks. I think that assumes the decision was his in the first place. The guys at the top of the organization cannot be happy about dumping a ton of money into the team this offseason only to watch the team lose its first two games.

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In news that's about as shocking as finding gambling in a casino, Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas will miss time due to his knee injury. This after signing his $111 million contract in July.

For the record, I like Gilbert. How can you not as a writer? The guy is a character. He even has his own blog. And when he's healthy, he's a heck of a basketball player. But he's been a continual injury risk and now the team locked him in for over $100 mill. Does no one learn the lessons of Allan Houston? I hope things turn out alright for Gilbert, because he's much more fun on the court than off, but I'm still raising my eyebrows at the signing. With the NBA organized in such a way that the smallest roster gaffe can cost you a decade — see: Knicks, New York — this news could be what dooms the Wiz.