The first half of the team’s 2006 season was completed on Friday night when the Brewers dropped a game below .500 after an 8-2 defeat at the hands of the Twins. At 40-41, Milwaukee is four-and-a-half games behind the Cardinals and Reds, who surprisingly share the top spot in both the National League Central and Wild Card standings. Despite spending the vast majority of the season without ace Ben Sheets and number four starter Tomo Ohka, the Brewers are right in the middle of the playoff race and two games above their 2005 pace when a loss to the Pirates on July 3rd dropped them to 38-43. While the 81-game mark is an arbitrary delimiter, it nonetheless provides a convenient opportunity to evaluate the team’s performance. Who have been the most productive Brewers? Who has earned first-half honors and dishonors? While this article is by no means comprehensive, it provides a cursory answer to each of those questions as the Brewers prepare to make the turn back toward the 2006 clubhouse.

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