Extra studs and duds

Willie Randolph was fired in the middle of the night. Ned Yost was canned in the middle of a pennant race.

Yost, like Randolph, seems to be taking the brunt of the blame for a late-season collapse. Now Milwaukee’s former manager, Yost gets to watch the team he helped steer into contention chase a wild-card berth from the outside.

It’s a panic move, plain and simple, by an owner that doesn’t really know a whole lot about running a baseball team.

Don’t get me wrong. Yost is far from being one of the game’s premier managers, but he isn’t working with a perfect hand, either. Thanks to Yovani Gallardo’s early-season knee injury, the Brewers’ starting rotation is rather thin after C.C. Sabathia and Ben Sheets — Jeff Suppan, David Bush and Manny Parra are a combined 0-5 with a 6.70 ERA in September.

And now Sheets’ health is in question, too, after he left Wednesday’s game with tightness in his forearm.

Outside of closer Salomon Torres and lefty specialist Brian Shouse, the bullpen is a mess, although Torres blew a huge game against the Cubs on Thursday. Defense is still an issue, and the Brewers are still a young team with a lot of upside — five of their eight regulars are 26 or younger.

Yost gets some credit for being innovative. During the off-season, he asked the Brewers’ statistical-analysis people how he could maximize the offense. Their answer was hit the pitcher eighth, and Yost tried it for a while. And he’s never wavered in his commitment to developing the Brewers’ young talent.

His handling of the pitching staff has sparked some complaints, particularly some questionable moves in the weekend-series sweep at Philadelphia. Yost declined to pitch Sabathia on short rest against its closest competitor in the wild-card race, and he made a questionable bullpen move or two.

Then again, doesn’t every manager?

STUDS

Manny Ramirez, Dodgers: Let’s quell the talk for Manny for MVP ... Albert Pujols is the hands-down MVP in the National League, although Manny has been magnificent for the Dodgers (.400, 14 HR and 44 RBI in 44 games). The biggest question is this ... would he be doing this in Boston, with a secure contract for next year, or is this just a hyper-motivated Manny on another contract drive?

Russell Martin, Dodgers: The NL crop of catchers is an impressive lot ... Martin, Geovany Soto, Yadier Molina, Brian McCann, Chris Iannetta and Ryan Doumit head a young and talented group.

It will be interesting to see what Joe Torre’s long-term plans are for Martin, who like Torre was a good-hitting catcher able to play several positions. Martin has played some third base for the Dodgers this summer, an effort to save some wear and tear on his legs and bat, and that might become a regular staple of his game for the next few years.

Torre, who moved full-time to third at the peak of his career, was in on Todd Zeile’s conversion to third base with the Cardinals, too. Martin’s defense is too good to take him completely away from the plate, but the option might be considered down the road.

DUDS

Drayton McClane, Astros: McClane, the Astros’ owner, did his team no favors with his reaction to Hurricane Ike. McClane insisted that Houston would be able to play its big series with the Cubs at home on Sunday and Monday, then griped when Major League Baseball moved the series to Milwaukee when it became obvious the games couldn’t be played in Houston.

McClane maintained, and rightfully so, that the Cubs had essentially a home-game atmosphere for its two games in Milwaukee, but McClane had only himself to blame. Had he relented earlier, the series could have been moved to a more neutral site, perhaps Atlanta.

So what happened? The Astros hopped on a plane on Monday, landed just hours before game time and were promptly no-hit by Carlos Zambrano and one-hit by Ted Lilly and company.

Nice call, Drayton. And bye-bye to your team.

Carlos Silva, Mariners: This is a long-overdue dud. The Mariners signed Silva to a four-year, $48 million contract in the offseason and have been awarded with horrible results — a 4-15 record with a 6.42 ERA and 209 hits allowed in 150 innings. Even worse, Seattle owes Silva at least $36 million over the next three seasons.

STOCK UP

Elijah Dukes, Nationals: To call Dukes “talented but troubled” and an “attitude problem” is massive understatement, given his history and a couple of run-ins this year with fans and manager Manny Acta, but Dukes has showed that he can be a very productive hitter.

Even while battling a couple of injuries, Dukes is hitting .272-13-44 in less than a half season. Given the Nats’ popgun offense, he could be a fixture in the lineup for years to come — if he stays out of trouble. What are the odds on that? Even at best.

Ryan Howard, Phillies: Howard was a big-time disappointment in the first half, but he’s been MVP-esque since July 1 — .288 with 25 homers and 69 RBI in 69 games. The guy still has some problems with left-handed pitching, despite his recent hot streak, but there aren’t many more feared hitters than Howard when he is in a groove.


STOCK DOWN
Kosuke Fukudome, Cubs: Fukudome was on fire in April and May, but he’s been a drag on the offense for the last four months. Now he’s in danger of losing his job to second baseman Mike Fontenot, with Mark DeRosa shifting to the outfield. At the moment, it looks as if Lou Piniella isn’t sure which way to go in October.

Ivan Rodriguez, Yankees: He’s a free agent at the end of the year, and his aging bat figures to cut into his earning power. This is a big test for the Yankees, who might not be able to but Jorge Posada and his shoulder problems behind the plate next summer.