Baseball players, managers, coaches and announcers talk constantly about the need to "make adjustments," and they aren't referring to players rearranging their protective cup/supporter.

Hang around the batting cage or the broadcast booth long enough and you'll probably hear people talk about "making adjustments to the adjustments."

The logic can be circular and somewhat confusing.

For example: rookie hitter Jimmy Smith has trouble with inside fastballs, so opposing pitchers feed him a steady diet. When young Smith shows he can pull fastballs into the left-field bleachers, opponents will "adjust" and start throwing him breaking pitches on the outside part of the plate. That forces young Smith to adjust to the adjustment and start concentrating on the soft stuff, which can leave him vulnerable to faster pitches inside.

After spending about 40 years around pro baseball parks, Dave Nelson knows all about adjustments. And, he's made a significant one this season.

Nelson, who was not retained after four seasons as the Brewers first base coach, has joined the broadcast team for the pre- and post-game shows on FSN Wisconsin. After being "in the trenches" with manager Ned Yost, the players and his fellow coaches, he is now watching from a perch in the right-field corner.

"It's been good," said Nelson, who works as the Brewers Manager of Alumni Relations and leads the team's speaker's bureau when the team is out of town. "One thing that was sort of weird was when I was sitting at home in Florida and it was Feb. 15 and I was saying to myself ‘I should be at spring training.'

"Now I've told people that there is one thing that keeps telling me ‘Don't go back.' That's my right arm. I don't want to throw batting practice any more."

Nelson, who spent 10 seasons in the major leagues and served as a coach for Cleveland, Oakland, Montreal and Milwaukee, worked in broadcasting for Kansas City and the Chicago White Sox after his playing days ended in the late 1970s. Needless to say, broadcasting has changed since then.

"It's a much bigger production now," he said. "They've got all the graphics and breakdowns. The toughest thing I have to get used to is when Craig (Coshun, the host of "Brewers Live" is asking me a question. I've got this tendency to look at him, but I should be talking to the fans at home. I've got to find the camera. The told me ‘If the red light is not on, move your head over to the other camera.' It's not easy."

Even for a guy who loves to talk about baseball, the red light can be daunting.

"The first time I did an on-camera interview with the Royals, Steve Shannon was my partner," Nelson said. "I was doing an interview on the field and the producer started talking to me in my earpiece and I stopped talking to listen to what he had to say.

"After that, they told ‘Next time, keep doing the interview. Keep talking.'"

One of the thing that Nelson loves about his current gig is that he gets to talk to the players with whom he became close over the past four seasons.

"I had a special relationship with these guys," Nelson said.

When centerfielder Bill Hall walks by, Nelson offers him some advice and encouragement.

"That was great execution the other night on the ball you picked up and threw to Rickie," Nelson said, referring to a successful relay throw that led to an out."

Hall smiled and said: "Yeah, but what about the ball over my head that I didn't catch?"

Nelson laughed and launched into a quick technical explanation. "You've got to keep the ball on the inside of your shoulder," he said. "You made the right turn at first. When you make your first move, your head moves a lot. You're violently quick. What you're going to learn to do is make a smoother transition going back to the ball.

"It's going to be a natural progression where you'll make that first step and you'll be at full speed, but your head won't be whipping around."

"I'm not going to let it happen to me again," Hall said, heading to the batting cage.

Nelson laughs. "The last time it happened to me, I think gas was 25 cents a gallon."

As he watches Hall and other favorites like Geoff Jenkins, Gabe Gross and young pitcher Carlos Villanueva walk past, Nelson talks about his situation.

"This is really a good fit for me," he said. "I still see the guys. I can talk to guys on other teams that I know, like Sean Casey and Todd Helton and Derrek Lee and some of the first basemen that I deal with.

"One thing I did -- I never burned any bridges in this game. I like to think I have the respect of guys around here (with the Brewers) and on other teams. I like being around them and I like doing the TV side of it, too, working with our crew.

"It's really the best of both worlds."