Kuzul

If you are looking for Corey Hart’s name on the 2010 All-Star ballot, have fun trying, because you won’t find it.

That’s right, because the Milwaukee outfielder with 17 home runs, 41 RBI, and a .610 slugging pct. was not in the Opening Day starting lineup, he is not on the fan ballot for the All-Star game.

In just 53 games, Hart already has five more home runs and seven fewer RBI than his 2009 totals. His 17 long balls lead the National League by three over Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, Mark Reynolds, and Dan Uggla.

Hart’s breakout season has not only resulted in runs, but has silenced his many critics. As recent as this offseason, fans and media alike were calling for his head and outraged when he won a $4.8 million salary in an arbitration case. Hart was not producing at all at the plate and was caught stealing six out of seventeen times. He was chasing deliberately thrown balls, resulting in 92 strikeouts in 115 games.

April was nothing special for Hart; he platooned with Jim Edmonds for the majority of the month. He hit three home runs and exited the month with a .798 OPS.

With some players, confidence comes before success, but for some, the antithesis is relevant. Corey Hart is a case of success before confidence.

This showed in May when Hart began to heat up. On May 15 and 16, he homered once in each game against Philadelphia, his first dingers of the month. The next night, he socked two against Cincinnati. That was just the beginning.

In 26 games, Hart is hitting .286 with an astounding 14 homers and 29 RBI. His OPS in that span is 1.134, up over .350 from the day before his binge began. Perhaps the highlights of his hot streak were during a weekend series against New York at the end of the month. Corey broke a 0-0 tie in a pitcher’s duel featuring Yovani Gallardo and Johan Santana with a walk-off two run blast. He followed that shot up with his first career grand slam in the first inning the next game and with a two run blast in his next at-bat for three homers in three at bats.

Add on to this Hart’s stellar play in the field. Throughout his streak, Corey has been all over right field making running grabs and playing with an extra step. He has only one error to date and four assists.

The confidence is definitely showing for the National League home run leader. Despite not being on the starter’s ballot for the All-Star Game, he is well on his way to his second career All-Star appearance. He just goes to show that you gotta’ have Hart.

The confidence is definitely showing in the NL home run leader.

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A bad as Jeff Suppan was for the Brewers, it seems that Randy Wolf has been just as bad. Some people criticized Doug Melvin for Wolf’s three-year, $29.75 million contract, but the team was so desperate for pitching and the market was so bleak that he felt like he had to sign him.

Does this story seem familiar?

Back in 2006, the Brewers were also desperate for starting pitching since Ben Sheets was their ace, much like Yovani Gallardo is today. The market was terrible, so it seemed like Suppan was the best guy the Brewers could get. Suppan had an incredible post-season for the St. Louis Cardinals, so it looked like he would at least give the Brewers another solid starter in the rotation, right? Wrong.

The same thing has happened with Randy Wolf. Wolf has had a career much like Suppan. He has bounced between several teams and has a career ERA of 4.18. He hasn’t had back-to-back solid seasons since 2001-2003. He has never been a guy that batters fear before they step in the box.

Much like Suppan, the Brewers signed Wolf when he was clearly out of his prime. He had a fluky contract year for the Dodgers, pitching in the light-hitting NL West and in a pitcher’s ballpark. He is also 33 years old.

It’s hard to blame Melvin for signing Wolf since they had no reliable starter after Gallardo, but this already looks like a bad signing, and there is no turning back on this contract now.

Even if they wanted to trade Wolf, I doubt there would be many takers. He almost had as many walks as strike-outs with 49 Ks to 39 walks. Not many teams would be interested in that.

Just more bad luck for general manager Doug Melvin as he turns his attention to possibly trading Prince Fielder and Corey Hart to try and gain some kind of young starting pitching. Melvin is also trying to get anything he can for guys like Dave Bush and Doug Davis.

Good luck Mr. Melvin.

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You think the Cubs regret letting Casey McGehee go?

All McGehee has done since the Cubs released him is drive in 111 runs and hit close to .300. He’s also driven in six runs in six games against them this year alone.

