The Journal Times Online - Racine, Wisconsin

BY GERY WOELFEL

On Tuesday, Brewers manager Mark Attanasio cleared the air on the status of Brewers manager Ned Yost.

Attanasio said Yost would return next season, adding, “Ned is safe.’’

I wonder if Attanasio would have responded in such a decisively swift manner after Wednesday night’s game, though? That’s when the Brewers’ hopes of winning the NL Central Division faded into oblivion – with no help from Yost.

After all, it was Yost who brought in reliever Seth McClung in the eighth inning with the Brewers trailing by one run. McClung immediately proceeded to plunk Cardinals star Albert Pujols, thus opening the flood gates for a four-run inning.

Yost denied he instructed McClung to hit Pujols, and McClung denied he intentionally threw at him. Yet, that wasn’t the perception of most people who observed the game.

To virtually everyone else who was at Miller Park or watched the game on TV, McClung’s pitch was a retaliatory one. It came in response to Cardinals pitcher Brad Thompson beaning Brewers star Prince Fielder in the second inning.

The eighth-inning incident was the latest in a lengthy list of questionable incidents involving Yost, who has been getting lambasted almost all season on talk radio. And, yes, I have questioned some of Yost’s decisions as well, most notably his insistence on constantly changing the batting order.

But while I still harbor some reservations about Yost’s managerial skills, he has one quality – one critically important quality – that has unquestionably served the Brewers well this season. And that’s his intense competitiveness.

Yost is a no-nonsense manager who takes his craft seriously. He doesn’t play games. When he’s at the ballpark, he’s all business. And that type of leadership has had a positive, trickle-down effect on his players.

Several times this season the Brewers have been knocked to the canvas but quickly bounced back on their feet. Just this month, there were three occasions where the Brewers faced some serious adversity and overcame it.

On Sept. 7, the Brewers were smoked 11-4 by the Reds. The next day, the Brewers countered with a 4-3 victory. On Sept. 10, the Brewers were blasted by the Pirates 9-0. The next day, they responded with a 6-1 victory.

And last weekend in Atlanta, the Brewers suffered stinging, back-to-back losses to the Braves. Considering how young this Brewers team is – their entire starting infield alone is 25 or younger – it looked like they were going into the tank for the rest of the season.

But they didn’t. The Brewers showed their resiliency yet again, winning back-to-back games against the Cardinals. And while their odds of winning the division are about as good as Yost and Tony La Russa getting together for dinner, the fact of the matter is the Brewers are still battling.

That shouldn't be surprising, though. Most teams are a reflection of their manager, and the Brewers definitely reflect Yost's competitive spirit. And that's a good thing.