We'll continue in the National League with our 'Scouting the Lineup' series with a look at the big hitting Milwaukee Brewers. This season, the Brewers are showing shades of yesteryear going back to the vintage Harvey Wallbanger's era.

The Brewers lead the National League in home runs currently with 73, while they've teetered back in forth with leading all of baseball in that category throughout the season. While chicks might dig the long ball, believe me the state of Wisconsin does as well. Of course, coinciding with the gopher ball so often is a plethora of strikeouts, and the Brewers are no different. They rank second in the major leagues with a staggering 394 strikeouts. Carlos Lee has slugged 17 home runs, but he has only fanned 19 times. Prince Fielder, after a mini-slow start, has shown to be the real deal, hitting .328. Geoff Jenkins is again showing when he's going well this Brewer lineup is ultra-tough to contain. Rickie Weeks is now manning the leadoff spot with comparisons to Ricky Henderson. Brady Clark is currently red-hot after a miserable start, raising his average to .286 and a solid .392 OBP.

This is the first time in what seems forever the Brewers have featured tremendous depth with their lineup. How about this statistic: As of Saturday, the Brewers' No. 7 spot in the order was batting .398 on the season. That's unheard of and somewhat fluky as well. There are so many small-market teams that can't afford to miss a key player in their lineup, but Milwaukee has countered with Bill Hall, Jeff Cirillo and Gabe Gross. Manager Ned Yost has said this is easily his most versatile and depth-filled roster that he has had available.

The Brewers will be at their best against fly-ball pitchers that creates more opportunities for them to hit the ball out of the park. However, ground-ball guys can neutralize their power, because this is a slow team that can be tarnished by the double play. In their last couple of editions, this team has had trouble matching-up with the St. Louis Cardinals, who feature virtually all ground-ball starters. The Brewers still have some difficulty matching up against southpaw pitchers who can neutralize Jenkins and Fielder.

Pitchers the Brewers should thrive against include Kerry Wood, Tony Armas and Jorge Sosa. On the flip side, hurlers that can stifle this lineup include Brandon Webb, Zach Duke, Andy Pettite and Mark Mulder.

Former All-Star closer Dan Kolb said Wednesday that he is open to the idea of a hometown discount -- but only to a point -- and remained hopeful that he will be wearing a Brewers uniform on Opening Day.

"I'm open to anything," Kolb said while passing time with a little holiday shopping. "But it can't be a situation where I could get double somewhere else. It has to be a reasonable number for both sides."

Finding that number is the issue. Kolb, re-acquired earlier this month in a trade with Atlanta, became a free agent when the Brewers non-tendered him late Tuesday. Both sides remain cautiously optimistic that a new deal can be worked out to keep the former All-Star closer in Milwaukee.

Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said he tried unsuccessfully to reach agent Scott Boras regarding an offer for Kolb. Boras also represents outfielder Johnny Damon, whose move from the Red Sox to the Yankees was the big story in baseball on Wednesday.

Melvin is leaving for a European holiday on Friday along with his family and that of Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty, and said he will try again to reach Boras on Thursday.

"That's the goal," said Melvin, who will be out of the country until the first week in January. "I'm not going to let this thing drag on."

Had the Brewers tendered Kolb a contract before Tuesday's deadline, they could not have cut his salary by more than 20 percent. Kolb, who was traded to the Braves during the 2004 Winter Meetings, earned $3.4 million last season but struggled as Atlanta's closer, eventually losing that job and being left off the postseason roster.

Kolb has expressed some interest in returning to southeastern Wisconsin, where he and wife Joy Ann have a home, and reuniting with pitching coach Mike Maddux and bullpen coach Bill Castro. Under their tutelage, Kolb notched 60 saves during his season and a half in Milwaukee, including a franchise-record 39 in 2004.

The Brewers hope that those good memories will convince Kolb to return at a bit of a hometown discount. But Boras is notorious for driving hard bargains, and Kolb admitted that he is interested in testing free agency, which has been extremely friendly to pitchers of late.

"I'm pretty much in the dark, just like everybody else," Kolb said. "I'm still hopeful. You go about your day as best as you can and just wait for that phone call."

Is he tempted to test the open market?

"For anybody I think it would be tempting," Kolb said. "But it's about where I feel comfortable and where I have a chance to get back to where I was and to put last year behind me."

If he agrees to terms with the Brewers, Kolb would probably serve as a setup man to closer Derrick Turnbow, who did not emerge as the closer until late April but still managed to tie Kolb's franchise saves mark.

Kolb will turn 31 on March 29. He is doing his best to stay patient.

"I think some numbers have been tossed around, but nothing definite," Kolb said. "Until that happens, you just sit back and try to get used to it. When I'm presented with an offer, then I can decide on it."

Earlier Wednesday, Melvin acquired right-hander Chris Demaria from the Royals for Justin Barnes in a swap of young right-handers.

Originally a 17th-round draft pick of Pittsburgh in 2002, Demaria made a rapid ascent through the Royals organization in 2005 from Class A High Desert to Double-A Wichita to Kansas City. He was recalled by the Royals in September, earned his first Major League victory with a scoreless inning against the White Sox on Sept. 14 and overall made eight appearances for the Royals, allowing nine earned runs in nine innings.

"He had some time with the Royals, but if you look at it, he started the year in A-ball," Melvin said. "He's probably more of a long shot [to make the big league roster] because of his lack of experience."

In 139 Minor League appearances, Demaria is 19-10 with a 2.81 ERA and 34 saves. Like Brewers reliever Matt Wise, Demaria's best pitch is his changeup.

