In the winter between the 2009 and 2010 seasons, Randy Wolf was the Milwaukee Brewers' prize pitching acquisition. The veteran lefty received nearly $30 million over three years, one of the biggest free-agent signees that off-season.

One winter later, the Brewers stoked the hot-stove league fires by trading for pitchers Shaun Marcum and Zack Greinke, huge deals that transformed a sagging starting rotation.

So, Wolf had to be jealous about being pushed from star attraction to a supporting role, right?

Hardly.

"As far as what spot I had in the rotation, it didn't matter," said Wolf, who began the season in the No. 4 slot. "The main thing was we acquired two solid, solid pitchers.

"I think Marcum really went under the radar. When he's healthy and he's in there, he does a great job. He was in a tough division and pitching in Toronto, where it's very hitter friendly. That's a tough division to pitch in.

"That's what was important, how much better the rotation would be."

Wolf, who struggled during the first half of the 2010 season before turning things around after the break (6-3, 2.67 ERA in final 13 starts), has been the Brewers' most consistent starter during the team's recent June swoon.

He pitched seven shutout innings in Chicago on June 13 in a game the Brewers eventually lost, 1-0, and shackled the potent Boston Red Sox for seven frames (nine hits, two runs) last Saturday in a 4-2 interleague victory at Fenway Park.

Over his last six starts, the 34-year-old Wolf is 2-0 with a 2.06 ERA, allowing only nine earned runs in 39 1/3 innings. Out of his 15 appearances, 10 have been quality starts (at least six innings, no more than three earned runs).

Overall, Wolf is 5-4 with a 3.15 ERA though the Brewers have not taken full advantage of his strong outings, going 8-7 when he pitches.

"The whole goal is to get better as the season goes on," said Wolf, whose next start comes Friday in the opener of an interleague series against surging Minnesota at Miller Park.

"That's my goal. The most important thing is keeping the work level consistent between starts so you know you'll be strong at the end of the year. If you have a hiccup start, get back the next start. Don't stray from your routine."

Wolf's routine has changed over the years, along with his repertoire. Major adjustments became necessary after July 1, 2005, when he underwent Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery while pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Wolf missed much of the 2006 season but regrouped to become an effective pitcher again, though his travels took him to Los Angeles to pitch for the Dodgers as well as San Diego, Houston and back to L.A.

"When they went in there, they found out the (elbow) ligament had calcified," Wolf said. "That means there was an injury there somewhere from before. Along the calcification was some fraying.

"It felt like every time I threw it was about to snap. And it really was about to snap. I think now I'm just a lot smarter with my workout routine."

Much to Wolf's delight, he actually picked up velocity on his fastball after the surgery. Never one to light up the radar guns, he suddenly could throw 90 mph and above, which never hurts.

But, beyond an improved "heater," Wolf looked for other ways to become an effective pitcher. Like many of his brethren in recent years, he decided to incorporate the "cut" fastball, otherwise known as a "cutter."

"I always battled with that pitch," Wolf said. "(Brewers pitching coach) Rick (Kranitz) really helped me out in spring training with a new grip. It took me awhile to feel comfortable to the point that it was second nature. It has really become one of my bigger pitches.

"I still throw more fastballs but I use the cutter more than any other off-speed pitch. It breaks harder and later now, which is what you want. My slider before, I battled to get it over 80 mph. Now, I can get it 84-85 mph, sometimes 86-87 mph.

"With a fastball that is averaging at 89 mph, that's a big pitch for me. Any pitch that you can make look like a fastball as close to the hitting zone as possible and then have it break late, that's a good pitch."

At the other end of the spectrum, Wolf mixes in a slow curveball in danger of being cited for loitering. He's been throwing it since 2001, when the Phillies went to Colorado and had trouble dealing with the slow curveball of Brian Bohanon.

"He wasn't trying to throw it too hard, just locating it," Wolf said. "When I threw a bullpen the next day, I played around with a nice, slow curveball. I just threw it nice and easy and tried to locate it down and away. I was able to put more spin on it so it's sharper but it's still slow.

"That became an effective breaking pitch for me. I think it helped my fastball a lot. When I locate my curveball, it makes things a lot easier."

As part of the National League's most improved starting rotation, Wolf is just trying to do his part. Despite an inconsistent offense that particularly struggles on the road for whatever reason, the Brewers have managed to stay at or near the top of the division because of their pitching.

"You don't win with offense. You just don't," he said. "You score a lot of runs with good offense, but you win with good defense and pitching. That's a cliché but it's true.

"It's hard to find a team in the playoffs or that wins a championship without good pitching. If it happens, it's a complete anomaly. I felt coming into this year we'd have a great chance with this starting rotation. We can go deep into games and allow the offense to score some runs.

"It's always going to be tough to run off a lot of wins if there are problems with the starting rotation. It's comforting for everybody when you know who's pitching day to day. That's huge when that's a constant."