Wishing for the Return of Ned Yost is Ridiculous

Oct 5, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost (3) before game three of the 2014 ALDS baseball playoff game against the Los Angeles Angels at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals won 8-3 advancing to the ALCS against the Baltimore Orioles. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

There was a resounding cry from the Twitter echo chamber tonight as the Royals wrapped up their sweep of the Orioles that the Brewers should never have fired Ned Yost.

Seriously?

The narrative that former Milwaukee Brewers are powering the Royals into the World Series is old and tired. Ned Yost is a fine enough manager (I don’t really believe that), but he has most of the same faults that Ron Roenicke does (and then some).

He’s a slave to bullpen roles rather than matchups, he makes bone headed decisions on the base paths in the name of being “aggressive,” and he gives away too many outs by bunting.

Royals Review over at SB Nation wrote this on September 15th of this very season:

"I don’t usually write the harsh or critical articles. Not because I don’t have negative thoughts or think the Royals organization is all candy and rainbows, but I like focusing more on the statistical side of things when I’m building a narrative or speaking of a subject matter. If that data leads to a negative point of view or narrative then I’ll let the data speak for itself. This will be a data-less article and a narrative, a negative one certainly, is already in place.…Simply put, Ned Yost needs to be fired."

David Hill at Fansided’s own Kings of Kauffman wrote in “The Continued Inability of Ned Yost to Adjust his Thoughts”:

"Speaking of relievers, Ned Yost is not exactly the king of bullpen management either. Herrera, Davis and Holland make the last three innings easy enough where even the Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz can manage the bullpen, but anything beyond that seems troublesome for Yost. All to often, he brings in a reliever, and if that reliever is unable to get anyone out, does not have a backup plan. Aside from when Yost comes out to the mound after the sixth, it seems like one needs to take a leap of faith to hope that his moves will work."

There have been a lot more column inches discussing the failings of Ned Yost. The Royals winning in the post season doesn’t change the narrative that Ned Yost can’t manage his bullpen or go more than a few days without running a ridiculous lineup on the field.

I get that we’re all happy to see Nori Aoki, Alcides Escobar, Lorenzo Cain and even Yost in the World Series. But despite the pain of how the Brewers season ended your emotions won’t will Ned Yost to fix it.