There was a no-hitter thrown in Miller Park Sunday night, but the Milwaukee Brewers were nowhere to be seen. They were busy in Philadelphia blowing there NL Wild Card lead that looked safe when the month of September began. The Cubs are usually subjected to the 'Completely Useless By September' acronym, but I think the name better fits the Brewers under Ned Yost.
Milwaukee had a 5 1/2 game lead in the NL Wild Card race and were still in the NL Central picture as well with the Cubs facing some starting pitching fatigue. The 26-year playoff draught appeared safe. Then, while the Cubs were going through their own trouble to start baseball's final month, the Brewers looked at the open door and ran the other way.
3-11 so far this month, lowlighted by this four-game sweep in Philadelphia where the Brewers were outscored 26-10. The Brew Crew is too good for this to be happening. You can point to a shaky bullpen or perhaps Ryan Braun's .192 batting average this month with just two RBI's, but in the end it comes down to manager Ned Yost being on the wrong side of every decision.
The team's mindset just doesn't seem right and that comes from the man in charge. Just listen to Braun after last night's loss:
“They’re probably drinking champagne and having a beer shower right now in our locker room while we sulk about what happened here,” Braun said. “It’s ironic, where we’re at as a team and how we feel at the end of this series and see them celebrating a no-hitter on our field.
“The way things are going, it doesn’t surprise me. It’s almost fitting.”
"[Myers] threw the ball well but I don’t think it matters who throws against us now,” Braun said. “We’re struggling in batting practice.”
Yost has 12 games left in his managing career, six against the rival Cubs. If a playoff berth doesn't come by the end of the month, GM Doug Melvin has a very easy decision to make.
Phillies sweep Brewers to pull even in wild card [JSOnline]
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