One thing that concerns me about Yost is his propensity to support players through their failings (whether he affected their situations/matchups or not). I understand players want a manager who won't go all LaRussa on them, but this team is getting to the point where they need to stop being coddled and told, 'Well, you tried your best.' I'm not suggesting benching players for not executing, but I'd like to see an attitude shift away from, 'He gave it his all, and we appreciate that even though he didn't come through,' to, '[Player] busted his butt, but the bottom line is we have to [execute in specific situation].' A strong example is the amount of strikeouts (especially swinging) this team has compiled throughout the 2007 campaign. Lip service was paid to reducing K's from our offense this offseason, but the approaches at the plate have not seemed to change. Now, is this on the players, manager, hitting coach? Probably a combination of all three. The mentality of the team starts from the top, though, and there has been no change in approach. We're currently on pace to have 6 regulars finish with over 100 K's this season, and only 2 of those (Fielder & Weeks) have drawn enough BBs to justify their high K rate. I understand that the players are ultimately responsible for altering their approaches, but whatever message the coaching staff has been sending is either not resonating, or supporting the way our guys go out & hack away. Fielder & Weeks drastically turned around their BB/K ratios after the ASB, and Hardy cut way down on his K's, but also saw BBs drop (and his BB/K ratio decrease overall). OBP has been a huge weakness for this team, and I'd be shocked if Skaalen is retained in 2008. To be more specific, it's not even just the high K totals that concern me, but rather the lack of BBs. As of today, the Crew's ranks are : OBP - 11th NL (22d ML) K - 10th (20th) BB - 15th (26th) Thankfully the team's SLG is about as good as it gets in MLB, but it's hard to imagine how some more plate discipline couldn't help the Brewers going forward.