By Drew Olson Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published Aug 14, 2009 at 4:35 PM

Wednesday afternoon, just a few hours after the Brewers made somewhat startling changes to their roster and coaching staff, I was walking through the west side of grounds at the Wisconsin State Fair and happened upon the Brewers' merchandise trailer.

The release of Bill Hall, demotion of J.J. Hardy and firing of pitching coach Billy Castro were big stories in town -- even in the time-warp atmosphere of the Fair.

I couldn't resist.

"How is business today," I asked the young girl working in the trailer.

"Pretty slow right now," she said.

"Do you have any Bill Hall T-shirts?" I asked.

"I don't think so," she said.

"What about J.J. Hardy?" I asked.

"I think we just have Braun, Hart and Fielder," she said, cheerily.

"OK," I told her. "Thanks a lot."

Now, there is a pretty good chance that Hall's shirt didn't make the "road show," but I've got to believe that Hardy's was a hot seller. Based on the games I've been to the past few years, No. 7 seems to be one of the more popular shirts, especially with the young ladies.

Maybe they shipped a bunch down to Nashville, but there weren't any to be found in West Allis.

My wiseguy trip was not without merit, though. I circled back and picked up a 2009 Team USA World Baseball Classic T-shirt for a mere $5. The sticker inside the collar showed the original price of $30.

I thought only concerts got away with charging that much. If you're going to the Fair soon, check it out. It's a good deal. If they happen to have a Hall T-shirt, I bet that's on sale, too.

Drew Olson Special to OnMilwaukee.com

Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.