The Brewers caught lightning in a bottle when McGehee became available to them after the Cubs put him on waivers. He was never known as a top prospect. He was a career minor-leaguer before hitting it big with the Brewers.

Milwaukee was in much need of a third baseman after Bill Hall and top prospect Mat Gamel struggled last year. McGehee delivered. He hit .301 with 16 homers and drove in 66 runs to end 2009.

What has McGehee done as an encore this year? In 55 games, he’s driven in 45 runs, tied for the NL lead with Troy Glaus. He also has nine homers, is hitting .290 and has scored 29 runs.

Last night, the Cubs were up 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth.

Carlos Marmol had a rare messy outing.

He hit Rickie Weeks to lead off the inning. He got lucky when Carlos Gomez popped up a bunt for the first out. Weeks stole second base. Prince Fielder walked. Ryan Braun grounded out, but it moved the runners up to second and third. Casey McGehee stepped up to the plate.

McGehee did what he always does: hit in the clutch.

McGehee hit a seeing-eye single up the middle and drove home Weeks and Fielder for the win.

While McGehee is driving in runs and getting clutch hits, Aramis Ramirez was struggling and is now on the disabled list.

The Cubs could sure use McGehee right now. One has to wonder where the Brewers would be this year without him.

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I love it when teams in professional sports sign average players to large contracts based on a single game or one seven-game series. Some examples of this include:

Dallas Cowboys signing Larry Brown to a five-year, $12.5 million contract because he picked off two passes in the Super Bowl.

Tampa Bay Lightning sign complimentary player Ryan Malone to a superstar contract worth $31.5 based on his playoff successes with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

New York Yankees sign Damaso Marte to a $12 million deal because he struck out David Ortiz in a big spot in September in 2008.

One more example would be the Milwaukee Brewers signing pitcher Jeff Suppan to a four-year, $42 million contract in the winter of 2006 because he ran through the New York Mets in the 2006 NLCS. Suppan pitched the game of his life in Game 7 of that series (seven innings of two hit baseball) and it earned him that huge contract.

It was a terrible contract signing at the time and it looks even worse now. The Brewers released Suppan on Monday and will absorb the remaining $10 million left on his contract.

Outside of one good year in 2005 (16-10 with a 3.57 ERA) and that one series against the Mets in 2006 as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, Suppan has always been a below average major league pitcher. However, Suppan represents how the value of pitchers have changed over the last 25 years.

Teams value quantity over quality when it comes to pitching. If a guy is able to pitch 180–200 innings, then he has tremendous value to a team regardless if those 180–200 innings are of quality.

Suppan has always been able to eat innings, but rarely gives a quality performance. Suppan’s ERA is usually in the high-four’s/low-five’s, gives up about 10 hits/9, and K’s only about four/9.

In 2010, Suppan was especially bad. His ERA was 7.84 and gave up a whopping 50 hits in 31 innings. You know you have to be pretty awful to be released from a team that is struggling to find pitching.

I would be surprised if a team didn’t pick up Suppan. He could be a pitcher who is used in mop up duty in order to save the bullpen. A return to the Cardinals wouldn’t surprise me.

Suppan was 29-36 with a 5.06 ERA in his three plus years as a Brewer.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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The writing is on the wall. The precedent has been set…twice. The only question remaining is: When?

The Milwaukee Brewers have a decision to make, and there are rumors swirling that they may be making that decision during an internal management meeting scheduled for today.

The timing works. The Brewers have an off-day tomorrow after yet another disappointing run of games. As I write this, they’ve lost five of six on this road trip including an extra inning affair yesterday.

Many times when a team makes a change mid-season, it is done on a day when that team has no game to play so that the new manager (whomever it may be) has a day to get things in order. This is why many people were pointing to May 24th (the team’s last day off) for a change to be made. The noise got so loud that Mark Attanasio took the time to state that no change would be made that day.

By the way, it’s not a good thing when the owner has to start fielding questions about the job security of his employees.

