Just about two years before Richie Sexson became the second Brewer to finish in the top four of an All-Star Game home run derby, he quickly became the best move Brewers general manager Dean Taylor ever made.

So as Sexson made an honorable showing in front of the home folks at Miller Park Monday night (he hit 10 homers in two rounds before being eliminated by runner-up Sammy Sosa), Taylor hopefully sat back for a moment and realized his nearly three years in Milwaukee haven't been all bad.

Sure, the Brewers are 33-55 and the only sixth-place team in baseball, but two players that weren't here when Taylor arrived in late 1999 -- Sexson and shortstop Jose Hernandez -- are the also the only two guys still in Milwaukee (and in their uniforms) over the All-Star break.

Debate may -- rage isn't quite the right word -- kindle over Hernandez's Midsummer inclusion, but in a decent league for first baseman (Jeff Bagwell, Tino Martinez, Fred McGriff, Sean Casey, Eric Karros, J.T. Snow, Mo Vaughn, Mark Grace), Sexson was a clear cut All-Star choice behind starter and fan favorite Todd Helton.

Before Sexson arrived on July 28, 2000, Charlie Hayes, Tyler Houston and Kevin Barker made up the first base troika at County Stadium. Imagine how poor the team would be in 2002 without the lanky blonde's .282 average, 19 homers and 62 RBI.

In broad daylight, Taylor acquired Sexson and pitchers Paul Rigdon and Kane Davis for starters Steve Woodard, Jason Bere and closer Bob Wickman. A decent fourth or fifth starter, Bere has no real value to a 70-win team; Wickman may still be productive, but he isn't significantly better or worse than Curtis Leskanic (well, maybe), Chad Fox or Mike DeJean, the parade of closers who have followed him. And Woodard's once promising big-league career is at a crossroads with Philadelphia, his third team since the deal.

Sexson, meanwhile, has literally blossomed into a star.

"Our scouts are not concerned about what Richie Sexson is going to give the Milwaukee Brewers," Taylor said the day they acquired him. "We expect a 30-home run, 100-RBI player."

He's been more than that. Sexson made an immediate impact over the last months of the '00 season, hitting 14 homers and driving in 47 across 57 games. Last season he set a club record for homers (45) and knocked in 125 more, and still hit .271 despite 178 whiffs.

It's interesting to note that he's fanned "only" 76 times in 88 games this year, a pace of 138 in 160 games (by comparison, Sosa has fanned at least 134 times for seven years running).

He's also a vastly underrated fielder, having made only 15 errors since joining the team (2 so far in '02) and getting to more than his share of line-hugging, would-be doubles by stretching out his 6-foot, 8-inch frame.

In short, Brewers fans, you've got a star. He might not be Barry Bonds or Sosa or even Helton, but Sexson is damn good. And he'll turn just 28 in December.

"It's going to be similar to what Cleveland did in the early '90s," Sexson said shortly after getting acquired. He was referring to the Crew's chances of duplicating the Indians' successful rehab from perennial also-ran to American League power. {INSERT_RELATED}

Of course, it hasn't happened yet.

But the Indians weren't immediately the team that dominated the '90s in the AL Central, either. With such future stars as Albert Belle, Sandy Alomar Jr. and Carlos Baerga, the Tribe won just 76 games in both 1992 and '93 to extend a streak of sub-.500 seasons to seven, including 13 of 14. By '95, they went 100-44 in a lockout-shortened year and won the American League pennant.

Of course, the Brewers aren't those Indians. While GM John Hart built his teams with overwhelming offense and veteran pitching (Jack Morris and Dennis Martinez, to name a few), Taylor is trying to assemble a solid offense and a core of young starters, as did the Indians' alter-ego Braves in the NL.

However, two seasons ago, the failed Kevin Barker experiment left a gaping hole at first base, one that has basically been present since Cecil Cooper retired in the mid-'80s. Taylor filled it.

Admittedly, one good player means nothing unless surrounded by more quality. Despite Sexson's best efforts, the Brewers are 131-178 since he donned the M on his cap, a generally horrible winning mark of .424.

Jose Hernandez, Alex Sanchez, Geoff Jenkins ... those are some of the players Taylor needs more of surrounding his All-Star first baseman.

For now though, he's got at least one legitimate star to boast about as the rest of the world's descend on Miller Park.