I think Hardy's status as a hot/cold kind of guy plays into the whole thing as well. I know Hardy's been bad the past few weeks, but, in the back of my mind, I'm still thinking that he could light the fuse in any one at-bat and turn the whole thing around. Also, just two short weeks ago, there was a Wednesday afternoon game against St. Louis that the Crew ended up losing 3-2. If I remember the IGT right, several people were hoping the Brewers could just get J.J. to the plate in the ninth. He'd been great all day. He grounded out to end it, but the incident points to his streakiness and the amount of confidence he instills when he's going right. The offense has been awful lately, and it's natural to look for someone to blame. Perhaps Hardy should be taking more fire, but, as others have pointed out, the whole lineup (with notable exceptions Misters Braun and Fielder) has stunk it up recently. Blame placed on Hardy would be, in my view, more like finding a short-term target for short-term frustration. The blame on Hart and Hall cuts a little deeper.