Brewing up pure fiction

Ken Rosenthal says the Brewers' move to fire Ned Yost got them into the postseson. He says it was a "bold" move. Seriously? That's weak.

Last I checked, Milwaukee went just 7-5 over the last 12 games managed by interim manager Dale Sveum. The Brewers beat lowly Cincinnati once and pathetic Pittsburgh three times. They took two of three from the Cubs over the final weekend to clinch the Wild Card, but Chicago was preoccupied with setting its postseason pitching staff and resting its every day players as often as possible. The Cubs threw an all-staffer on Sunday and almost beat Brewers ace CC Sabathia.

The firing of Yost was a desperate move. It was the pushing of the proverbial "panic button." That it worked out is far less a bold stroke of genius and much more a shaky step turned miracle by an inept organization. Milwaukee hasn't been to the postseason since 1982, but buoyed by a midseason trade for Sabathia, whom Rosenthal says is destined (along with Ben Sheets) to seek a new home in the offseason, they somehow weathered another free-fall in September.

Milwaukee is made up of underachieving players like Rickie Weeks, Bill Hall, Mike Cameron and Eric Gagne. The bullpen almost has enough spare parts to build a clunker. Forget a postseason force; after Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, an occasionally helpful Corey Hart, Sabathia and Sheets, Milwaukee is a mess. The Brewers stumbled into the postseason only because the Mets stumbled more.

The one bold move we'll see from the Brew Crew the rest of the way is that they'll actually show up for their Philadelphia farewell. Milwaukee is the top candidate to be swept in the divisional series. Their 10-16 record in September should shake even die-hard Brewers fans enough to see the tunnel through Rosenthal's red herring of a light. The firing of Yost was shock therapy? Please. The Brewers proved nothing other than they can beat the league's worst.

You knew it was coming

How long will were hear this story during the MLB postseason? If there's any time that the history of seasons past matters less, it is right now. We just witnessed 162 games of baseball, giving us a recent history of one full season to determine which are the best four teams in each league. We don't need to know that the Cubs haven't won in 100 years, that the Brewers haven't been here since 1982, that the Phillies are the losing team you'll ever know, or that the Dodgers haven't done a thing since 1988.

The reason they're all here is they're better than everyone else right now (although Milwaukee's merits are debatable). Save the loser stories until each one is about to get eliminated or finally win.

Deal with it

What does a deal really mean? Well, CC Sabathia certainly worked out for the Brewers. Sabathia kept Milwaukee in the pennant race with a 10-2 record in the second half and then won his 11th game against the Cubs on the final day of the regular season, helping the Brewers clinch the National League Wild Card.

Tomorrow, the White Sox send Gavin Floyd to the hill in a makeup game with Detroit where they'll face the guy they traded for Floyd, Freddy Garcia. The Garcia for Floyd deal originally sent Garcia to Philadelphia less than two years ago, but he was scooped up from the free agent scrap heap late in the year by the Tigers. Floyd is certainly the better pitcher at this point of the two players' careers, but all that matters is the one game tomorrow. If the White Sox beat the Tigers at U.S. Cellular Field, they get Minnesota in Chicago one day later for a one-off division title playoff.

Beckett bumped to game three

Josh Beckett will be pushed back to game three of the ALDS with an oblique strain. Jon Lester gets to start game one, and that might play right into Anaheim's righty-heavy lineup.

Angeles ALDS roster

Here's the Angels' division series roster. They took rookie relielver Kevin Jepsen over Justin Speier, which many expected.

Fox wants Cubs-Sox fall classic

Fox wants an all-Chicago World Series? No. They just want lovable losers.

Angels = God's number

Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune says the Angels are the seventh best team in baseball. Last I checked, the Angels are the only team that won 100 games. I understand they're in arguably the weakest division in baseball, but they're not worse than the Brewers, Phillies or the Dodgers.