Prince Fielder

Remember in high school, the senior class would vote to see who would be the "Most Likely to Succeed," or the "Most Likely to Marry a Millionaire," and so on?

Just before the All-Star break is an appropriate time to present a list of the “Most Likely To...”

It is all for fun and giggles, no pressure, not hard to force the gray matter into coming up with earth shattering news.

Several teams have very good players in their three, four and five holes in the batting order. However I don’t think any are as good as the St. Louis Cardinals this season. Matt Holliday, Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman are as good as it gets.

As I write this article, Holliday is the National League’s leading hitter, and Berkman is in second place, both batting over .400.

In OBP, Holliday is in first place and Berkman in third.

After locking up Ryan Braun through 2020, can the Brewers actually compete for Prince Fielder's services next season?

With each passing day, the demeanor of most Brewers fans begins to fade ever so slightly regarding the status of their beloved first-baseman, Prince Fielder.

Overall, the upcoming MLB free agency class for the 2011 offseason is fairly weak.  Unlike 2010 when baseball fans anxiously watched to see where pitcher Cliff Lee and All-Star outfielder Carl Crawford would end up, 2011 will figure to be a quiet offseason.

More and more, teams are handing out big money to lock up their players long-term. That's really nothing new. When you have a big-time talent, you want to keep that guy in uniform as long as you can.

But what's interesting is the lengths teams have gone to recently to sign players to contract extensions that may or may not be necessary.

The home plate collision is one of the most jarring moments in all of sports, as you see the type of hits you expect on the gridiron in the tamer arena of the baseball diamond.

No collision is more memorable than when Pete Rose collided with Ray Fosse in the last play of the 1970 All-Star game, but there have been some big ones over the years.

So here are the 20 players playing today that I would least like to find myself in a collision with at home plate.

The Brewers just finished up their first of three games in a weekend series against the rival Chicago Cubs at Miller Park. Let me say that the game was not played crisply by either club. The 7-4 loss dropped the Brewers' record to 3-5 on the season.

July 31 is the MLB trade deadline. This is the special time of year when teams put the "for sale: inquire within" sign on the outside of the stadium. Teams from across the country look to shed salary, unload unhappy stars, or add that special piece, that the front office believes will propel the team to a championship level.

This hurts.

Born and raised in Madison, WI, I've been a Milwaukee Brewers fan my entire life. I remember my dad taking me to games at old County Stadium to see Robin Yount and Paul Molitor play, and it was so easy and "available" to stand outside after the game to fetch autographs from your favorite players or even to just see the team.

The opening month of the season is a time for optimism around baseball, as everyone is still in the running at that point. Still, there are clearly teams that will not be in that position for long, and they need to look ahead to what moves they may make at mid season to strength their team moving forward.

There are a number of intriguing options who may find themselves on the trade block sooner rather than later, with no name larger than Prince Fielder, who has been at the center of trade rumors for what seems like years now.