Amidst the raucous celebrations going on in Milwaukee, Brewers GM Doug Melvin took a couple of minutes out of his day to thank the man they couldn’t have done this without — or with, really. When Ned Yost signed on to Gmail this morning he had a nice little email waiting from Melvin thanking him for his years of service, and for being just incompetent enough to warrant being fired 150 games into a season. This touching gesture was certanly greeted warmly by Yost.

“Here, Ned, let me just get the knife in a little deeper”

Melvin also should have sent emails to Matt LaPorta thanking him for playing well enough to be traded for CC Sabathia, William Bartholomay for moving the Braves from Milwaukee to Atlanta in 1966 (without whom the Brewers might not have ever existed), and the Arizona Diamondbacks for entering the league 10 years ago and forcing the Brewers to the NL Central, where they get to play the Reds and Pirates like 35 times a year.

Melvin clearly doesn’t understand that this whole thing is probably at best awkward and at worst infuriating for Yost, who oversaw the Crew as they transformed from a laughing stock into a legitimate contender. The MILWAUKEE JOURNAL-SENTINEL captures this obliviousness quite well:

“I sent Ned an e-mail,” said Melvin, who became emotional while talking about the manager he fired with 12 games left in the season. “He went through 93% of the season. I backed Ned and supported him.”

I’m sure Ned felt very backed and supported that day you fired him. Props on the math skills, though, Doug.

Luckily, Dale “7%” Sveum is at the helm now, because the Crew definitely wouldn’t have been able to go 7-5 without him calling the shots. Among Sveum’s most notable strategic moves were deciding that Sabathia would throw only complete-game victories (some on three-days rest) and urging Ryan Braun to hit two game-winning home runs over the final days of September. Sveum also caused the Mets to lose two of three at home to the Marlins to end the season.

Melvin continued torturing Yost (it’s almost like he enjoys it in some twisted way):

“Dale’s done a wonderful job these last 12 games in a tough situation, with the pitching the way it was,” Melvin said. “But this was part of Ned, too. I think our players recognize that. He took wins off his record to help get to this point.

“Ned’s a huge part of this. He put us in position to be 16 games over .500 (when he was fired).”

I believe that last aside was added by JS reporter Tom Haudricourt, just in case you forgot that small detail. It’s true that Sveum handled the pitching staff better than Yost down the stretch. Convincing Eric Gagne that a nuclear missile was heading for Milwaukee and locking him in the Miller Park basement this weekend was a brilliant move.

If the Brewers somehow go on to win the World Series, don’t be surprised if you see Yost wandering around town looking like this: