Quietly last week, rogue pellet shooter Emil Brown passed golden boys Mark Teahen and David DeJesus for the RBI lead on this team. That means that in 150 and 200 fewer at bats (respectively) Brown has more RBIs; and generally he's done it from less desireable spots in the lineup (Teahen almost always in 3rd spot, supposedly THE big RBI spot).

So, I suppose it's time, as we look at FAs available on the market, to wonder: 1)is Brown's "decline" this year just based on lack of consistent playing time 2)do we consider "commiting" to him as an OFer and make him PART (to stress, not all) of the improvement needed in the OF.

Perhaps if Teahen moves back into the infield and a mid-level FA (anywhere from Jose Guillen to Aaron Rowand) is put in another OF position, then filling the other spot with a full slate of Emil would be an improvement.

Sure, he's a headcase. But is Milton Bradley any better? And Brown's off year may actually drive down his FA value anywhere else.

As much as I want this team to move on from the many of the players that constituted our pathetic teams of the past (Sweeney, Brown, etc.) we also have to recognize when guys who were expected to be stars actually are only valuable as bit parts to pair with true stars. Casting off the bit parts because they aren't stars is counterproductive. We just have to go get the stars to make this a good team.