CHICAGO -- Robin Yount booked plane reservations and bought tickets to see the Brewers face the Cubs for the final series of the season that is now less than two weeks away.

Yount, who lives in Phoenix and has long been the face of the franchise, can forgo those arrangements now that he has taken over as the club's bench coach.

It now seems safe to say he'll be on hand for that potentially crucial final series. Right?

"I'm hoping to be there for that, unless I get fired before that," Yount said with a laugh. "Crazier things are happening."

All joking aside, Yount -- who jumped at the chance to help interim manager Dale Sveum, his close friend of many years -- seemed up to the responsibilities that await him as a member of a club that has a playoff berth within its sights.

The Hall of Famer served as the Brewers' bench coach in 2006, but declined then-manager Ned Yost's requests to return.

"[Yost] wanted me to come back after the year I was here in '06, but the everyday, eight-months-out-of-the-year commitment is a little more than I was after at that time," Yount said. "If I could get this in my contract where you come in with 12 games to go and you're right in the middle of a pennant race and you're chasing the Wild Card -- this I think I could enjoy."

Yount made it clear that he will almost certainly not return next season to continue serving as bench coach. But his addition to the clubhouse might help reinvigorate a team that has been outscored 75-38 in September.

"Robin obviously has some ideas and thoughts and is not too far removed from being here [in 2006]," Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said. "We have some new players who weren't here last year, but it's a matter of Dale having somebody he can turn to. Robin is a great baseball mind."

As far as Yount is concerned, the Brewers' current slump is nothing more than the typical turbulence a team experiences over the course of a 162-game season.

All it takes, Yount explained, is something to shift the momentum.

"You know, we're only a big hit or two away from changing everybody's mindset," Yount said. "It's certainly not a reason to panic, but somebody needs to step up, and get a big hit here and there. And when they do that it loosens everybody up. And oftentimes that's all it takes to get everyone on a roll."

Sveum, who inherited Yost's job Monday, knew instantly who he wanted next to him on the bench after hearing the news that former bench coach Ted Simmons was going to be reassigned.

"As soon as they let me know at 11 in the morning that they were going to reassign Teddy, then I knew I needed a bench coach, and it was a no-brainer to me," Sveum said. "I had to get on the phone and give him a call. Thank God he accepted the job. He was pretty excited and basically said, 'I'll be right there.'"

Other than his baseball wisdom and timely advice, Yount seemed confident that Sveum could handle the job on his own.

If anything, Yount's presence alone will help push the Brewers toward their first playoff appearance since 1982.

"From a strategic standpoint, Dale doesn't need any help when it comes to that stuff," Yount said. "I'm here to be a cheerleader. I brought my pom-poms and my cheerleading skirt. I hope my legs look good in it. We'll see what happens."