To be fair, the team responded well following that last day off. They went 4-2 on a six-game homestand and Macha seemed to be at least tentatively secure going forward.

All of that good will has been wasted in this most recent run of terrible decision-making and unacceptable results. The team is 1-6 over the past seven games and has fallen to a season-low 12 games under .500.

The Baltimore Orioles most recently and the Kansas City Royals before them, perenial losers over the last decade-plus, decided that things weren’t working yet again. They made the sometimes tough choice to replace the man in charge of putting their players in the best position to succeed.

The same needs to happen in Milwaukee.

Macha is no longer managing to win, not that he was succeeding much when he was. The decisions that he is making seem to be fueled by a desire to simply keep his job by not losing again.

That style of managing, and please pay attention kids, does not work…ever.

You have to have an agressive, attacking, hit-them-in-the-mouth-before-they-hit-us attitude to succeed in any competition at the highest level.

Macha doesn’t have that killer instinct any more.

There has been a lot of rhetoric about how Macha isn’t the one throwing the pitches or swing the bats or fielding the grounders. All of this is true. However, preparation, focus and dedication are things that he has control over. Under his watch, the team is committing mental mistakes the likes of which haven’t been produced by this team in some time.

When the message is no longer being received, sometimes all you can do is change the vessel that delivers it.

To quote the late, great Owen Hart: “Enough is enough and it’s time for a change.”

How does tomorrow look on your calendar?

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June is a great month, wouldn’t you agree?  School is out, golf weather has arrived, and we get the pleasure (for some reason) of both the Stanley Cup and NBA Finals.

In short, the first day of June marks the official start of the summer (unless you subscribe to that solar mumbo jumbo), which means months of carefree behavior, baseball and beer, boats, beaches, and ice cream.

However, for the 2010 Milwaukee Brewers, June marks the franchise’s make-or-break moment.

Since Mark Attanasio purchased the team—for $180 million in 2004, graciously pulling the Crew from Selig-era hopelessness—the team has improved.  This is largely thanks to the emergence of a top-notch farm system that produced the likes of Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Alcides Escobar, Ryan Braun, Corey Hart, and the recently-departed J.J. Hardy.

That homegrown core has provided the foundation for a small but important window in which the Brewers have done something that was unimaginable to its fans a decade ago: compete.

In 2007, the team finished 83-79, posting its first winning season since 1992.

The following year, C.C. Sabathia earned a lifetime key to the heart of Brewer Nation by dragging the club into the postseason for the first time in 26 long years (where they promptly folded into the fetal position and took a fanatical beating).

And, of course, last year, the team took a slight step backwards, limping to an 80-82 finish with a roster absent of any sign of serviceable pitching this side of Trevor Hoffman.

But what did all of those years have in common?  That core of young, organizationally-produced position players.

Now that foundation has been cracked and is on the verge of collapsing, depending on the month of June.

As it stands, the team is a meager 21-30, 8 ½ games back of NL Central leaders St. Louis and Cincinnati, and just ½ a game better than Pittsburgh.  Yikes.

Yet, heading into this month, all is not lost.

First, take a peek at the schedule. 

In May, Milwaukee faced a slew of opponents that have combined for a .520 winning percentage thus far, including a brutal stretch featuring a dreaded West Coast swing, and then four series against teams either one or two in their respective divisions (the Braves, Phillies, Reds, and Twins).

Moreover, although the team’s 8-15 home record still provokes vicious head-scratching, they did win four of six in their last go-round at Miller Park, indicating that number should return toward comprehensibility as the season progresses.

Now, this is not to say there aren’t pitfalls lying in wait on the team’s June schedule—only that a well-timed hot streak could vault the team right back into the thick of things.

If the team can play well at home (definition of well: taking two of three) against its upper-echelon foes—the Cubs and the Twins—the rest of its home slate is rather favorable.  They have three-game sets against the Rangers (owners of an 8-15 road mark), Seattle (in tailspin mode), and Houston (second only to the Orioles for worst-team-in-the-ML honors).

