CHICAGO – One of the most memorable seasons in Milwaukee Brewers history has been something of a nightmare for Casey McGehee.

A year ago, McGehee was the team's most valuable player, a well-deserved honor after the one-time Cubs castoff hit .285 with 23 home runs and 104 RBI. Flash forward to the present and some are wondering if the 28-year-old is in the Brewers' long-term plans.

The situation isn't lost on McGehee, who is as befuddled by the situation as anyone else.

"Let's be honest here," McGehee says. "It's no secret it's been a struggle for me at times this year. No doubt about it, it hasn't gone the way I envisioned or hoped or expected to go."

What began as a slow start, at least by previous standards (.278 average, two home runs, 13 RBI in April), had become an all-out disaster by mid-season (.177, no home runs, 10 RBI in June). He's struggled mightily against left-handed pitching (.171/ 0/12) and away from Miller Park (.204/5/32).

The high point came on Aug. 3, when he hit a career-high three home runs in a 10-5 victory over the Cardinals at Miller Park. That game capped off a 15-game stretch during which he hit .351 with 12 RBI and boosted his average by 19 points, to .240.

Since then, McGehee has homered just four times – including a solo shot Monday night off Chicago closer Carlos Marmol. In his last 34 at-bats, he's recorded just three hits and after an 0-for-4 showing Tuesday, his average dipped to .227.

With little hope of boosting his numbers back up to the norm, McGehee is now focused on finishing the season on a high note and hopefully, finding his stroke in time for the postseason.

"There's only two things you can do about it," McGehee says. "You can either pout about it and quit, or you can keep going out there hacking and swinging and try to get going.

"I'm trying to get hot at the right time ... better late than never."

To get back into a groove, McGehee regularly puts in extra work with hitting coach Dale Sveum. McGehee says he's seen progress and that, mechanically, he feels the best he has since spring training and that he needs to be more "selectively aggressive" inside the batter's box.

Of course, that's easier said than done.

"He's not a mental wreck by any means, but it's an approach thing," Sveum says. "Getting focused and putting that into a plan on a consistent basis has been the hardest thing for him all year.

"That's why hitting can be so difficult; a lot of times it isn't mechanical, it's just more what you're thinking in the box."

Despite McGehee's struggles, manager Ron Roenicke has stood by his third baseman, putting him in the starting lineup 137 times this season. He's had to move McGehee out of his usual fifth spot in the lineup in order to provide better protection for Prince Fielder, but Roenicke has resisted the calls for McGehee to be replaced.

"Tell me the personnel you want to change with," Roenicke says. "We've got guys in there and if somebody got really hot and went off, then they would be in there more."

Taylor Green is one player Roenicke has used at third. The organization's minor league player of the year earned his first major league call-up on Aug. 26 after hitting .336 with 22 home runs and 88 RBI in 120 games at Class AAA Nashville.

He got off to a torrid start after his first major league call-up, reaching base in his first three at-bats and hit safely in eight of his first nine games. He's cooled off lately, however, and is hitless in his last 12 at-bats.

"I knew that was going to happen," Roenicke says. "You can't come up here and hit .600."

So Roenicke is sticking with McGehee for now and keeps hoping that he'll turn things around.

"He's shown he can do it," Roenicke says. "I'm waiting for him to do it. I've seen stretches where he's done it really well. Whether it's a home run (Monday) night, something, I'm hoping, clicks and these last couple weeks he gets it back.

"I don't know. He doesn't know. He's out here working, he's battling, he's grinding, he's doing every thing he can to try and get that back."

The Brewers had been working with McGehee on a possible contract extension over the winter but were unable to reach an agreement. He becomes eligible for arbitration this winter, though it's impossible not to wonder now whether or not the team will choose to go with Green, or somebody else, in 2011.

"As far as I'm concerned, I'm under contract to play for this year and the ball is not really in my court," McGehee said at the time. "If the subject comes up in the future, obviously I'd be more than willing to listen. We're all adults, and we can all understand either having a difference of opinion or this not being the right time. I don't take it personally, and I don't think Doug takes it personally."

In the meantime, all McGehee can do is work. The fact that the Brewers are likely to play in the postseason has softened the blow, but he does hope he can find a way to contribute.

"It's definitely nice we've been winning games," McGehee says. "On the flip side of it, there's a little bit of frustration with that, too. We had big expectations coming into the year, and I had big expectations of myself.

"You want to be a part of what's going on. You want to be one of the guys contributing nightly to the success we've had."