JJ Hardy

As the Milwaukee Brewers look toward a long off-season filled with projects, one objective that will have priority is their effort to trade 27-year-old shortstop J.J. Hardy.

Hardy, just two years removed from a 2007 National League All-Star selection, watched his production and value to the club drop sharply in 2009. After a 2008 campaign in which he batted .283/.343/.478, and saved the Brewers 16 runs with his glove alone, Hardy sank into futility as the season wore on.

Before the 2009 season started, there were three teams that were widely viewed as possible contenders for the National League Central crown: the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, and the Cincinnati Reds.

The Cubs were the defending NL Central champs, had the best record in the National League in 2008, and were easily the most talented team in the division.

The Cardinals had the best player in baseball, Albert Pujols, several talented role players, and expected to see a return to dominance of Chris Carpenter.

JJ Hardy has recently become the center of attention lately in regard to trade talks for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Hardy may very well be the "Golden Boy" of Wisconsin sports. He's the player that all the men want to be and all the women want to be with. If you doubt that, take a good listen at Miller Park the next time the starting lineup is announced.

Never in the history of baseball has a career .265 hitter been so adored by fans. To hear some fans talk, you would think that a young Robin Yount was taking the field at short.

According to Boston.com, The Milwaukee Brewers "might" be taking a look at moving shortstop JJ Hardy to Boston in exchange for pitching.  It's a good feature on how baseball GM's analyze and execute trades, with Brewers GM Doug Melvin getting asked a few questions along the way. Boston Globe writer Nick Cafardo says:

I was going to spend some time today talking about the current situation with Bill Hall, but it seems as though there is much more to talk about than just Hall. I will get to his situation in a bit.

First off, Dave Bush is ALL man! I know he lost the game last night and gave up a Ruthian home run to Marlins pitcher Josh Johnson, but the toughness Bush showed after taking a line drive off his pitching arm was outstanding.

Bush continues to be a very important part of the Brewers' rotation and he continues to give the Brewers a chance to win every game he pitches.

I hoped I would never have to come to this conclusion, especially after their playoff berth in 2008, but the Brewers stink.

At 3-8, Milwaukee is already in the divisional cellar and searching for the light to get out but are not finding it.

I usually never admit that my team stinks, and I haven't said it about the Brewers since they really did stink, back in the early 2000's. But now I am left with no choice but to say it and not get my 2009 hopes up.

Dave Bush showed Saturday night against the Cubs that his performance in the second half of 2008 was no fluke.

Bush went out and held the Cubs in check. He picked up a quality start but unfortunately, the Brewers bullpen let him down and the Brewers took the loss 6-5 at Miller Park. Bush went 6 1/3 innings and gave up only three runs to a powerful Cubs offense. He allowed six hits, struck out five and allowed a home run to Fukudome.

I recently wrote an article on "25 Ways to Tell if You're a Cardinals Fan." I enjoyed coming up with the list so much, I decided to stay in the division and turn it into a series of articles.

So, Milwaukee, here is your list of ways to tell if you're a Brewers fan!

Perhaps no Brewers player was ready for Spring Training to start as much as JJ Hardy. Hardy's name was very popular in hot stove discussions over the winter. Many people wanted Hardy traded for young pitching.

Others wanted him to move over to third base to make room for top prospect Alcides Escobar at shortstop. In the end, he will be right where he belongs in 2009, playing shortstop for the Milwaukee Brewers.