Kapler feature by Rosenthal

[jaybird2001wi]

Not sure if this has been mentioned or if there is a running article thread somewhere, but Ken Rosenthal did a feature on Gabe Kapler today and it appeared as the top sports story after I logged off my hotmail account just now.

This is the most emotional of the article:

Gabe Kapler loved managing the Red Sox's Class A affiliate in Greenville, S.C., last season. But wives are always the first to know.

"I saw something lackluster in him," Kapler's wife, Lisa, recalls. "He looked very sad. He was quieter than normal."

Gabe, 32, had ended his playing career too abruptly. He hadn't gained closure, hadn't said goodbye.

Neither Gabe nor Lisa could have predicted it then, but their soul-searching led to one of the new season's biggest surprises - the re-emergence of Kapler as a force with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Kapler, substituting in center field for the suspended Mike Cameron and injured Tony Gwynn Jr., has been the Brewers' hottest hitter, going 11-for-26 with four home runs and 11 RBIs.

"We never expected this in 1,000 years," Lisa says. "My heart is soaring for this man."

Makes me wonder if Kapler wanted something to prove before leaving the game for good.