Things have changed considerably in the past couple of weeks for the Milwaukee Brewers. On the field, the Brew Crew's torrid pace that they displayed in July and August is slowing down. Off the field, distractions are starting to pile up.
While Milwaukee is all but guaranteed a playoff spot, a couple of high-profile Brewers are making some news away from Miller Park, both of which could provide a distraction.
First, Prince Fielder has come out and admitted what was pretty much already assumed. He told TBS that he's likely going to leave Milwaukee after this season.
"I'm signed for this year, but being real about it, it is probably the last year," the first baseman said. "It's been great, unfortunately, this is probably the last year of the one-two punch … But I think it's been good, [five] years, him and me. Hopefully, we can go out with a blast."
Perhaps more alarming for Ron Roenicke's bunch are the qualms that reliever Francisco Rodriguez has about his current role in the Brewers bullpen.
Rodriguez, who was acquired in the middle of July from the Mets, is all of a sudden unhappy with how he is being used, as he is primarily being trotted out in front of Milwaukee closer John Axford.
"I'm not happy. That's the bottom line for me," Rodriguez told CBSSports.com. "They told me one thing; they haven't done it, and I stand by what I said."
Rodriguez insists that he was told one thing by the Brewers, and they apparently haven't lived up their end of the bargain.
"Don't tell me something you're not going to do. That's what irritates me most. They told me they were going to do something, and they didn't. Simple as that," Rodriguez said.
K-Rod did say that he was going to continue to do his job, but didn't mince words when talking about being excited for the season to be over.
"The season's about to end in two weeks, and we need to win eight more games," Rodriguez said. "So I'll go as hard as I can the next two series coming up and try to wrap them up now. That's it. That's the bottom line now. That's the most important thing."
Milwaukee has scuffled some as of late, but they do hold a six-game lead in the NL Central. That means that Rodriguez will have to continue to do his job for at least three more weeks, not two.
