CHICAGO -- If Milwaukee manager Ned Yost were in charge of picking the National League All-Star team -- not the fans, the players and Tony La Russa, manager of the reigning World Series champion Cardinals -- no fewer than five Brewers would make the squad.

First baseman Prince Fielder would start and shortstop J.J. Hardy would back up the Mets' Jose Reyes. Closer Francisco Cordero would be an obvious choice with his Major League-best 27 saves, according to Yost, and right-hander Ben Sheets would also make the cut.

"And it's stupid, but I think [Derrick] Turnbow should go, too," Yost said.

Yep, the same Turnbow who was booed on his way off the mound at Miller Park, and the guy who made the All-Star team last season but soon thereafter lost Milwaukee's closer job in a dismal second half.

"You look at [Cordero's] 27 saves, it's because Turnbow holds it and gives him a chance," Yost said. "I don't think it's going to happen, but he's deserving of it."

Turnbow entered the Brewers' weekend showdown with the Cubs owning a 3.79 ERA that Yost believes is not indicative of Turnbow's performance. He has a 38.57 ERA in the four games in which he suffered a loss or blown save, and a 1.35 ERA in his other 35 appearances. Opponents were hitting .183 against Turnbow this year, and he had 46 strikeouts in 35 2/3 innings. His 21 "holds" were tops in the Major Leagues, two more than outstanding Angels setup man Scot Shields and four more than the Dodgers' Jonathan Broxton.

But setup men rarely get All-Star notice.

"It would be nice if there was a spot on the [All-Star] team that allowed a setup guy to make it," Turnbow said. "The holds are not looked at in the same light as saves right now, but they are basically the same thing."

Turnbow's idea is not a new one. The parameters for selecting All-Star teams has changed since the Miller Park tie in 2002, and some have suggested adding more relievers to rosters and reserving at least one spot to honor the top middle relievers.

"I think it's something that should be looked at," Turnbow said.

Into the fire: Yost did not consider it a bold move when he inserted third baseman Ryan Braun directly into the three-hole after Braun was promoted in May. Some managers might have chosen to break in a top prospect lower in the lineup.

"I've seen it before," Yost said. "When Chipper Jones came up, Bobby [Cox, the Braves manager] threw him in that great lineup right in the three-spot as a rookie. You look at Ryan, there's no way Ryan can't hit. He's just really good. Why not throw him in the lineup and let him go?"

It is a bit of a change in philosophy that shows what Yost thinks of Braun's ability. When Hardy debuted on Opening Day 2005, he batted eighth. And when Fielder joined the everyday lineup last season, he started the year in the five-hole before moving up to third.

Yost affirmed that part of what makes Braun so good is his attitude.

"Cockiness is all right," Yost said. "I would much rather tone down a player's confidence than try to build it up. It's really hard to build up a player's confidence and cockiness, his swagger. [Braun] has got it."

Grande to go: Yost had to bite his tongue in his local Starbucks on Thursday. A woman in line was complaining about her long commute home Wednesday, when 31,862 were let out of the Brewers-Astros afternoon game at Miller Park.

"She was so upset because she got caught in traffic," Yost said. "She goes, 'Who in the world goes to a Brewers game on Wednesday afternoon?' She was in traffic for 40 minutes.

"I wanted to say, 'Excuse me, ma'am, but the Brewers are pretty good this year.'"

Instead, Yost smiled and stayed silent. The woman never knew that the guy who helped make her commute so uncomfortable was just a few steps away.

He said it: "They think that makes it big, if it is big at all, is that we are in first and they are in second. You try to put as much distance as you can between you and the team behind you -- and that just happens to be the Cubs." -- Yost, on the series between the NL Central-leading Brewers and the second-place Cubs

On deck: Sheets will be aiming for his sixth straight win when he faces the Cubs and left-hander Sean Marshall on Saturday afternoon. Sheets is 8-1 with a 2.41 ERA over his last 13 starts and 5-0 with a 2.04 ERA over his last six outings. Remember, the game time was changed to 2:55 p.m. CT to accommodate a FOX national broadcast.