Prince Fielder's outburst reflects a team on the verge of collapse.

What a difference a week makes. Last Monday, Milwaukee was gearing up for a monster four game showdown at home with the Cubs. They only trailed the Cubbies by one game, and the Brewers had all the swagger of the most popular girl in school. Then the games began, and Chicago dominated the Brew Crew en route to an easy four game sweep. Even people like myself, who already thought the Cubs were the superior team, were surprised at how lopsided the games were. Nonetheless, Ned Yost's team bounced back with a series win at Atlanta last weekend. Yesterday, however, the stars realigned. Things reverted back to form, and tensions overflowed in the Brewers dugout in a 6-3 loss to the Braves. In-house brawls are nothing new, and can mostly be dismissed. This time it's different. When Prince Fielder and Manny Parra quarreled in a physical and verbal brouhaha last night, it didn't just feel like two players simply blowing off steam. This fight felt like yet another damaging blow to Milwaukee's increasingly fading playoff hopes.

Manager Ned Yost did what every other manager would do in such a situation. He scoffed at reporters after the game, the Brewers seventh loss in their last nine contests. He said there was absolutely nothing to worry about. According to Ned Yost, everything is under control. Yeah, and our economy is booming. You can't blame the manager for saying this. After all, what else was he going to say? Denouncing the actions of his players would have made things even worse. But even Ned Yost must realize that his team is in major trouble. Prince Fielder's aggressive shove of Brewers starting pitcher Manny Parra was an outburst of anger that reflects the state of this sliding team. The Cubs show no sign of slowing down, and Milwaukee's once stable wild card lead is dwindling by the day.

Maybe the Fielder-Parra fight is exactly what the Brewers need to kick it into gear and start a winning streak. Maybe Ned Yost was right when he said everything has been taken care of. Maybe, but I don't think so.

Much to the dismay of the Milwaukee Brewers organization, they appear to be on the verge of collapse, for the second consecutive season.