Jose Hernandez is one strikeout shy of tying Bobby Bonds' major-league record of 189 strikeouts in one season. As a result, the Milwaukee Brewers' shortstop will probably sit out the last three games of the season. And that's a shame.

Hernandez's total number of strikeouts does not diminish his great season. And by focusing on the negative, Royster is sending the wrong message to his player.

Brewers manager Jerry Royster is in full support of Hernandez not playing. Royster feels that the media (us again) is putting undue pressure on Hernandez and that we're embarrassing him by focusing on his every at-bat. I admit that SportsCenter gets a bit carried away on this topic. We of all people should know that the game has changed and that strikeouts simply do not matter as much as they used to in the old days. But then again, Hernandez is the free-swinger who has forced scorekeepers to write 188 Ks in their score books. We just report this stuff, we don't go out and make it up.

Still, I wonder what Royster is teaching Hernandez. Run away from your problems? Just pack it in if things get tough? It seems to me that Hernandez has a great opportunity for growth here. He can fight to avoid striking out in his final three games. He can rise to that pressure and beat it and grow as an athlete in the process.

Or he may strike out once or twice. And still grow in the process. Every time you face a big obstacle you learn about yourself and grow. Let's face this, too: As a Brewer, this is as close to playoff pressure as Hernandez will get. There is no way he can't benefit from going through this.

Hernandez has had a wonderful season. He was an All-Star in his home park. He has hit 24 home runs, scored 72 runs, has 73 RBI and is hitting .288. He has had a great year. Of his outs, 188 have been strikeouts. It's not that big of a deal. We are in an era of free-swinging and the long ball. He leads NL shortstops in home runs. If those 188 punch-outs are the price, it seems to be a good deal for him.

Royster also seems to be doing too little too late. Is the time to be worrying about protecting Hernandez when he is one K away? I might have brought this up when he crossed the 150 mark. There is precedent for sitting guys down as they approach this mark. John Boles kept Preston Wilson on the pine when he got close a few years ago.

It's too bad the Brewers fired Rod Carew as their hitting instructor last year. One of the great contact hitters, Carew might have been some help to Hernandez. But the Brewers have been swinging away for a while now. Richie Sexson, Geoff Jenkins and, before he left, Jeromy Burnitz are all big swingers who strike out a lot. It's Brewer-ball, for better or worse. They are the only team in major-league history to have more strikeouts than hits in a season. And Jose Hernandez has 185 of them.

So, there is no way this can surprise Royster. And he should be handling it better. I think he is emphasizing this way too much. Hernandez's total number of strikeouts does not diminish his great season. And by focusing on the negative, Royster is sending the wrong message to his player. He should be telling Hernandez, "Get up there and keep swinging. We're behind you."

The Brewers still owe it to their fans to try to win ALL of their games. To win this weekend, they should unhesitatingly play their All-Star shortstop. Let him go down swinging.