With the Brewers long-awaited series at Fenway just a few days away, die-hard fans have already booked their flights. And what Milwaukee fan wouldn’t want to go catch this series? It’s not every year the team gets out to Beantown, in fact, it’s become a rarity. The last time the Brewers were fortunate to play the Red Sox in Boston was way back in 1997. Consequently, that year the two played each other six games in just over a week.  But due to the aforementioned fact, it would not only be a treat for traveling fans, but also wise for the front-office to make a minor personnel move. My proposal is this: push every starter back one day, to allow Ben Sheets to start Friday in the opener against Dice-K Matsuzaka, then subsequently recall Jeff Weaver from AAA to take Sheets’ spot Thursday (send down a reliever). Now this kind of move obviously isn’t plausible on a regular basis, but if there was ever a time to do it, this would be it. Why? Sheets, who is scheduled to pitch Thursday’s finale against the Dodgers, has posted a 4-0 record with a 2.53 ERA in 7 starts thus far. One day extra-rest would not only be advantageous for Sheets, it would be an opportunity for the Brewers to showcase Big-Ben on a national stage. And for all of you missing the point I’m getting at, Sheets’ contract is due up at the end of next season. While it’s always possible they could just resign him, they have a number of young stars entering arbitration in the upcoming years, and in order to retain them a chunk of change will have to be dished out. Allowing Sheets to start healthy, in Boston, against Dice-K, with six days rest, could be the last chance for the front-office to maximize his value before year’s end. It’s pure speculation, but if pulled off it would be a smart move looking down the road.

Fun Fact: Of the six games the Brewers played the Bo-Sox in ‘97, the lone game they won was against none other than Jeff Suppan, who was chased from the game after surrendering 6 runs in 1 1/3 innings. Suppan was originally drafted by the Red Sox in the second round of the 1993 Draft (Courtesy of BaseballReference.com).