When Doug Melvin signed Mike Cameron to the Milwaukee Brewers this offseason, I was skeptical. I thought, like most, that the trouble with our offense was the lack of another left-handed bat, an outfielder that could anchor the talented duo at the corners, leading the Brewers with veteran leadership and most importantly, OBP. Cameron was indeed a veteran acquisition, and he was certainly going to improve the Brewers' team defense, but I must admit, at the time of the signing I did not like the prospect of his bat being added to our line up. Moreover, I felt that his 25 game suspension would offset any possible gains of his signing because the holes that were there prior to his signing -- low OBP, no left-handed bat -- would resurface during his suspension.

Over the course of the season I have warmed to Cameron, with that respect growing with every game -- finding what he brings to the outfield to be very valuable on this young team, and learning about his excellent clubhouse presence and documented veteran leadership. Moreover, I steadily began to see what his bat brought our team, in the face of seemingly endless criticism from fans:

-Cameron strikes out too much

-Cameron doesn't hit for average

-Cameron doesn't get on base

Mike Cameron is a visible characateur of our offense; if a political cartoonist were to draw our offense, Cameron would be his face. A big, friendly smile, carrying a huge bat with even bigger holes, and of course, and XBH% in the stratosphere.

As Cameron played more, he warmed up, and I suddenly began to realize the brilliance of Doug Melvin's off-season: his plan was not to attempt to create balance where there was no balance to be found. His attempt was to find the character of his offense and enhance it -- even better, enhance in the person of a centerfielder that would not occupy one of the key run-producing roles.

Suddenly, Cameron's .242/.333/.503 is seen as an excetional line of production for a center fielder, and even better, his partner in CF and the team's all-around fourth outfielder, Gabe Kapler, replaces him perfectly to the tune of .305/.336/.498. At the corners, Hart and Braun are doing their jobs: Braun's mammoth .588 SLG enhances a league average .340 OBP, and Hart's below-average .320 OBP is improved with a strong .492 SLG.

On top of that, the team speed in the outfield is exellent, with all three of the starting OF sitting above 10 HR and 10 SB, with Hart a candidate for a 20-20 season, and Cameron not far behind (20 HR, 12 SB).

All together, what used to be a signing that exemplified imbalance, that showed a type of stubborn insistence towards right-handed power hitters, Doug Melvin quietly put together the best SLG OF in the NL, and probably the best overall OF in the NL, to boot.

No other team in the NL can match the Brewers' core of starting OF and their fourth outfielder when all four are taken together as a package. The New York Mets come closest with a group of strong substitutes and stopgaps, but the total impact of their OF is not quite the same as the Brewers.

Patrolling that grass at Miller Park, and scattered throughout Ned Yost's powerful line up, the Brew Crew's outfielders drive this team and rather than serving as a detrimental example of imbalance and right-handed excess, this group of speedsters, gutsy veterans, and flashy youngsters exemplifies run production.

Let's celebrate our excellent outfield, and their power, speed, and overall production!

LF: Ryan Braun, .300/.340/.588, 140 H, 32 2B, 6 3B, 30 HR, 101 K/27 BB, 10/13 SB

CF: Mike Cameron, .242/.333/.503, 76 H, 20 2B, 1 3B, 20 HR, 100 K/41 BB, 12/17 SB

RF: Corey Hart, .284/.320/.492, 132 H, 33 2B, 5 3B, 18 HR, 81 K/23 BB, 22/27 SB

OF: Gabe Kapler, .305/.336/.498, 62 H, 14 2B, 2 3B, 7 HR, 33 K/9 BB, 3/3 SB