Beyond that, the team must simply hope to split its relatively difficult road schedule (three games versus the Marlins, Cards, Angels, and Rockies). If they can, the Brewers could find themselves bubbling to the top of the NL Central.

Needless to say, though, the previously stated-goal of 16-11 (or better) is only possible if a few things manifest.

Pitching

Chief among these things is better, and more consistent, pitching from both the starting rotation and the bullpen.

Even if that’s quite easy to say, there are signs it will happen.  In the past week-and-a-half, the squad has received quality outings from both Yovani Gallardo and Randy Wolf, and solid pitching can be contagious.

And while it would be unfair to heap great expectations on Chris Capuano, it is nonetheless possible he could join the growing list of pitchers to return successfully from Tommy John surgery (joining the likes of, among others, new teammate Randy Wolf).

Though anticipating All-Star-like starts from Capuano is obviously overboard, when he was healthy, he ate innings like Joey Chestnut eats burritos (trust me, it’s remarkable).

Additionally, the Brewers’ ‘pen is quietly falling into place.  John Axford has breathed life into the closer role, and Hoffman has managed three straight scoreless outings.  If those two can become a solid setup/closer combo (in either order), everything else about bullpen management becomes easier.

But perhaps most heartening for Brewer fans looking forward is, frankly, that the pitching cannot get much worse.

Hitting

Scary for opponents, however, is that the offense can improve—if Corey Hart keeps gushing power numbers like a BP oil well.

After a recent 16-game stretch in which he has 10 HR and 21 RBI (putting him atop the NL in long-balls), Hart is on pace for 41 HR, 106 RBI, and 127 hits.

Unfortunately, that stat line seems rather unrealistic considering Hart is still hitting only .221 against right-handed pitching.

Yet even as Hart cools off, he can still offer a legitimate fourth bat in the middle of the lineup, just as he did in 2008.

Imagine—if Hart keeps hitting and Macha likes his new lineup—standing on the mound and having to face, in order, Rickie Weeks, Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Casey McGehee, and Corey Hart.  I like the hitters’ odds.

Also important to note here is that Prince Fielder is still sifting through his trade and contract talk in search of his production.  With only seven homers and a .267 batting average, Prince currently sits fifth on the team in RBI, slightly ahead of Alcides Escobar, who you could fit three of in Fielder’s expansive waistline.

That is bound to change.  And when it does, NL pitching should beware.

The Alternative

Sadly, if these things do not happen, and say, for example, the Brewers instead post an 11-16 mark in June (meaning they would have a 32-46 record), the year, and the era, will have run their course.

How to redirect this team toward competitiveness in the near future is not really up for debate.  Young pitching is a must, and the farm system simply is short on it right now.

To transform the team’s future crop of pitchers, Prince Fielder must be swapped for arms (which is pretty much a foregone conclusion at this point, short of a dramatic turnaround).

But I would recommend going further.

With Brett Lawrie in waiting, the team should package Rickie Weeks and a prospect (perhaps Mat Gamel?), or an everyday player like Corey Hart, for yet more pitching.  An abundance of arms will never be a problem, although it will represent a completely new look for the franchise.

Trading proven entities like Prince and Rickie, along with another major-league-ready bat, may be difficult to swallow, but so will a lost season with nothing to show for it going forward.

If the Brewers do manage to catch fire soon, these drastic steps may not be necessary.

One thing’s for certain: only June will tell.

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Corey Hart has always had potential and is a former All-Star. The 28-year old Milwaukee Brewers outfielder is having a career year so far with a league-leading 13 homers and 33 RBIs.

It’s clear that unless the Brewers get more starting pitching that they aren’t going anywhere this year. It brings up a great question that many baseball analysts have discussed: should the Brewers trade Corey Hart for a starting pitcher?

On one hand they might be able to land a top prospect pitcher or a capable pitcher that they could have in their rotation for years to come. It doesn’t look like a lot of big name hitters are going to be traded at this year’s trade deadline so Hart will definitely be a target for many teams in the playoff race.

