Milwaukee Brewers skipper Ned Yost may have one of the most difficult jobs in baseball. A first-year manager, he's working under a new team president and general manager. He's inherited players with contracts the new management team would have never signed.
In one respect, the Brewers are treading water until 2005, when the team's much-hyped minor leaguers are expected in Milwaukee. Yet he is also expected to deliver a team now that is better than last year's franchise worst squad, which lost a miserable 106 games.
Let's face it, the 2003 Brewers aren't a good team. But their scrappy attitude has been apparent to all, especially during their recent 10-game winning streak. That's mostly because of Yost's optimistic attitude, a trait he learned working for the Atlanta Braves. We caught up with Ned before a game recently to talk about the team's future, his past and what it's like to be in Milwaukee 20 years after playing for the Brewers during their best of times.
OMC: You're almost done with your first season in Milwaukee, and you're still as optimistic and hopeful as you sounded last winter. How do you stay so positive?
NY: It's the same approach I tell my players to have. Once you're done with today, then you put today behind you and focus on tomorrow. That's what we try to do. We work hard to stay positive and learn from our mistakes.
OMC: On paper, the Brewers this year are a little better than they were last year, and they will not lose 106 games again. But are we looking at a much better team in 2003?
NY: I think so. I think that we had some issues that we wanted to address when we came in with discipline and focus. I think we've done that. For the most part, we've battled real hard all year long and played the game better. We wanted to improve our defense. We've got three rookies in our starting rotation right now, and we're teaching them how to be successful in the National League. We wanted to improve our pitch selection at the plate and cut down on strikeouts. I think we've done that. I think are a lot of good things that are happening right now, even though our record doesn't reflect it. The only thing that's a negative is our record. But I think that we're definitely headed in the right direction.
OMC: Ulice Payne told me that it was hard for him to make his mark on the team this year because he was still assembling his people. He said the team will be better next year, but especially in 2005. Do you agree?
NY: I think so. In the course of Major League baseball economics now, it's so difficult to compete as a mid-market team. When your pay ranks in the mid-40's and you're playing against teams like Atlanta that has a $100 million payroll, you have to develop your own talent. We're in the process of doing that. We've got a lot of good kids in the minor league levels that are probably a year and a half away. We are trying to hold down the fort, so to speak, until they get here, and we can infuse them into our system. We'll add a free agent here and there to become competitive. You want to clean up your house here, so when they get here, everything is in place.
OMC: Did trading Alex Sanchez and releasing Jeffrey Hammonds make a statement to your players?
NY: I think it made more of a statement to the fans than the players. We're going to have guys that want to be here, that want to play hard and play the game right with good work ethics. If you're not gonna work hard, you're not gonna get better, and we don't want you here. That didn't pertain to Jeffrey Hammonds, because he worked his tail off. But it was a situation where we had guys producing more than he was. The bottom line is the production on the field.
OMC: Fans like me have followed the Brewers since we were kids, since you were playing. We've seen a lot of managers come and go, but baseball people and fans seem to like you. What is it about you that fans can identify with?
NY: I don't know what it is. I think I know how hard it is to play the game. I think the biggest asset for me and my baseball career was coaching for Bobby Cox for 12 years. Bobby showed me how to handle players, how to handle people and how to instill confidence and maintain it. That's my job, to take the 25 players I'm given and make them better, instead of whining and moaning about what I don't have. I just try to work hard, and Bobby always said that it's just as easy to treat someone nice as it is to treat them like a jerk. I believe in that philosophy. If you treat people with respect, they will respect you back.
OMC: You were a Brewer from 1980-'83. So you lived in Milwaukee then, but what's like coming back? How is the city different?
NY: It's the same. When I was here, I had wonderful memories about what the fans and the city was like. It's exactly the same. The fans are still fantastic, because they're fans like you. They grew up Brewers fans. In Atlanta, it was a real transit town, and fans didn't have any life-long affiliation with the Braves. These fans appreciate the Milwaukee Brewers and root for them hard. They're passionate, and I appreciate that. That was the one thing I enjoyed most: their knowledge. And the city, itself, is just phenomenal. I just love the city. We live in Heartland, and I love it, and I love Milwaukee. I love the restaurants and Summerfest and Festa Italiana and Polish Fest and State Fair. I love the lake, I love the weather.
OMC: What's your favorite restaurant in Milwaukee?
NY: During the baseball season, we don't get out much. But we love Mo's Steakhouse. When we a get a chance, we'll go there. There's two or three other little places I really like.
OMC: You're not from Milwaukee, but I'm sure you've been reunited with people from your past, like Bob Uecker, Billy Castro and Cecil Cooper. What's it like to come back to a place where you're so familiar? Was it easier to come to Milwaukee than to come to another city?
NY: Oh yeah. I was born in California, but I lived in Atlanta, Jackson, Miss., and South Carolina. In my heart, I'm always a native Californian. You kind of get that sense and feel with the first team that you come up with in the big leagues. It becomes your local team. I came up at a wonderful time in Milwaukee. All those years in Atlanta, I still felt like I was a Milwaukee Brewer. It was very natural and easy to come back here.
OMC: Do you run into guys like Gorman Thomas frequently?
NY: Yeah, and Jimmy Gantner is here every day. They're just real good friends of mine. It's fun to see them. We see Johnny Logan every day. A lot of our guys are still in this organization.
OMC: I read that your wife once had a dream that you would someday coach the Brewers.
NY: Yeah, she knew it. She told me the first time that I managed in the minor leagues in the mid '80s that I would come back, and my first major league managing job would be here.
OMC: You just turned 49. Is that what you anticipated doing at this point in your life?
NY: As a player, I never really thought about it until I went into coaching. I never knew if I'd get the opportunity (to manage a big league team) but it was something that I always wanted to do. The last couple of years I could feel myself getting closer.
OMC: One more question, Ned. Why should fans be excited to watch the Brewers right now?
NY: I think they can see our change in attitude and direction led by Ulice Payne and Doug Melvin. I think they can come out here and see an entertaining game. They're not gonna see the Brewers just play sloppy baseball. Our home record isn't great right now, but if you break it down, I guarantee you that the number of well-played games that were entertaining and were nip and tuck, is way above games that weren't. As far as your entertainment value at the park, you're gonna see a lot of good stuff. You can't beat this place. It's a phenomenal facility, and it's a great way to spend an evening.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
