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Nyjer Morgan is the first-place Milwaukee Brewers' MVP -- if the "V" in question stands for venturous, volatile or vaudevillian.Morgan has been plenty valuable, too. Not to the level of Prince Fielder or Ryan Braun, of course, but valuable all the same. He's delivered a ton of big hits and wall-climbing catches to become a prominent member of a loaded lineup, and he's augmented his on-field cont games football ributions with his off-field color, brightening up the Brewers' locker room and postgame telecasts with his "Tony Plush" alter ego."Without him," Fielder said, "I don't think we go on this run."It's a run that will certainly see the Brewers claim their first division title in 29 years. A run during which Morgan has landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated and become a household name ... whichever games football name you choose to use.But with great value in a great run comes great responsibility. And what remains to be seen, as the Brew Crew puts the finishing touches on its National League Central trophy and jockeys for prime postseason seeding, is how well Morgan's act and antics will play in the postseason.Make no mistake: Morgan is a rare treat in a land of meticulously molded public personas and ca games football nned clich-s. Sure, he's clearly out there, and he's highly hilarious in those rare moments in which you can actually understand what the heck he's talking about. All told, he's added a thick layer of looseness to the locker room that can't be discounted. His teammates love him, and he them. And for the first time in his quixotic career, he's found true happiness on a winning team in an adoring to games football wn."I'm on a team where I'm able to be me instead of hiding behind a dark shadow," Morgan said. "I'm able to be me, have fun and enjoy doing what I do. If you're not in a happy environment in any job, it's just going to be miserable going to work every day. So I try to come over here with a smile on my face every day and enjoy seeing the boys."But along with the smiles, Morgan brings a certain sen games football se of unpredictability.As a member of the Nationals, he famously, single-handedly ignited a brawl in South Florida a year ago, capping a series of controversial incidents and earning himself an eight-game suspension. It probably wasn't fair, but the Milton Bradley comparisons soon followed, and Morgan's Washington tenure soon ended.Milwaukee has been Morgan's happy place, but the headlines turned games football ugly again Wednesday night in St. Louis, where he was the center of more tension and attention.This time, Morgan took issue with some off-color commentary from Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter (who later vaguely denied cursing at Morgan) and shot some pointed words back at Carpenter after striking out. Morgan then threw his chewing tobacco on the field, in the general direction of the mound. Carpente games football r and first baseman Albert Pujols advanced toward Morgan, both benches and bullpens cleared, and Morgan was restrained by his teammates and ejected from the game.Afterward, Morgan only added to the silliness of the situation when he began -- as Plush -- antagonizing the Cardinals on Twitter, referring to Pujols as "Alberta" and calling him "she." Morgan also tweeted that he is "Ray Charles [blind] games football to the haters."I don't consider myself a hater when it comes to Morgan. For the most part, I appreciate the playfulness and personality he brings to the game. But I do hope, for the sake of the Brewers and their fans, that this personality will augment, not detract from, the larger task at hand.Given the emotional intensity of recent series between the Brewers and Cards and Morgan's own history w games football ith St. Louis (the Cards took issue with him unnecessarily running over catcher Bryan Anderson last summer), perhaps Wednesday's incident can simply be chalked up to competitiveness, as Morgan said it should.Still, it's difficult to ignore the trend at large. At this point, it seems fair to make the assumption that the 31-year-old Morgan, a former professional hockey player, is the sort who is too games football easily provoked -- and, in turn, easily ejected. It makes you wonder if opposing teams will try to use that trait against Morgan in a postseason setting in which every action is magnified.Morgan might not be as valuable as Fielder or Braun, but he's valuable enough that he needs to be counted on to stay calm and collected when the games matter most."I actually like that guy," Pujols said Wednesda games football y. "I don't mind having a guy like that on my team. He brings a lot of energy to the ballclub, and you want to have a guy like that. But sometimes I think he goes [a little overboard] and tries to put too much energy. I remember when he came up with Pittsburgh, the guy just played the game, played hard all the time, never talks. And now you wonder why he's been on three different ballclubs the las games football t [2 1/2 years], you know?"Pujols might have a point there. And as much as Morgan, who called himself "Tony Hush" on Thursday in opting to stay quiet about Wednesday's incident, has meant to the Brew Crew, it won't take long for his act to wear thin if he's hurting, not helping, the club."When you're not winning, that kind of personality may rub people the wrong way," Brewers general manager Doug games football Melvin said recently. "I think Nyjer understands that. But when we're winning, part of the fuel that energizes our ballclub is Nyjer when he's in that lineup."No doubt. So here's hoping Morgan can keep his cool enough to stay in that lineup and remain as valuable as he is volatile. games football
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