MILWAUKEE -- In an unprecedented move, the Milwaukee Brewers fired manager Ned Yost on Monday, hoping to pull out of another late-season slump that has jeopardized the team's chance of making the playoffs for the first time since 1982.

Third-base coach Dale Sveum will take over as interim manager for the remainder of the season. The Brewers have lost seven of eight and fallen into a tie with Philadelphia for the NL wild-card lead.



Yost, who is expected to address the media Tuesday, said the move caught him off guard.

"No, I didn't see it coming," Yost told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "The timing of it caught me off guard. I just didn't see it coming."

It marked the first time in major league history -- except the strike-split 1981 season -- that a manager was fired in August or later with his team in playoff position, the Elias Sports Bureau said.

At 83-67, the Brewers have just 12 games to rebound.

Milwaukee came into this month with a 5½-game lead in the wild card, but since has lost 11 of 14 -- including a four-game sweep completed by the Phillies over the weekend.

"[Yost] didn't have all the answers for what is going on the last two weeks and I'm not sure I have all the answers," general manager Doug Melvin said during a news conference at a hotel in Chicago. "I'm not sure this is the right one, either."

Melvin met with principal owner Mark Attanasio on Monday morning and the decision to fire Yost was made. Melvin acknowledged it was an unprecedented move but one that "shows we're serious about winning."

"We just felt a managerial change at least gives us a chance to see if we can turn it around," he added.



Brewers All-Star Ryan Braun, however, called the firing "unfortunate" and said Yost isn't ultimately to blame.

"We never lost any respect for him, we never lost any trust in his decision-making," Braun said. "We always knew he just wanted what was best for us. It's not his fault, man. It's not his fault. It's unfortunate somebody has to take the blame, but ultimately it's not his fault by any means. I've always said I think the players are the ones who are at fault, whether we're winning or losing, it comes down to the way we play for him. There's nothing on the field he can do to make us play better.

"I was really surprised at the timing of it. I at least thought they'd let the season play out and see what happened, but they felt like they needed to make a decision. Obviously, I have a lot of belief in upper management and ownership, the direction they see us going."

Like Braun, Brewers center fielder Mike Cameron said he was taken aback when he first heard his manager had been fired.

"It's crazy," Cameron said. "Just a little surprised I guess."

The Brewers were idle Monday, and were scheduled to begin a three-game series with the Central-leading Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Tuesday.



"I really hope this works and they get the jump start they're looking for," Yost told the Journal Sentinel. "They were right. The team had no life the last couple of days. I don't know why. [The players] need to understand the gravity of the situation."

Members of NL Central rivals Chicago and Houston, who played another neutral-site game in Milwaukee on Monday after Hurricane Ike made it too difficult to play their scheduled series in Houston over the weekend, expressed surprise at the move.