So it's been hard to come up with something to say for the last few weeks.

It seems like a lot more, but it was only 16 days ago that I wrote this and apparently tempted fate.

Well, now things have gotten strange. The Brewers are in total free fall, the Cubs are no hitting the Astro's in Miller Park and Ned Yost has been fired with 12 games left while the team is still tied for the wildcard lead. Obviously these aren't things that happen very often.

Ned Yost is obviously a hot button topic amongst Brewer fans. I was never sold that he was the devil that he was made out to be by many, but he was clearly a deeply flawed manager. Could the Brewers have made the postseason with him at the helm this year? We'll never know, but the indicators were obviously not pointing in his direction. I'm very happy to see that he is handling what has to be a shocking disappointment with class.

So what can Dale Sveum do as interim manager over the next 12 games? In a way, he's under almost no pressure because this is someone else's mess that he's being asked to clean up. Expectations are very low. At the same time, he's being handed the keys to a team with more than a slim mathematical chance to make the playoffs. The Brewers merely have to finish better than either the Mets or Phillies, as long as Houston doesn't inject itself into the proceedings, to make the playoffs. If the Sveum managed Brewers pull that off, he instantly becomes a local hero and probably gives himself a chance to ditch the "interim" tag.

The next 12 games will also undoubtedly go a long way to determining general manager Doug Melvin's future with the team, which means the future of the franchise. Falling further could easily mean that owner Mark Attanasio decides to go a new direction and then the mandate would be change. Make the playoffs and Melvin will probably become further entrenched and his vision for the franchise will rule. Ultimately, though, those issues are for another day.

The Brewers clearly have the talent to pull this off, if a few hitters can get hot. Now all they have to do is win the games and as more than a few smart commentators have pointed out in the last 24 hours, that responsiblity now finally falls on the players and the players alone.