by Mike Lucas , The Capital Times

Manny being Manny? That's a problem, especially for manager Ken Macha, who needs to have some level of trust in Parra, some assurance that Parra isn't teasing everyone again with his upside before flopping on his backside.

Last August when the Brewers were looking for some stability, some toughness, they got a "soft" Manny instead; a Manny who so angered Prince Fielder that the hefty first baseman wanted to tear him apart with his bare hands.

When push came to shove in the Milwaukee dugout, Fielder shoved Manny a second time, presumably to shake some sense into Manny, if not kill him, an option that may also have crossed Fielder's mind after discovering that Manny had left the bench during a loss to the Reds.

"I'm sure they'll hate each other for a couple of days," Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun observed afterward, "then get over it and be friends soon enough."

Sort of like the recent shoving match (figuratively) between a frustrated Braun and Milwaukee general manager Doug Melvin, whose decision to "fire back" on Braun caught everybody off-guard. Particularly since it seemed so out of character for Melvin, almost as out of character as last season's firing of Ned Yost, which was attributed to Melvin.

Few believe it.

The common denominator?

Mark Attanasio.

If we can assume that Attanasio was largely responsible for Yost's departure, maybe we can also assume that Attanasio had a hand in rebuking Braun. Maybe we're stretching the truth. But it makes for a better story. This is not an indictment of Attanasio, either. If he's writing the checks, he gets to call the shots, at the expense of Melvin and Yost, for sure.

When Attanasio recently declared that the Brewers were "buyers, not sellers" on the trading market, he put as much pressure on Melvin to get something done as Braun did when he questioned whether Melvin was doing enough to improve the product on the field. Melvin answers to Attanasio, not Braun, which may have led to the verbal spat (out of Melvin's own frustration if nothing else.) It's possible Attanasio and Melvin both recognized that Braun needed to be reminded of the chain-of-command with Melvin possibly serving as the Bad Cop. Fact is, nobody else, save Fielder, could get away with saying the things that Braun has a penchant for saying at times. Maybe by shortening Braun's leash, management was sending a message to everybody else in the clubhouse, protecting their interests.

Whoever.

Whatever.

Whenever.

However ...

While everyone is entitled to believe what they will, most people seemingly believe Braun had crossed a line with his comments, thereby they're siding with Melvin. That amounts to a temporary reprieve, no doubt, since the Brewers haven't shown many signs lately of patching their holes without outside help.

Parra's performance Thursday renewed faith in Parra ---- until he proves otherwise, until Manny is being Manny again, and the other Manny shows up for work. Until then, the Brewers can remain competitive in the NL Central, even though the Cardinals have better players. Better position players, better pitching.

That falls on Attanasio and Melvin, of course, not Braun and Parra. Since second baseman Rickie Weeks was sidelined for the season with an untimely wrist injury, the Brewers are 21-27.

Weeks' absence, coupled with the uninspiring play of Bill Hall, Corey Hart and J.J. Hardy, has left Milwaukee in a vulnerable position: teetering between contender and pretender. Push is coming to shove for Attanasio and Melvin.

Mike Lucas - 7/10/2009 7:34 am

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