But catcher Jason Kendall was just crazy enough to call for one in the sixth inning of Sheets' complete-game win over the Pirates on May 21.

And Sheets was just crazy enough to throw it.

"Jason brings the fun back into it," Sheets said. "Like, calling a pitch that I probably shouldn't be throwing in a big league baseball game."

"You have to have fun in this game," Kendall said.

Both men smile about the call, partly because of the outcome. The Pirates had a runner on first base and the Brewers had a 4-0 lead when Kendall put down the right combination of fingers for a slider. With a 1-and-1 count on Pittsburgh right fielder Xavier Nady, Sheets threw it, and Nady grounded into a double play.

It fooled MLB.com's Gameday application, which registered Sheets' 87-mph offering as a fastball. And according to Sheets, it wasn't the only one he had thrown this season.

"We just look at each other and laugh," Sheets said. "It's like, 'I can't believe you just called that pitch!' It's probably happened like four or five times. And I hadn't thrown that pitch in seven years.

"Why not? If it's the right situation, why not show a different look? But I think he also does it to show you that it's all right to have some fun in a game, even though we're still trying to get guys out. It's not like we're just messing around."

Kendall has been having fun with pitchers for 13 seasons, since he broke into the Majors with Pittsburgh in 1996 as a 22-year-old former No. 1 Draft pick. He was regarded as more of an offensive player then, batting at least .294 in each of his first five seasons and making three All-Star teams.

Now he gets paid to catch. Kendall was coming off the worst offensive season of his career, one split between the A's and Cubs, and had ranked dead last in the Majors in throwing out would-be basestealers.

But the Brewers pursued him last winter because they coveted his durability. Kendall is the only catcher in baseball to start at least 130 games in each of the last six seasons.

"If you look at the free agent catchers now, he might have been the best one," said Milwaukee general manager Doug Melvin, who signed Kendall to a one-year contract with an option for 2009 that becomes guaranteed if Kendall starts 110 games.

So far, it appears only an injury will prevent him from playing a second season in Milwaukee. Kendall has started 61 of the Brewers' first 69 games -- he's on pace for 143 starts this season. He's batting .257, and, after working on mechanical adjustments with Brewers manager Ned Yost, bench coach Ted Simmons and his father, Fred -- former catchers, all -- Kendall leads the Majors in controlling the running game. He has thrown out 17 of 40 would-be basestealers, a 42.5 percent success rate.

"He's been better than we thought," Melvin said. "The one question we had was, is he going to throw people out?"

They didn't worry about whether he would hit, but as a bonus, Kendall was batting .303 on May 1 while hitting ninth behind the pitcher. It was part of a plan to maximize Kendall's on-base percentage and minimize his penchant for grounding into double plays.

Kendall has since slipped (he's hitting .223 since May 1 but did have three hits in Sunday's win over the Twins) and, late last month, while calling the experiment a success, Yost moved Kendall up to the eight-hole. The move was partly intended to take some pressure off shortstop J.J. Hardy, who had struggled hitting in front of the pitcher.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not satisfied with what I'm doing offensively, but that's a different thing," Kendall said.

"There are two different parts to the game [for a catcher]. Calling the game has to be your top priority, even if you hit .400.

"That's definitely something that you just don't 'get.' It took me six years in the big leagues to really realize what my dad had taught me."

Brewers pitchers are glad he did.

"We think a lot alike," Sheets said. "We get in a game and our thought process on how to get through an at-bat is very similar. I could give you some examples, but I'd rather not."

That's because Sheets wants to keep his secrets secret. The same goes for the Brewers' other starters, who one by one this season have gone out of their way to praise Kendall.

"There are times when Jason sees something I don't, and I have confidence in what he sees," said right-hander Seth McClung, who has helped stabilize the Brewers' starting rotation since a move from the bullpen. "There have been guys before where if I don't like the call, I'll shake. But with a guy like Kendall, maybe he sees something that I don't see, and you trust him."

The Brewers will not say much on the record about Kendall's predecessor, Johnny Estrada, who did not always see eye-to-eye with some pitchers and coaches. Yost said this spring that Estrada tended to call a game "to a philosophy," and at times it clashed with what a pitcher wanted to throw in the moment.

There's nothing inherently wrong with Estrada's philosophy. Kendall just does it differently.

"Number one, you go with a pitcher's strength," Kendall said. "Number two is you go with what you feel. I don't want to say it's a gut instinct, but it's what you've been through, experience. If you get burned, well, you called it, so whatever. There are times you have to go against everything you know, and when you do that, you can't be fearful of failing."

"Jason calls to what you've got working that day," Sheets said. "But he calls to the [scouting] report, too. It ain't like he's not out there with a report, an idea."

Earlier this season, Sheets said it this way: "When [catchers] care for me, when they genuinely care, that means a lot to me. When you feel like he's in the same boat, it helps a lot. It's always easier to fight with a buddy."

Kendall deflects the praise. Brewers pitchers have been quicker to the plate, allowing him to throw out runners. Brewers pitching coach Mike Maddux puts together the scouting reports, and the pitchers themselves are the ones executing the pitches.

Sure, he plays a role. Kendall just won't admit it.

"The less I'm noticed, the better," he said.