Had Kendall been given the "green light" during that at-bat and bounced into an inning-ending double play, many armchair managers undoubtedly would have screamed "He should have called for a squeeze!"

Hot seat: Given the Brewers' sluggish start, it's not surprising that frustrated fans and some media are calling for Yost to be fired. Many of the same people were calling for Yost's dismissal when the team was in first place last year.

I think the talk is premature, primarily because I don't think a club that is two games below .500 on Mother's Day is in any kind of dire crisis. (Three of the four National League playoff teams last year entered June with losing records).

I don't know if Yost will last through this season, but given what I know about Doug Melvin and Mark Attanasio, I think he's safe at least until the all-star break.

Because I've defended Yost in the past, many consider me an "apologist" for the manager. The truth is that I think most fans grossly overestimate the impact a manager, hitting coach and pitching coach have during games. Managers make out the lineup and set the tone for the clubhouse, but I think the chess-like strategy probably influences the result of between five and 10 games per season.

I could list dozens of reasons for my belief, but I'll limit it to two rather well known names:

Jim Leyland: In 1997, the Marlins were loaded with high-priced talent, struggled at times during the season, won the wild-card and eventually claimed the World Series. Leyland was dubbed a genius. During the off-season, ownership gutted the team. The next year, with Leyland still at the helm, the Marlins lost 108 games. Did Jim Leyland get dumber over the course of five or six months? Of course not.

Geoff Jenkins: I covered Jenkins from the day he signed with the Brewers in 1995 until he left last fall. He played for five different managers and about as many hitting coaches. Jenkins had good seasons, bad seasons and a few that were in-between. No matter who put his name on the lineup card, the guy had trouble laying off breaking balls in the dirt.

If people are going to suggest that Yost and / or Jim Skaalen are responsible for Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun getting off to slow starts this spring, the position would suggest that Yost / Skaalen had a huge impact on both players' record-setting output last year.

That's simply unfair to the players involved.

One for the books: Amid the chaos of the late innings Saturday, Ben Sheets' milestone strikeout was overlooked. When Sheets fanned Cardinals third baseman Aaron Miles and slugger Albert Pujols in the first inning, he tallied the 1,082nd strikeout of his Brewers career and passed Teddy Higuera for first place on the franchise's all-time list.

Kindling: Have you noticed more bats breaking this season? A handful of hitters saw lumber shatter on Saturday and it seems to be a trend. Many of the bats are made of maple, which is harder and more dense than the more traditional ash models. Players also order bats with thinner handles (some use tools to file the handles further), and that could be a reason for the splintering.

Rumor mill: We expected the St. Louis Rams to announce a deal to conduct training camp at Concordia University in Mequon. In fact, it's a bit surprising that nothing has been announced yet. UW-Whitewater, which had hoped to land the Rams, has all but conceded.

The Wave will mark its 25th anniversary season this fall. At least that's the plan. There are rumors that the league and franchise could be in some financial trouble. The decision by Cudahy officials to squash plans for the Wave's soccer complex further fueled the rumors.

Just before the Packers released Koren Robinson, rumors began to swirl that the veteran wide receiver had been spotted consuming alcohol. The Packers said the release had to do with a glut of wide receivers. For Robinson's sake, we hope that was it.