On another hand who would fill Hart’s spot if he left? He’s only 28 and is just now entering his prime. It could be a big mistake that could haunt them for years if he becomes consistent and hits close to 30 homers each year for the next four or five years.

It is a very good topic to discuss and they should at least take a look at what they could get for Hart. They already were discussing trading him to the Mets for John Maine this past off-season, so they could obviously get a lot more than Maine now that he’s producing big numbers.

Brewers G.M. Doug Melvin needs to look at his options here, because this is one of his worst pitching staffs in years. How much longer can Melvin keep throwing out pitchers that have barely any Major League experience? The bullpen is also a mess that he needs to clean up instead of throwing guys out there like Jeff Suppan, Marco Estrada and Manny Parra.

Hart may be their biggest trading chip since Carlos Lee. Their lineup would lose his power and his ability to come through in the clutch, but if he can land a decent starting pitcher then they have to deal him.

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The Milwaukee Brewers have been a young team throughout the decade. Young players such as Rickie Weeks, Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Yovani Gallardo, and Corey Hart have been the core of the team during the franchise turnaround.

But with some of the key players getting older, Milwaukee will need a set of prospects to produce at the Big League level.

The following are the top twenty-five prospects, according to www.milbprospects.blogspot.com.

1 Alcides Escobar , SS , MIL
2 Brett Lawrie , 2B , MIL
3 Kentrail Davis , OF , MIL
4 Mat Gamel , 3B , MIL
5 Evan Anundsen , P , MIL
6 Jake Odorizzi , P , MIL
7 Caleb Gindl , OF , MIL
8 Eric Arnett , P , MIL
9 Jose Pena , OF , MIL
10 Mark Rogers , P , MIL
11 Jon Lucroy , C , MIL
12 Kyle Heckathorn , P , MIL
13 Angel Salome , C , MIL
14 Amaury Rivas , P , MIL
15 Cody Scarpetta , P , MIL
16 Max Walla , OF , MIL
17 Wily Peralta , P , MIL
18 Jeremy Jeffress , P , MIL
19 Maverick Lasker , P , MIL
20 Taylor Green , 3B , MIL
21 Eric Farris , 2B , MIL
22 Logan Schafer , OF , MIL
23 Mark Willinsky , P , MIL
24 Cutter Dykstra , OF , MIL
25 Zach Braddock , P , MIL

Alcides Escobar, Jon Lucroy, and Zach Braddock are all currently on the Brewers 25 man roster.

Escobar appears to have the shortstop position locked up for years. The team traded JJ Hardy to Minnesota for Carlos Gomez, signalling that their trust has been placed in the hands of the young shortstop from Venezuela.

Alcides’s glove is one of the best in the National League already. His double plays are crisp and he possesses a cannon to throw out the runner.

However, his plate discipline comes into question often. Escobar draws very few walks, which would be very helpful with his speed. He is currently tied for the NL lead in triples.

Second base may be where the biggest dilemma pops up. 2008 first round pick Brett Lawrie has shown that he has the tools to play for the Brewers, and it is just a matter of time before the Canadian gets the call.

But Rickie Weeks is the franchise’s second baseman. Lawrie is too valuable to get rid of, and he already switched from catcher to second base.

My prediction is that we will see him on the roster next season, then become the starter in 2012, while the Brewers get rid of Weeks. They could trade him for a much-needed young pitcher or possibly a center fielder or catcher. His contract expires at the end of 2010.

The key emphasis of the team is on a young arm—Eric Arnett and Jake Odorizzi.

Arnett was the team’s first round pick out of Indiana University in 2009. He throws a low to mid 90’s fastball, a sinker, a mediocre changeup, and the potential of a slider. One issue facing Arnett is his high pitch counts while with the Hoosiers. He is currently with Class A Wisconsin.

Odorizzi was the 32nd overall pick in 2008, a bit overshadowed by the selection of Lawrie (the Brewers received the supplementary pick as a result of losing Francisco Cordero). His velocity is about the same as Arnett’s. His slider is considered “nasty sometimes” according to one scout. His curveball can be his out pitch.

