Ned Yost Manages Like Badger Blogger Blogs
That is to say recklessly.
So let me get this straight. You’ve got Ben Sheets. A fine pitcher no doubt, but one who’s thrown 156 2/3, 106 and 141 1/3 innings each of the last three seasons. In other words, he’s not the picture of perfect health. So naturally, you let him throw 123 pitches in a complete game win over the Pirates. Wait, whaaaa?
Do you know how many pitchers have thrown more pitches in a start this season than Sheets did Wednesday night? Exactly three, and one of them was Jon Lester in his no-hitter on Monday night. So you’ve got one of the most fragile aces in baseball and you’re treating him like the second coming of Cy Young?
Suddenly, your precarious position on the managerial hot seat makes a ton of sense.
And OK, let’s give Yost an enormous helping of benefit-of-the-doubt pie (something he doesn’t deserve considering he sent Yovani Gallardo back out to pitch with a torn ACL) and assume that he’s managing this aggressively because he knows his job is on the line. He’s pushing his players because he knows he could be fired at any moment. Is that really who the Brewers want managing their team? A guy with no regard for the short-term or long-term future of the club, but rather a concern for the result of that day’s game. If I had an impressive young core like the Brewers do, the answer would be a resounding no.
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:32 am
Yeah this is a questionable decision, to say the least. There are just some teams out there (Reds, Brewers, Mariners, etc.) whose managers are so bad that they make their teams far worse than their talent would suggest. It really must be frustrating to be a fan of one of these teams…
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:04 pm
The worst part about this move was that there was no logical reason for Sheets to complete the game. They had a 3-run lead and Sheets wasn’t exactly throwing a gem; yes, he only allowed one run but he also allowed 11 hits. The only conceivable reason I can think of is that Yost doesn’t trust his bullpen at all, which is fine except you can’t expect your starters to throw complete games every night (unless you keep making them throw 120+ pitches, health be damned). If you’re afraid to use your ‘pen with a 3-run lead you might as well throw in the towel for the season now.
August 13th, 2008 at 9:48 am
[…] Defensive Indifference blogger Andrew Johnson says Yost made a bad decision allowing Sheets to pitch…. Sheets threw 123 pitches in the game, the fourth most of any pitcher in a game this year. Johnson […]
August 19th, 2008 at 2:31 am
[…] I first complained about the way Ned Yost handled his pitching staff, a couple Brewers bloggers chided me for perhaps […]