Pratt's benching was about Brewers' culture -- not just him

NEW YORK -- Cooper Pratt was back at shortstop for the Brewers on Wednesday night against the Mets, after a morning and afternoon during which his every move the night before had been dissected, discussed and debated.

Did Pratt deserve to be benched in Tuesday’s loss to the Mets? Did Brewers manager Pat Murphy overreact? Was there more to the story than a missed bunt or the way Pratt ran the bases on a pop fly? It made for great television.

But if you ask the Brewers’ unofficial captain, it missed the larger point.

“I think stuff like that is done for a bigger picture,” said Christian Yelich, a mainstay throughout the Brewers’ run of seven postseason berths in the past eight years, with all of the exits coming short of the World Series. “Being around Murph, he does that stuff with the goal in mind of performing and winning in October. Those games are won and lost on the margins and execution and no mental or physical lapses.”

So, it wasn’t just a story about a player being benched.

It was a glimpse into the culture the Brewers have built and how a small-market team hangs with MLB’s heavyweights season after season.

Based on conversations with Murphy, Yelich and the two players, Sal Frelick and Jake Bauers, who spoke with Pratt in the dugout after he was pulled in the middle of the fifth inning, here are some things fans and pundits should know:

1. It wasn’t just those two plays

Murphy: “After I watched the video, I’m like, ‘Oh, he didn’t dog it as much as I thought he did.’ But I think a ball that was up there that long, and hit [the ground] and kicked [away], you have to be on second. Then I was ticked about the bunt thing, and there’s a couple of other things that add to all of this that I don’t need to get into. But if you lived in the clubhouse, you would understand it.”

Frelick: “Coming from a guy who’s been benched multiple times by Murph, it’s not always 100 percent directed at the person getting benched, and there’s a thousand different reasons. From the past, when I’ve seen guys get benched, including myself, it’s usually when a few days have piled on of not [playing] to that standard. A message needs to be sent. I don’t think anybody was surprised when it happened last night.”

Bauers: “I think if you ask Cooper, he's gonna tell you that he should have got the bunt down and he should have been on second base. I do think there's times for messages to be sent, especially as we're coming up on the playoffs here, where getting a bunt down with runners on first and second, nobody out, can be the difference of a playoff game. And if the lesson is nothing else besides, ‘I need to make sure I'm locked in enough to get the job done,’ then that's what it takes.”

Yelich: “In my personal opinion, I don’t really think it had a whole lot to do with not going to second there. I think it was a culmination of events with a greater goal in mind for six weeks from now, if you want my honest opinion on it.”

2. It wasn’t personal

Yelich: “You have to be a certain kind of player to play for Murph and to play here. You have to be mentally tough and physically tough. I think that’s by design. Murph’s goal is to win the division, win playoff games and ultimately win a World Series. I think it’s a credit to the guys in this locker that we’re accepting and willing to be coached that way. … You couldn’t coach that way throughout the league. You really couldn’t. There’s a lot of players that wouldn’t accept that. It’s easier to get buy-in because of the amount of games we’ve won and how we’ve won.

"Whether you like it or don’t, that’s the way it’s going to be because Murph’s the manager. It doesn’t matter what I think, it doesn't matter what you guys think [in the media], it doesn’t matter what fans think. It’s Murph’s decision and that’s how he’s going to do it. That’s the end of the discussion.”

Murphy: “You know, maybe I overreact. Maybe I don’t push the button at the right time. I’m trying to set forth standards that we live up to. For young players, I want to make sure.”

Frelick: “We were able to grab him quick when he came into the dugout. I was looking out for him there because I’ve been in that same spot as a young player. He handled it great, though.”

Bauers: “It can feel heavy at the time, especially as a young player with not a lot of experience, but I think the message was -- not that it's not serious, but it's not the end of the world. … It's never a fun situation. But at the same time, standing here eight years removed from being a rookie, I don't have any negative memories of moments like that. It teaches you. There's not the runway that you would be given if you were a rookie playing on a bad team.”

3. It wasn’t just a message for Pratt

Bauers: “One hundred percent. Like, it's crunch time. We have some big series coming up. We're trying to make this last push to win the division and get a bye. We have to be confident that we can all execute.”

Murphy: “Do we have any teams that are vying to be a top team this year with three kids in their lineup who are 22 and younger? Probably not. Then you have other guys who are two years in or three years in, and guys who have been part-time players. I mean, we’re piecing it together with non-veterans, so to speak. For us, I think it’s crucial that they get it.”

Frelick: “As the team took it, there wasn’t one person who disagreed with it, and there also wasn’t one person who was mad at Coop for anything he did. Like, it’s just how we play. There’s a standard of how you play.”

Yelich: “We’ve all made the agreement amongst ourselves that we have the goal of winning the World Series. So whatever we have to do in order to accomplish that goal, we’re willing to do.”