Look for both of these pitchers to be in the rotation by 2013, if not earlier. While surprising, the team could trade either one of them for a mid-season acquisition, just as they did in 2008 with Matt LaPorta.

At the catcher position, veterans have held the position for the longest of times. That may change soon, however. 27 year-old George Kottaras has shown good pop and an OBP over .400 as the backup-turned-starter this season. If the team is smart, they will keep him around next season as the minor league catching talent matures.

Jon Lucroy has been Kottaras’s backup ever since Gregg Zaun went down in mid-May. At only 23 years old, he has skills behind the plate that blend right in with the rest of the Big League backstops. He is an above-average hitting catcher, proving this with a single in his first MLB at bat.

Angel Salome has long been considered the top catching prospect, though his hype has dropped over the course of the past year. Salome will not make the team as a defensive catcher, but rather as a hitter. He hit .360 in 98 games with AA Huntsville in 2008. Over his minor league career, Angel is hitting .316.

Currently on a personal leave from baseball due to the birth of his child, expect to see Salome in September, but as a rarely-used catcher.

As for the bullpen, Braddock and John Axford are the two top prospects. Braddock was projected as the closer by 2013 by Brewers beat writer Tom Haudricourt. His slider is devastating and is his main pitch. Braddock has not given up a run yet in 2010.

The closer projection may have taken a different turn with the downfall of Trevor Hoffman. This, along with injuries, set up the table for John Axford. A 42nd round pick in 2005, Axford is only signed through 2010. The Brewers need to sign him this offseason to lock up the future shut down closer.

If Axford becomes the franchise’s closer, the Brewers may not keep Braddock. His talent could be used elsewhere as a closer, making more money than Milwaukee would pay him to set up for Axford.

Axford has appeared in seven games in 2010 after being a September call-up in 2009. He notched two saves in two attempts, striking out the side against Minnesota. His 97 mph fastball blows away batters. Axford has shown that he can be a dominant closer in only seven appearances. In addition to his pitching, his mustache has made him a fan favorite within a month.

Mat Gamel played in 61 games last season, hitting five home runs and batting .242. His power is his greatest asset. The Brewers may try to hide his weak glove, as they did with Ryan Braun, who struggled mightily at third base as a rookie. Gamel had a .885 fielding percentage in 2009.

Casey McGehee has solidified himself as a legitimate third baseman, currently leading the NL in RBI. The team would not want to lose their hidden gem, so Gamel is faced with a few options:

1) Move to right field, where his glove won’t be as big of a problem;

2) Get traded for a young pitcher;

3) Become a back-up third baseman.

The most interesting story is that of Jeremy Jeffress. The right hander, 22, has always had Major League-level talent with a hard fastball and a hard slider.

Drafted in the first round of the 2006, he was suspended for 50 games in 2007 for drug abuse. In 2008, he reached AA, struggled, and was sent back to A ball. Most recently, he tested positive for marijuana, receiving a 100 game suspension along with the knowledge that one more positive test would lead to a lifetime ban.

The Brewers still have hopes for the talented Jeffress, who is scheduled to return to baseball soon. But with good young pitchers around him, he will have to fight for his spot on a future team.

Other top prospects on the top 25 list that I did not mention specifically, include: Kentrail Davis, Kyle Heckathorn, Cutter Dykstra, Amaury Rivas, Cody Scarpetta, Max Walla, and Logan Schafer.

Here are some other prospects I am high on: OF D’Vontrey Richardson, P Tim Dillard, P Chuck Lofgren, and OF Lorenzo Cain.

Looking ahead to 2013, here is my projected lineup:

C: Jon Lucroy/ Angel Salome

1B: Prince Fielder (they’ll sign him to a big contract)

2B: Brett Lawrie

SS: Alcides Escobar

3B: Casey McGehee

LF: Ryan Braun

CF: Kentrail Davis

RF: Mat Gamel

Starting Rotation: Yovani Gallardo, Eric Arnett, Cody Scarpetta, Jake Odorizzi, Amaury Rivas

Closer: John Axford

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Matt Cain threw a one-hitter tonight and was absolutely masterful.  He had great command, particularly of the fastball, and there wasn’t much the Diamondbacks could do.

