For the Milwaukee Brewers, the long-awaited future arrived early in the 2007 season, when Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder finally settled into the third and fourth spots in the batting order.

Still, something wasn’t quite right. About the time Braun signed a long-term contract with the Brewers in May 2008, there was a noticeable attitude change toward Fielder. As his weight rose and his home runs fell from 50 to 34 during the 2008 season, Fielder suddenly became expendable in the eyes of many.

Fans looked at him and thought, “Sure, he has power. But he can’t control his weight, he’s never going to hit 50 homers again and he’s going to leave Milwaukee as soon as he hits free agency anyway. So why not trade Fielder and move farm-system phenom Mat Gamel to first base?”

There was only one flaw with that line of thinking: Bona-fide major league power hitters like Fielder are extremely difficult to find and when a team has two of them in the heart of its order, it can cover up a multitude of sins.

The Brewers are proof of that this season as Braun and Fielder have flat-out carried the team. They have become the major leagues’ best run-producers in the 3-4 spots and their consistency is the biggest reason Milwaukee remains in playoff contention at midseason despite shaky starting pitching and slumping hitters elsewhere in the lineup.

“It’s been tremendous,” said third base coach Brad Fischer, who is in his first year with the Brewers. “It’s been fun to watch those two guys.”

Indeed, Braun and Fielder are the top 3-4 combination in the game this season. They’ve been better than Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees, Joe Mauer and Jason Morneau in Minnesota, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard in Philadelphia and Albert Pujols and anybody in St. Louis.

The surprising thing is other than Braun and Fielder, the Brewers offense is largely dysfunctional. There is no leadoff man with Rickie Weeks on the disabled list. There are too many high-strikeout guys. Some of the hitters who came up with Braun and Fielder are having disappointing seasons. And first-year manager Ken Macha isn’t inclined to manufacture runs, which has left the team last in the major leagues in stolen bases.

Yet, the Brewers were fourth in the National League in runs scored with 374 going into Saturday’s game.

Some of that is due to the high number of walks the Brewers are drawing under Macha. Most of it is due to Braun and Fielder, who rank among the major league leaders in most offensive categories.

“That’s what the 3-4 guys get paid to do,” Macha said matter-of-factly.

But there is nothing ho-hum about the play of Braun and Fielder this season. They have more RBIs (133) than any pair of teammates in the majors. They are tied with Aaron Hill and Adam Lind of Toronto for the most total bases (342).

In the NL, Fielder ranks in the top five in home runs, RBIs, total bases, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. His .309 batting average is 14th.

Fielder’s secret is he’s recaputured his patience at the plate, perhaps due to the two-year, $18 million contract he signed during the winter.

Fielder seemed to press last season and swung at pitches both outside and in the dirt. This season, he’s making opposing pitcher throw strikes or he’s walking and leaving it up to the fifth hitter. In fact, he’s on pace to break Jeromy Burnitz’s team record of 99 walks in a season.

“I don’t know what it’s been like in the past, but I see him being patient to the point where he’s putting himself in a lot better hitter’s counts,” Fischer said. “He’s always 2-1 or 1-0. He’s putting himself in good hitter’s counts and he’s able to take advantage of it now.”

Braun is in the top 11 in the NL in home runs, RBIs, total bases, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and batting average (.326). And the thing is, he can get better.

“He has such tremendous hand-eye coordination and such a quick bat that I’m amazed at the stuff he can do,” Fischer said. “Now, having said that, I think if he would learn the discipline that Prince has, and I think he will eventually, if he can lay off some of those sliders down and away and elevated fastballs, the sky’s the limit for him. He could be one of the best of all-time with what he can do with the bat.”

For now, the Brewers are thankful that Braun and Fielder are the best this season.