Milwaukee enjoying Casey McGehee's play, to the Cubs dismay

One of the pleasant surprises of the Milwaukee Brewers 16-25 season has been the continued stellar play of third baseman Casey McGehee. Going into Friday's game vs. the Minnesota Twins, McGehee is batting .325, with nine homeruns and 37 RBI. In fact, during McGehee's first 164 games in the big leagues, he is hitting .302, with 25 homeruns and 108 RBI. 

The Brewers claimed McGehee on waivers, from the Chicago Cubs, after the 2008 season. Because of McGehee's brief major league service time, the Brewers are getting a tremendous bargain. This season, McGehee will earn $427,500.

While the Brewers are certainly happy with the development of McGehee, the folks on the North Side of Chicago maybe regretting that they gave him away for next to nothing.

Since the Chicago Cubs waived McGehee, third baseman Aramis Ramirez has seen his career take a sharp turn for the worse. After dislocating his shoulder, vs. the Brewers early in 2009, Ramirez has yet to rediscover his old form. This season, Ramirez is batting .166, with four homeruns and 20 RBI.  The Cubs' frustration is compounded by Ramirez's $16,750 million salary in 2010.

As both National League Central teams continue to underachieve, at least the Brewers can take some solace in a good decision made at the expense of a division rival.   

It is clear that McGehee has found a home in Milwaukee. It is also worth noting the level of respect he is gaining from around the rest of baseball.  Below are two video examples of this situation.

The first scene took place during an interaction with Brewers' fans at Milwaukee ChopHouse Restaurant in April. McGehee appears to be very comfortable within his Wisconsin surroundings.

The second setting was outside of PNC Park, in Pittsburgh, later in April.  This was the three-game series where the Brewers outscored the Pirates 36-1, including the 20-0 thrashing on April 22.

Also, take a look at a previous article and video discussing Brewers' LF Ryan Braun's obvious comfort with the fans of Milwaukee.