The Giants are apparently on the verge of signing Pat Burrell to a minor league deal.  One report (from Fox’s Ken Rosenthal) has it that Burrell will get an option to opt out of the contract after two weeks, presumably if he hasn’t been called up to the major league club by then.

That seems kind of stupid to me, at least as far as the Giants are concerned.  Burrell has utterly failed to hit since the start of the 2009 season, and if it takes him more than 14 days to get his swing back at the Triple-A level, the Giants should have a little more time to let Burrell work out the kinks, if he can. 

Thirty days, or at least 21 days, before Burrell has a right to opt out makes more sense to me.

SF Chronicle sportswriter Henry (now Hank) Schulman doesn’t like the idea of the Giants trading for Prince Fielder because he’ll cost a lot of prospects and because Fielder isn’t a good long-term bet, given his body type.  I certainly agree with those points, but I don’t know that I agree with the conclusion that the Giants shouldn’t at least consider trading for Fielder if the circumstances are right come the All-Star Break.

A player of Fielder’s caliber will always cost a lot of prospects, particularly if, like Fielder, he still has until the end of next season before he becomes a free agent.  If the Giants are in contention come July 10, but still in a pack of contenders (seems likely), then Fielder would be exactly what the Giants need if they are serious about winning this year or in 2011. 

Getting Fielder to hit behind Pablo Sandoval would solve a whole lot of the Giants’ offensive problems.  That might be worth Madison Bumgarner, Waldis Joaquin, and one other legit prospect.

The Giants have young pitchers, and the Brewers need young pitchers.  The Brewers have Prince Fielder, and the Giants could sure use Fielder for the last two months of 2010 and all of 2011.

Just because you give up prospects for a bona fide star doesn’t mean you have to be the team to shell out the bucks when the star becomes a free agent.  The Giants could offer Fielder arbitration after 2011 and get a late first-round pick in 2012 from the wealthy team that signs him.  Brian Sabean doesn’t like those late first-round picks, even though Matt Cain was one of those late first-round picks (25th in the 2002 draft).

The Giants have four starters right now that are as good as any team’s top four in MLB.  What they don’t have is a second top slugger to pair up with Pablo Sandoval. 

I would not give up the idea of a possible Prince Fielder trade, unless the Giants clearly don’t have a reasonable chance of making the postseason come late July.  The Giants’ aces aren’t going to be at the top of their game forever, and sometimes you have to trade away part of your future for a real shot to win now.

Call it the Fred McGriff Rule.  In 1993, the Braves traded away some pretty legit looking prospects (at least Melvin Nieves looked pretty good) to the Padres for two months of Fred McGriff.  McGriff hit like a fool those two months, and the Braves won 104 games, just beating out the Giants, who finished with 103 wins. 

None of the prospects the Padres got ever really amounted to much.

Sometimes you have to throw caution to the wind and go for it.  With the pitching the Giants have now, it might be the time for the Giants to do just that.

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Major League Baseball released its early voting returns for the league’s 2010 All-Star Game on Tuesday, with five Milwaukee Brewers among the top five at their positions.

The most prominent of these is left fielder Ryan Braun (.328, 8 HR, 32 RBI), who currently leads all National League outfielders by a margin of almost 60,000 over the second-place outfielder, Philadelphia’s Jayson Werth (.327, 9, 33).

Other Brewers sitting pretty in the early voting results include first baseman Prince Fielder (.275, 7, 19), who’s in third-place behind the Cardinals’ Albert Pujols (.303, 8, 29) and the Phillies’ Ryan Howard (.302, 8, 32); second baseman Rickie Weeks (.246, 6, 24), who checks in at second behind the Phillies’ Chase Utley (.297, 10, 23); shortstop Alcides Escobar (.248, 2, 14), who’s third behind the Phils’ Jimmy Rollins (.341, 2, 7) and the Florida Marlins’ Hanley Ramirez (.299, 7, 24); and third baseman Casey McGehee (.308, 9, 40), who is also third, behind David Wright (.261, 8, 33) of the Mets and Philadelphia’s Placido Polanco (.307, 5, 21).

