Pitching coach Dave Stewart became the second top name coach in less than a season to resign from the Brewers' staff.

Rod Carew, a Hall of Fame player and hitting genius, quit before he was fired last season. Bob Apodaca, a respected pitching coach, stayed around long enough to get fired.

Although he was in his first managerial job, Davey Lopes was considered a good baseball man before he was fired as manager earlier this season. Jerry Royster, another good baseball man, and at least some of his staff will likely be axed after this season.

Let's face it. The frustrations of trying to coach and manage the Crew chew up even the best baseball men.

GM Dean Taylor simply has not provided the kind of talent necessary for success, no matter who is instructing the players. Many of the Brewers simply do not have the tools necessary to get any better than they are. Others still lack the experience. A few, and they are in the minority, lack the motivation to really improve.

Stewart, Carew, Apodaca, Lopes and all the others came to Milwaukee with the baseball backgrounds and attitudes that are necessary for success. But, players who did not share those backgrounds or attitudes frustrated them.

Not only have the Brewers chewed up some good baseball men in the last year or two, but the situation also doesn't bode well for the future. Who will want to come to Milwaukee if the talent does not improve?

Paul Molitor, often a rumored managerial candidate, said a couple weeks ago that he would include the Brewers among the teams he would consider coming to. But, he followed that up by also saying, "You don't want to go into a situation that sets you up for failure."

Robin Yount has said he took a coaching job with the D-Backs rather than the Brewers because he still has family back home in Arizona. But, Yount also might not want to become part of a losing cause.

What does that say when even your former legendary players are hesitant to commit to coaching or managing for the franchise?

I read with interest, and contributed to, the OMC list of 100 things the Brewers need to do, which ran this week. Tops on that list has to be to acquire some better talent. If that doesn't happen, good baseball men will continue to come here and be chewed up by the frustration of failure.

The one good thing about Stewart's resignation is that Billy Castro got a chance to become a pitching coach. Castro has been a loyal Brewers' employee for more than a couple decades, as a player and bullpen coach.

He has made his home in Milwaukee, raised kids here and contributed a great deal to the Hispanic community. Let's hope he doesn't get chewed up by losing.

If you want an example of what the first part of this column was saying, consider the deal Taylor made shortly before the waiver deadline Wednesday. The Brewers got journeyman catcher Jorge Fabregas and two players to be named later from the Angels for outfielder Alex Ochoa and minor league catcher Sal Fasano.

Unless the two players to be named later are good prospects, it is hard to see how the deal makes the Brewers any better. Fabregas is 32 and was hitting only .193 in 35 games for the Angels. Paul Bako and Robert Machado have done decent jobs behind the plate, and Raul Casanova is coming off the DL.

Maybe Taylor has something else in mind for the future, but this deal, and the trade of Tyler Houston for two minor league pitchers last week, don't seem like the kind of deals that will help the Brewers.

Deals can still be made before the playoff team rosters have to be set at the end of this month, but now players must clear waivers.

If Richie Sexson had a good enough week to win the NL Player of the Week honor, he certainly qualifies for this one. Sexson had a red-hot series against Colorado and has been hitting well for more than a week, despite the fact he has some lingering hamstring problems.

The now-departed Alex Ochoa singled home the game winning hit in the 10th inning last weekend against the Rockies.

Mike De Jean, for blowing his cool in a shouting match on the mound with Royster. Again, it can probably be attributed to the frustration of losing, but even De Jean himself says it should never have happened.