"He's a guy that throws a lot of strikes," Melvin said. "We liked that about him."

Barnes, 23, converted from third base to pitching in 2003 and had a breakthrough season in 2005. He spent the 2005 season with Class A West Virginia of the South Atlantic League, going 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA and one save in 29 games, three starts, and established career marks in wins, ERA, innings pitched, strikeouts and opponents' batting average.

When the Brewers traded their All-Star closer Dan Kolb in late 2004 for the Atlanta Braves' top pitching prospect, some thought Jose Capellan was better suited to a relief role.

Count Capellan among them.

"From a personal standpoint, I think that's what he wanted to be doing," said Frank Kremblas, who managed Capellan for more than half of 2005 at Triple-A Nashville. "I think he enjoys playing every day -- he gets a little bored otherwise."

Capellan, who made a successful transition from the starting rotation to the bullpen, is among a handful of Brewers playing in the Dominican Winter League. Through Wednesday, he had a 2.00 ERA in 18 innings over five games for Los Gigantes. He figures to compete for a spot in the Brewers bullpen during Spring Training.

Acquired from Atlanta in a December 2004 trade for Kolb, who was coming off a 39-save season, Capellan was a bit of a Spring Training disappointment. His fastball topped out in the low 90s instead of the 97-100 mph range he had flashed in past appearances, including the 2004 All-Star Futures Game in Houston.

Capellan was assigned to Triple-A Nashville and went 4-2 with a 5.16 ERA in 12 starts. Kremblas said Capellan consistently told Sounds pitching coach Stan Kyles he would rather be relieving, and the organization obliged in June.

"He's a lot different now than he was before," said Brewers bullpen coach Bill Castro, who kept tabs with Capellan after his switch to the bullpen. "He sounds happier."

He was also more effective. Capellan responded by posting a 1.44 ERA and six saves in 24 relief appearances. That earned him a promotion to Milwaukee to finish the season, where he went 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA in 17 games.

"He opened up a little more as a person and I think that helped him as a pitcher," Kremblas said. "He was a guy trying to get back to the big leagues, and a lot of the Dominican players are taught early on that the only way to do that is to put up numbers. He became a little too concerned with the results instead of working on things."

Capellan's fastball was back up to the 94-96 mph range by season's end and Brewers manager Ned Yost used him in a number of tight situations, especially while setup men Matt Wise and Julio Santana were lost to injury. Capellan did not allow an earned run in any of his eight road outings, and his ERA over his final 10 games was 2.00.

"He has a little bit of deception in his delivery," Kremblas said. "I've watched him enough and caught him enough to know that he's tough to hit. As he gets more confident and comfortable, his fastball could go up another 1-2 mph."

While pitching as a starter in Spring Training, Capellan was working on a changeup that showed some promise. But after moving to the bullpen, he worked almost exclusively with a fastball and slider.

Capellan and Kolb could be reunited in 2006. The Brewers re-acquired Kolb at the Winter Meetings for right-hander Wes Obermueller and are working to re-sign him without going to arbitration. Wise will also be back as a setup man for closer Derrick Turnbow.

The Brewers may also look at righty Mike Adams, who was tabbed as the team's closer when Kolb was traded to the Braves but never cemented his hold of that role. Adams had a 2.70 ERA in 13 appearances with the Brewers, but walked 10 batters in 13 1/3 innings and fell out of Yost's favor. He was demoted to Nashville on May 27.

With the Sounds, Adams was slowed by shoulder tightness and an oblique injury and went 3-4 with a 5.75 ERA and two saves in 26 relief stints. He is also pitching in the Dominican, and through Wednesday was 1-2 with a 6.20 ERA for Manati. He allowed 30 hits in his first 20 1/3 innings.

"I've always thought Mike was a competitor," Kremblas said. "But when he loses his fastball command, he has to have something else to go to. When his fastball command is on, he is almost unhittable. I've seen guys walk back to the dugout after facing him just shaking their heads because they can't see the ball."

Outfield prospect Nelson Cruz is also at work this winter. He batted .304 in his first 115 at-bats and led Los Gigantes -- the same team Capellan plays for -- with nine home runs and 26 RBIs.

The Brewers added another arm to the bullpen mix on Wednesday, when the team acquired Chris Demaria from the Royals for Justin Barnes in a swap of young right-handers.

Barnes, 23, converted from third base to pitching in 2003 and had a breakthrough season in 2005, but the 25-year-old Demaria is closer to the Majors and could help the Brewers fill an immediate need for bullpen depth.

Demaria took one of two vacant spots on Milwaukee's 40-man roster, which were cleared late Tuesday when the club non-tendered relievers Dan Kolb and Jeff Bennett. The Brewers plan to make an offer to re-sign Kolb, and will also look to re-sign Bennett on a Minor League contract.

Originally a 17th-round draft pick of Pittsburgh in 2002, Demaria made a rapid ascent through the Royals organization in 2005 from Class A High Desert to Double-A Wichita to Kansas City. He was recalled by the Royals in September, earned his first Major League victory with a scoreless inning against the White Sox on Sept. 14 and overall made eight appearances for the Royals, allowing nine earned runs in nine innings.

In 139 Minor League appearances, Demaria is 19-10 with a 2.81 ERA and 34 saves.

Barnes, originally selected by the Brewers in the 15th round of the 2002 First-Year Player Draft, spent the 2005 season with Class A West Virginia of the South Atlantic League. He went 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA and one save in 29 games, three starts, and established career marks in wins, ERA, innings pitched, strikeouts and opponents' batting average.