For good measure, let me note that outfielders Jim Edmonds (.280, 3, 8) and Carlos Gomez (.274, 3, 11) presently sit 12^th and 14^th , respectively, among Senior Circuit outfielders.

So with that said, way to go Brewer fans! Your enthusiasm is well-demonstrated and appreciated.

But nevertheless, the aforementioned rankings of Brewers starkly underscores the fallibility of the current MLB fan-voting system.

As much as I love Prince, Rickie, and Alcides, it is quite difficult—if not impossible—to justify where any of them are at this point in voting.

Although Fielder understandably comes in behind All-Star veterans Pujols and Howard, none of them is as deserving as Reds first sacker Joey Votto (.312, 10, 33), who has anchored Cincy’s improbable run to the top of the NL Central.

And Escobar? Come on. The guy is hitting .248 with 14 RBI! Sure, he’s a fantastic defensive shortstop, but defense alone cannot earn you an All-Star nod—especially when there are so many other qualified candidates, such as the Rockies’ Troy Tulowitzki (.307, 5, 22) and the Diamondbacks’ Stephen Drew (.298, 4, 19).

More egregious yet, however, is the guy who tops both Escobar and Ramirez at shortstop: Jimmy Rollins. Yes, Utley’s double play-partner is batting an impressive .341. It’s just that he is doing so through just 12 games, after spending much of the year thus far on the DL with a right calf injury.

As for Weeks, his play has certainly warranted All-Star consideration , but what about the Marlins’ Dan Uggla (.277, 12, 31)—who isn’t even among the top five for second basemen—or Martin Prado of the Braves (.314, 4, 20)?  Objectively speaking, haven’t they outplayed Weeks?

Lastly, McGehee is the one Brewer getting shafted in the early fan voting.  As it stands, the unsung third baseman and Prince-protector is looking up at both Wright and Polanco, despite having better numbers in all three Triple Crown categories, including a league-best 40 RBI.

Now let me be clear. I am obviously not faulting Brewer fans for flocking to the ballot box like it was a free tour of Miller. That’s what fans are supposed to do.

And judging from who’s ahead of the beloved Brewers infielders at this juncture, the only fans who are more passionate (or have more time on their hands) are Philly fans, who have managed to vault five of their players to starting positions.

No, what is sorely evident here is that the MLB needs to reconsider its formula for choosing the All-Star rosters.

Right now, fan votes choose the eight starting position players, a combination of player, coach, and manager voting selects eight pitchers—five starters and three relievers—plus back-up players for each position in the field. And the team’s manager gets the final say on nine more bench players, with the stipulation that each team is represented by at least one player.

Lastly, the fans get one final role in the process, choosing one out of five remaining players for All-Star designation.

Ultimately, then, this procedure yields a 34-player roster, which is far too large, but an issue for a different article.

The problem this system produces is what we see revealed in the early voting: certain teams (and their fans) dominate the voting process and skew the starting lineups. 

Starting in an All-Star game should be one of the great honors bestowed upon a Major League player, but instead, we often see situations where a starter should feel guilty for their bid (here’s looking at you, Jimmy Rollins).

If only allowing the fans to elect the bench for the game is going too far, what at least needs to happen is a new weighting system, where the votes of players, coaches, and managers—the guys that actually know who has been playing at an elite level—can offset homer fan votes.

Although baseball isn’t the only sport where fan-voting is a problem (remember Allen Iverson?), its game does hold the most history and prestige.  We’re talking about the freaking Midsummer Classic here!

So, Bud Selig, even if it’s too late to correct the voting routine for this year’s game (to be held July 13 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California), please do us one favor and compensate for the 2002 tie-game debacle by fixing this approach to picking the rosters.

Doing so, Mr. Selig, just could save your legacy. 

Okay, well I probably shouldn’t get too carried away…  

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