Braun's comments: Latest: Braun Issues Statement, "Wasn't trying to call anybody out"

[trwi7]

They also paid big money to keep Cameron on the team which they didn't have to do.

 

You would prefer the Brewers had not retained one of the best CF in baseball? Cameron even at his 2009 salary is one of the best bang-for-your-buck players in the entire league, and exercising his option imo was a total no-brainer.

I think he was saying the Brewers also spent money to keep one of the better CF's in the game around. I could be wrong though.

[chowyo123]

I'm pretty sure this is one of those situations where fans of other teams are happy to see Braun speaking out like this. To me, it's sort of like when Brewer fans are glad to see Bradley and Piniella argue with each other, but the Cubs fans are split in half - those that think the argument will spark a fire under Bradley, and those that think it'll just get in Bradley's, the other players, and the coaches heads even more.

[TooLiveBrew]

They also paid big money to keep Cameron on the team which they didn't have to do.

 

You would prefer the Brewers had not retained one of the best CF in baseball? Cameron even at his 2009 salary is one of the best bang-for-your-buck players in the entire league, and exercising his option imo was a total no-brainer.

I think he was saying the Brewers also spent money to keep one of the better CF's in the game around. I could be wrong though.

Ack. Reading comprehension. Sorry, snyttri -- good point back there http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/embarassed.gif

[fondybrewfan]

Wow Melvin has some really harsh words for Braun in TH's latest Blog entry. This seems to be getting a little ugly. Doug took Braun's very personally because he sounds pretty pissed off.

[SeriesFinale]

Yep, this is pretty much what happens when someone "tells it like it is."

[naivin]

Doug better be careful though. Braun is clearly Attanasio's very favorite toy, and if this escalates any further (I don't believe it will. Braun apologizes and it goes away tomorrow...could actually turn into a positive), Doug is likely to find himself on the short end at some point, fair or not.

[PeaveyFury]

The point is that once we give talent up, that's it, we don't have an unlimited pipeline of talent to trade away

 

....unless you get draft picks for the talent you acquired leaving in free agency, which might develop into additional talent to trade away. If the Brewers truly have a long term window through 2013-2014 like you have repeatedly claimed, I should think you'd be on board with that proposal.

 

Why is their current season relevant to the conversation when the moves should have happened over the off-season or last season?

 

Because we're currently discussing who they can trade to make a move now, in a thread about making a move now, when now is during the current season. Seems relevant to me.

[PeaveyFury]

Doug better be careful though.

 

I agree. While I was indifferent about Braun's comments (even if they were both true and what we all were thinking), I think Melvin's response was surprisingly harsh and directed towards an elite player that is guaranteed to be the face of the franchise for years to come.

 

Though I must say, kudos here, Doug:

 

"I think he made a fundamental mistake," said Melvin. "I didn't hear our pitchers complaining when we lost a 1-0 game (to New York last week) or the 2-1 game in 10 innings in Chicago.

[The Truth]

Hopefully this will simmer down. Is Braun going to become MLB's version of Chad Johnson? Are we going to be calling him "Ryan Ocho" soon? Likely not... but if this continues (Braun vs Melvin in the media) it does not bode well for Melvin's longevity as GM. All-Star player signed long-term generally wins out over the GM that the owner inherited.

 

The irony here is that Braun sounds like he wants to trade away the future that he very much is going to be a part of.

[JohnBriggs12]

Doug better be careful though. Braun is clearly Attanasio's very favorite toy, and if this escalates any further (I don't believe it will. Braun apologizes and it goes away tomorrow...could actually turn into a positive), Doug is likely to find himself on the short end at some point, fair or not.

It's not a matter of Braun being MA's "favorite toy" naivin. It's that Melvin can be replaced and Braun can't. I think Melvin's more than a little too thin skinned. He should be happy his best player isn't satisfied being an also ran. Melvin spent his first 5 years here suppressing fan expectations. Now that they've had a taste of success, he shouldn't be surprised that fans and their number one player aren't satisfied with a one year wonder.

[phxMILWfan]

I'm really glad DM said what he said. Braun needs to keep his mouth shut and play ball. You could make a case every other time that he was trying to be a leader but not this time around. If Braun was on any other team we would recognize him for what he is. An insanely talented loud mouth who thinks his contract gives him the right to criticize his GM, manager, teammates and stadium that he plays in.

[Postseason2006]

I fault Melvin for a few things. First, the whole JJ won't play 3rd [language edited by mod]. I mean A-rod switched positions and he is 2 times offensively more production than JJ.

 

And again, how long should the Brewers leave Escobar in Nashville? Hardy has trade value so why not deal him for pitching and let Escobar play?

 

Everybody not stuck in a cave knew the Brewers did not have enough pitching to stay in the race so barring an injury the Brewers were really going to be in a rough spot.

 

I also fault Melvin for not having any nads to keep Yost as long as he did. It was unacceptable and he was totally responsible for not ridding the Brewers of him two years too late.

 

(edit: language --1992)

[Bruce Ciskie]

Though I must say, kudos here, Doug:

 

"I think he made a fundamental mistake," said Melvin. "I didn't hear our pitchers complaining when we lost a 1-0 game (to New York last week) or the 2-1 game in 10 innings in Chicago.

