MILWAUKEE — Ron Roenicke has a puzzle that he hasn't quite cracked yet.
The Brewers manager knows his team is better than what they've shown this season, and seeing that potential has made the team's struggles all the more frustrating. So lately, Roenicke has experimented with different guys in different spots in the lineup and on the field.
Soon, that experiment could include one of Milwaukee's best players.
Right fielder Corey Hart was a first baseman before being moved to the outfield while playing with Double-A Huntsville. His transition back to the position could be the next move Roenicke makes in his effort to reenergize the Brewers offense. It's an adjustment that Roenicke and general manager Doug Melvin have talked about extensively.
"He's not going to be comfortable there until we just put him over there and let him stay," Roenicke said on Sunday. "I don't care how much early stuff we do. He needs to just be out there for games … but I don't know if that's the direction we want to go or not. … I want to talk to Doug about it. We have talked about it a little bit. We talked about it in spring training, so we'll see."
Hart did get a shot at playing first late in the Brewers' 16-4 dismantling of the Twins on Sunday afternoon. But even he admitted that lack of pressure in the game didn't make for much of a learning experience.
"It'll just take a few groundballs here and there to get the hang of it," Hart said. "It's just the game situations I need to get used to."
Presumably, Hart would replace the platoon of Travis Ishikawa and Taylor Green, which had been doing decent job as fill-in replacements. But Hart's move from the outfield would allow Roenicke to give more playing time between Nyjer Morgan, Norichika Aoki, and Carlos Gomez—all of which have shown they're on the right track offensively.
At this point, however, Hart is just waiting on Roenicke to make the decision on his place in the field. And just like when he was moved to the leadoff spot in place of second baseman Rickie Weeks, he'll do his best to take the change in stride.
"It's not my favorite spot, but right now we're trying to do whatever we can to get wins," Hart said. "And if that's going to help us then I'll go over there."
Taking a day off: Rickie Weeks' season-long slump reached a seemingly new low on Saturday with a four-strikeout affair, dropping his batting average all the way to .154.
Weeks is normally one of the more resolute players when it comes to not taking a day off. But when the Roenicke asked on Saturday, even Weeks seemed to consent to the manager's decision to let him watch a game from the dugout.
"We talked about it yesterday," Roenicke said on Sunday. "We've been talking about how to get him going, and I thought physically the hand still isn't 100 percent. … And he usually is really adamant on telling me no, but I explained some things to him and just (have him) take a physical day off, watch, and maybe come into the game to pinch hit. But he was like, ‘Hey you're the manager.'
"He's really been working the last few days with (hitting coach) Johnny (Narron). He's doing a lot of extra hitting … they're trying to find something and figure it out."
Roenicke also gave third baseman Aramis Ramirez a day off on Sunday, but Ramirez's absence was just for the purpose of rest.
"He's been grinding pretty hard," Roenicke said. "I hate to take him out of the lineup because I think he's really swinging the bat well. … I have to think more of taking care of the guys and making sure that, physically, they're okay to continue on."
Position player pitching: When Minnesota Twins catcher Drew Butera hit 94 mph on a fastball he delivered from the Miller Park mound in the bottom of the eighth on Sunday, everyone's eyes widened a bit in the Milwaukee clubhouse.
"Some kind of arm, huh?" Roenicke said. "It's not that easy to walk up there and throw that hard."
Butera actually struck out center fielder Carlos Gomez and saw just four batters during his quick stint on the mound. But his interesting inning begged the question for Milwaukee fans: If the Brewers sent out a position player to the mound, who would it be?
"We were talking about Gomez," Roenicke said. "He's always wanted to pitch. But I'm a little bit worried about him trying to throw 100 … and getting hurt."
Roenicke said they likely would have decided on utility infielder Edwin Maysonet, if the Brewers had decided to rest their relievers.
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