BOSTON — Atop the Milwaukee Brewers lineup there are three All-Stars — Paul Molitor, Robin Yount and Cecil Cooper — hitting above .300 with 75 combined home runs and nearly 300 RBI.
But who’s the guy that provides one of the biggest hits of the season? Ned Yost.
Ned [Bleeping] Yost.
Here’s a guy with no homers and five runs batted in. Make that one home run and eight RBI as the Crew’s backup catcher saved the team’s bacon with a huge three-run shot in the ninth inning. Yost’s miracle gave the Brewers a 6-3 win.
Ned [Bleeping] Yost?
He’s the Brewers’ version of Bucky [Bleeping] Dent. Yost’s homer isn’t devestating to Red Sox Nation as the Red Sox are already dead, but I can imagine this is what Yankees fans felt when Dent scooted his shot just into the screen above the Monster. Yost’s three-run tater also scooted over the wall, into Brewers lore and into Brewers’ fans hearts.
Ned [Bleeping] Yost!
Combine that with the Orioles’ 3-2 loss in Detroit and the Crew leads the AL East by four with five games to play. The Brewers’ Magic Number is two. So, if the Brewers win and the O’s lose, Brewers fans get what they’ve dreamed of: a pennant.
Holy cow. So damn close you can almost taste the clubhouse Champagne and cigars. (And because they’re the Brewers, beer.) Could that come tonight? After dropping two in a row to the O’s in Milwaukee this past weekend, the Crew has reeled off two straight wins and the Orioles have lost two in a row. It’s almost too good to be true. Is it too good to be true? The Crew is that close to winning its first full-season pennant.
It will only be true, though, if the Brewers win. If they take care of business, they can cruise in Baltimore, rest some starters and look forward to playing the AL West winner. That will be up to the potent Crew offense and Slingin’ Jim Slaton (10-5). Dennis Eckersley (12-13) takes the hill for the Red Sox. Game time is 6:35 p.m. CT.
Ned [Bleeping] Yost. God bless him.