They REALLY don't like Ryan Braun

[steve267268]

ESPN - May 12 Cardinals vs. Brewers Recap

 

"The thing about him is if you make tough pitches, you hold him to singles or you get him out," Wainwright said. "You make bad pitches, he hits home runs." - Adam Wainwright

 

Yeah, Adam, or doubles. He has 13 so far, which puts him on pace to break the Brewers single-season record.

 

I think this has a lot more to do with what Ryan does after the home runs than anything. Although, his home run "poses" are nothing compared to those of Griffey jr. or Aramis Ramirez, he does have a certain flair about him. The kid is extremely talented. Stuff like this makes me think back to that post here on Brewerfan a while back in which the poster claimed to know a major league pitcher who said that Ryan Braun was NOT a liked guy. In fact, that particular pitcher's statements about Prince Fielder were almost identical to the one Wainwright made about Braun.

 

I guess we just have a couple of franchise players who can only hit mistake pitches for home runs.

[Glennron]

I really doubt that was a backhanded compliment by Wainwright. It's hard to disagree with him, I mean throw him balls and he's going to swing at them, it's not like it's a tough formula to figure out. I don't think he was speaking literally either, like he actually believes Braun only gets out, singles or homers.

[jazzytrav]

I thought it sounded like an extreme compliment from Wainright. He was saying that even if you throw him a tough pitch, he can still get hits. But if you screw up, gone.

 

That actually sounds a little different from the Prince comments from what I remember. I thought that other pitcher said that Prince is only a bad pitch hitter. Wainright was saying something more like, "you hope to throw tough pitches, then cross your fingers."

[JJHardy7]

I thought it sounded like an extreme compliment from Wainright. He was saying that even if you throw him a tough pitch, he can still get hits. But if you screw up, gone.

 

It's hard to really know what the meaning was behind his comments...they were probably innocent, but it leaves the question as does Braun only hit bad pitches out of the park? You sometimes hear pitchers say it was a real good pitch, but a better hit. It does come off that Braun only hits bad pitches out, but again it's hard to really determine what he meant by it.

 

I also don't think Braun's "trot" after a home run has anything to do with him not being liked. I would think things like hitting 4 home runs in 2 games are why he's not liked. I've said it before and I'll say it again we all really need to enjoy Braun's time in Milwaukee and appreciate it -- despite how the team does at times. This guy is going to be something very special for a long time.

[jazzytrav]

I wonder if there's anyplace to find info about the kinds of pitches players hit for home runs. You gotta figure 40 of Prince's 50 last year were "bad" pitches, and that's probably normal. Obviously there are times when guys just hit a tough pitch, but I would think a vast majority of home runs are on bad pitches.

[dlk9s]

Yeah, Steve, I think you're reading way too much into that comment. It was a complement. Wainright basically said, "You'd better not make a mistake with him or he's going to crush it."

 

As for showboating, I really don't think Braun does much of that. Almost every home run hitter poses at least a little bit. Most of them simply pause for a second in reaction to the hit, as opposed to admiring it or showing off. A-Ram and Man-Ram are definitely two that admire their work. I watched replays of Brauns two bombs from last night (having trouble queuing them up right now) and he watched the first briefly, but if I remember correctly, he started running pretty much right away on the second.

 

Fielder poses, too, and nobody says anything about him.

[brewcrew00]

I'd hate him too if I was constantly snapping my head around in the other direction to watch the ball land 400 feet behind me.

[TheCrew07]

Last year he showed the pitcher up quite a few times standing the box and admiring his shot, he earned his reputation. This year I've noticed he puts his head down quickish and trots around the bases, much more classy.

 

There were a couple of threads last year on this topic throughout the season.

[Raw Biz]

I don't know why everyone has a problem with guys watching their home runs. I can understand if a guy does it after every one he hits but sometimes it's cool and fun to see someone with a good home run pose. I think that can make the home run even more memorable. Everybody knows the one Braun had last year against Houston and a lot of it probably has to do with his reaction after. I don't really consider it showing up the pitcher, especially if the hitter doesn't even look at him. If he's just watching the ball, how is that showing up the pitcher? The same goes for pitchers who get fired up and pump their fists after strikeouts. The only time I really think somebody is showing someone else up is when they point at them or make some sort of gesture toward them. I think people are just getting too uptight about stuff like this. I always enjoy a good home run pose and wish I could see more.

