While many Brewers fans are wrestling with the idea of whether the team should sign Carlos Lee to a contract extension (see OnMilwaukee.com for a point/counterpoint on that issue), club officials outside of the baseball operations are working to secure another valuable asset:

The TV broadcasters.

The process has been moving quietly and slowly over the past few weeks, but sources close to the organization told OnMilwaukee.com that the team is working on extensions with Daron Sutton and Bill Schroeder. Schroeder has been in the booth since 1995, working with Jim Paschke, Matt Vasgersian and Sutton, who is in his fifth season.

Both Sutton and Schroeder are active in the community and represent the club at functions year-round. Sutton also calls UW-Milwaukee basketball games on TV in the off-season and has started hosting "Baseball Saturday," which airs at 8 a.m. Saturday on Milwaukee's ESPN Radio 1510 Days/1290 nights. Schroeder, a former Brewers catcher, runs the team's fantasy camp in Arizona.

The negotiations aren't limited to the TV announcers. On the radio side, Jim Powell has been talking to WTMJ (620 AM) about an extension since spring training and a deal could be reached before the all-star break. Powell is in his 11th season with the team. His partner, Bob Uecker, is paid by the club and has never really had a contract. Uecker, who was inducted into the broadcaster's wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003, is in his 36th year with the club.