Ask Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Cory Hart. Easily Milwaukee's most valuable player this season, Hart couldn't get out of his own way in the Brewers' 8-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves Thursday at Miller Park.

Well, that's not totally accurate.

The truth is Hart couldn't get out of catcher Corky Miller's way. He was called for batter's interference when Miller threw wildly to third base on a steal attempt by Ryan Braun, a play that cost the Brewers a run in the fourth inning.

Two innings later, it was Prince Fielder who couldn't get out of Hart's way. Hart was thinking triple after he drove a ball into the right-field corner and was heading to third when he realized the ponderous Fielder had been held by coach Ed Sedar. Fielder subsequently was tagged out in a rundown.

"It was a mistake," Hart said. "I thought for sure he'd be waved in. I just looked up too late."

The intent here is not to pick on Hart, the Brewers' most consistent player this season. However, his inconsistent day -- he was 2-for-3 yet drew a horde of reporters to his locker due to his misadventures -- typified the Brewers' season.

Whenever they appear poised to break out, something happens to prevent it. Thursday was the sixth time Milwaukee had a chance for a series sweep, and the fifth consecutive time it failed to complete the deal.

"You take two out of three from a good club," Hart said, "it's obviously a positive step."

True enough, but the Brewers have followed every step forward with two steps backward. With a chance to get back to the .500 mark Thursday, they again showed the horrible inconsistency that has plagued them all season.

The familiar roots of that inconsistency were evident again. The offense was handcuffed by too many strikeouts (12) and not enough home runs (1). The starting pitcher (Seth McClung) couldn't make it through the fifth inning due to a lack of control.

"The pitching," manager Ned Yost said, "was good for them all three days and pretty good for us two out of the three days."

That's the way it's been all season. The Brewers like to point out that 31 of their 54 games have been on the road and 32 have been against teams with winning records, insinuating the tide eventually will turn. But it's almost June, making it reasonable to wonder if the Brewers' inconsistency is a signthey just aren't good enough.

"We're a really good team," said McClung, who once pitched for Tampa Bay in the American League. "I've seen those (Boston) Red Sox teams and those (New York) Yankees teams that were really good and I saw them a lot. Although we don't have the established-over-a-long-period-of-time guys (that they do), we've got talent. We've got championship talent here. Some injuries have hurt us a little bit as far as the rotation, but as far as hitting, I really think one day it's just going to happen for us because these guys are good."

So far, they've only been inconsistent.