[derflotr]

I read the quote three times before I realized that's what the title came from.

 

I don't think Wainwright meant what you think he meant.

[StatPipes]

"I don't know why everyone has a problem with guys watching their home runs"

 

Lets not get into that whole subject again...

[steve267268]

Well, i guess i am in the minority here. I look more at the first sentence than the second. "You make tough pitches, you hold him to singles or get him out." I don't think anyone in the majors wants to be called a singles hitter, even the Juan Pierres of the world might take offense to that. He's implying that if he makes his pitches there's absolutely no way he can hit him for power. I've seen Ryan take lots of bad swings this year but i've also seen him hit some balls that no hitter has business reaching, and for power. You could also argue that pitchers have an advantage over hitters to begin with, and this is obviously true. But then why say, "the thing about HIM..." ? The second sentence seems more like a back-track from his original statement. Yes, i'm reading pretty far into this but does that mean it's not true? No way of knowing. I guess it might help to see the video of this comment, as tone can be the difference. I just think that if he really wanted to compliment him he could have worded that much differently. Oh well.

[owbc]

I don't know what he meant, but maybe he should watch Braun's HR against the Astros on 8/11/07. (See top plays)

[StatPipes]

I don't think that was the one that got people talking last year. It was a homerun vs the Astros at MP, where he looked in the dugout and flipped the bat. It was after that one on the 11th.

 

Found it, Sept 5th

 

Unless you were talking about hitting a good pitch, then you are correct sir

[cnycerveceros]

I'd guess the Cards and Astros feel about the way we (or at least I) do about Berkman/Pujols. I hate those guys. Not for good reasons, just because they are good baseball players. Regarding Wainright's comments, they are made after Braun hit 2 homers off him so he's probably venting some, and notice he said "if you make tough pitches," not if you make average pitches. He basically said you need a perfect pitch to get him out, even then he may get a hit. This is a nice thread to have because I'd rather have players people hate because they hit home runs than a bunch of players people don't know exist because they don't hit. I remember going to a Brewer game with a Braves fan friend one time, and he watched the first 3 innings in shock because he had no idea who was on the Brewers and how bad they were. This was about 2003/2004 probably, so it was lean times.

[JohnBriggs12]

Braun's stats speak for themselves: A week short of a full major league season and .316/.615/.359, with 43 HR and 126 RBI. The rest is just noise. Could he be a bit more patient? Sure, and he probably will develop more, but it's hard to argue with that kind of success.

[monty57]

I can't see how this isn't seen as a huge compliment. "You make a perfect pitch and he still hits it for a single, you make any mistake at all and it's a home run." If I were a hitter and the opposing team's ace pitcher said that about me, I'd be pretty happy.

[RightFieldCoder]

I think it was a pure compliment. Good pitches are still turned into hits and you are scared of throwing mistakes. So what if they hit most of their HRs off of mistakes? The pitcher will be more afraid of throwing that mistake than they will against Kendall. For some pitchers, this will lead to more mistakes.

 

If Hunter Pence hit 4 HRs in two days we might not like him all that well either.

[FVBrewerFan]

I'm lost. I don't see where "They really don't like Braun" comes in. The guys is saying Braun is a tough out, and he will hit your mistakes over the fence. The same cliche lines thousands of pitchers have said about various hitters over the years. What am I missing?

[Invader3K]

I also don't get where all the "Braun is arrogant" talk is coming from lately. I haven't seen him do anything close to real grandstanding this year. He seems to carry himself well, and has that Derek Jeter-esque look of confidence on his face. He hasn't done anything really out of line since that little trot after hitting a home run that one time last year (as discussed earlier).

 

I think some of us need to quit looking for extra stuff to worry about.

[fondybrewfan]

Yeah I also don't find anything wrong with that statement. That is a compliment

[jhart05]

I think some of us need to quit looking for extra stuff to worry about.

 

 

I'll second this motion.

[Dragonbait]

Does anyone else realize that Bruan is the "frontman" of the team. The one that always has a quote in the wrap-ups.