Sheets strong in outing at Omaha

07/20/2006
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Brewers are among a number of teams considering making Toronto an offer for embattled third baseman Shea Hillenbrand, but it might be a long shot.
The Brewers are thin at third in the wake of injuries to shortstop J.J. Hardy, who is having season-ending ankle surgery on Thursday, and third baseman Corey Koskie, who is back in Milwaukee and sidelined indefinitely with post-concussion syndrome. But one of Hillenbrand's problems with the Blue Jays was his playing time, and the Brewers may not be able to promise him anything.
"I've got people studying it," said Brewers general manager Doug Melvin, who planned to meet with assistant GM Gord Ash later Thursday in Charleston, S.C., to see one of Milwaukee's Class A affiliates. "We're trying to figure out if Koskie's status has changed any."
That's the complicated part. Koskie, acquired from the Blue Jays in January, was having a fine season for Milwaukee before he suffered a minor concussion playing defense on July 5. The team figured he would miss a few days, but symptoms persisted to the point that the team sent Koskie back to Milwaukee to "rest his brain" as manager Ned Yost put it -- no television, no video games, no reading. He could return in a few days -- or a few weeks.
"You can get somebody like [Hillenbrand], but if Koskie comes back, you've got a problem on your hands," Melvin said.
Koskie and Hillenbrand both play third base and first base, and Jeff Cirillo plays first, second and third (he could play shortstop, but only in a pinch). Melvin worries that having all three on the roster would create a numbers problem.
"You can't only look at what it does for you today," Melvin said. "You have to look at what it does for you tomorrow. Will the player be happy? If Koskie is out until September, then, yeah, we would do that. But we don't know."
The Blue Jays designated Hillenbrand for assignment Wednesday night after he refused to sit in the dugout with his teammates after he was chastised during a team meeting. He reportedly was upset because he wasn't in the starting lineup for the second consecutive game and nobody in Toronto's front office congratulated him on adopting a child last weekend. Toronto has 10 days to trade Hillenbrand or release him, and with other teams like the Angels and Padres showing interest, a trade is likely.
Does Melvin worry about character issues?
"I've heard good things about Hillenbrand," Melvin said. "This sounds like a personal problem with the manager."
Hillenbrand is hitting .301 with 12 homers and 39 RBIs. He had cooled in June and July, batting .246 with five home runs and 14 RBIs. There is also a debate within Brewers circles about Hillenbrand's propensity to hit into double plays.
The Padres released 39-year-old veteran third baseman Vinny Castilla on Wednesday, but he "doesn't do anything for us," Melvin said.
The Brewers have lost nine of their last 11 games, including an especially tough one on Thursday, when they blew a 6-1 lead and lost in the bottom of the ninth on closer Derrick Turnbow's fourth straight blown save.
"We just have to get consistent overall," Melvin said. "There's nothing hurting us more on our club than the overall consistency."

Source: http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/