 

I'll freely admit to chuckling at this part, but I think it was the dumbest part of Melvin's risky comments.

 

In the last month, the Brewers have lost 16 games. More often than not, the horrific starting pitching has taken them out of the game early. Yes, there have been exceptions, and the offense has had some clunkers, but trying to stick that on Braun is counterproductive unless you feel that the Brewers should score four runs in the first inning of every game.

 

The other thing Melvin has to realize (for all I know, he gets this totally) is that Braun may not the only guy in the clubhouse who feels this way. Comments like this aren't always just a guy popping off to pop off. Instead, he says what a lot of other guys are thinking.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Braun's a stud, we need a pitcher, everyone knows it. What he said was true.

[bucks2281]

Why does Melvin have a beef with Braun's complaints about the windows/shadows? That's fair and legitimate concern from the face of your franchise, and I didn't think they were inappropriate in the least. IMO, Melvin is a little thin-skinned.

[Bruce Ciskie]

It's that Melvin can be replaced and Braun can't. I think Melvin's more than a little too thin skinned. He should be happy his best player isn't satisfied being an also ran. Melvin spent his first 5 years here suppressing fan expectations. Now that they've had a taste of success, he shouldn't be surprised that fans and their number one player aren't satisfied with a one year wonder.

I agree with this. Lots.

 

You can argue back and forth whether Braun should have gone public with his thoughts (honestly, I'm not sure it's a big deal, but Melvin obviously does), but like I just said, he is probably saying what other guys are thinking.

 

If anything, some may want to thank him for saying it. Even in the cases of guys like Suppan and McClung, it's not like they're so stupid as to think they're not a significant part of the problem. They haven't pitched very well for the most part, and they've put this team in some bad situations that they're not always going to rebound from. Guys might not like being publicly reminded of their struggles, but I doubt it's going to tear the team apart.

[Postseason2006]

The sad part is that Braun has improved his game into what those Braun's bashers complained about last year. Maybe Melvin can actually improve the team w/o having a CC fall in his lap because of Jack Z.

[owbc]

This whole "trade for a pitcher now" thing has blown completely out of proportion. What does the rest of the league think of us? Our potential trade partners are probably licking their chops right now knowing that the Brewers are desperate for pitching. In addition, the only reason we got CC last year is because we had better players to offer than the competition. If I remember correctly, there were at least 5 teams seriously interested. This year, there are about 10 teams looking for pitching and many of them have better players to offer than we do. Most likely the Brewers will do nothing and then the fanbase will explode with anger when a starter gets traded in mid-July.

[bobskube]

Peeps...this soap opera garbage means nothing but media and fan hype. Braun will apologize tomorrow and everything will be fine in the clubhouse. Do you think this is any worse than the fights between teammates the last couple of years? I really don't.

 

Doug needs to make a deal for pitching that doesn't necessarily hurt the team seriously in the future. If Hardy or Hart goes and some spare parts...so be it. Hall needs a big fat DFA too. When this stuff happens...then lets get excited. If it doesn't, it means that there was no fair deal out there. I find this comical. Doug and Ryan are good people working hard. Let's not pound them for this nonsense.

[naivin]

I do find it rather interesting and ironic that DM is doing the very same thing for which he is criticizing Braun. A simple 10 minute meeting with Braun and Macha (who may well find himself stuck in the middle of this thing. Of course I belive he and Melvin are not signing from the same sheet of music as it is anyway) before the game tomorrow would seem to make more sense. Braun makes a few apologetic comments to the press and his teammates and we move along.

[bobskube]

Haudricourt is probably in his glory for getting this going too. This is his dream.

 

He probably thinks he will win a Pulitzer.

[Dmiles23]

I seriously laughed out loud when I read Melvin's comment "I'll be glad to have Ryan help if he wants to. I'll give him a badge and he can be my deputy." There's a new t-shirt idea. A shirt with a little badge on the front chest, and "DEPUTY" on the back nameplate, with "8" below it.

[bobskube]

I seriously laughed out loud when I read Melvin's comment "I'll be glad to have Ryan help if he wants to. I'll give him a badge and he can be my deputy." There's a new t-shirt idea. A shirt with a little badge on the front chest, and "DEPUTY" on the back nameplate, with "8" below it.

I will say that I laughed at that too. Good call.

[mkm13]

PeaveyFury wrote:

 

Though I must say, kudos here, Doug:

 

"I think he made a fundamental mistake," said Melvin. "I didn't hear our pitchers complaining when we lost a 1-0 game (to New York last week) or the 2-1 game in 10 innings in Chicago.

Well I think Doug Melvin made a very fundamental mistake. Talk about pulling out a small sample to try to prove a point. It concerns me he would say something like this and worry about such a small sample. Even the best offenses in the history of baseball have games where they do not score much...what is that saying? That is baseball. The fact is the Brewers have scored the 4th most runs in the NL this year (most of the runs produced by players he didn't bring in - he can thank Jack Z.). The other fact is the pitchers have the 4th worst ERA in the NL on the year. So I (along with Braun) will look at a big sample while Doug can focus on a 1 or 2 game sample if it makes him feel better.

 

Also, Doug criticized Braun for what Braun said and then he goes and does the same thing he said Braun shouldn't do? Doug, I would be careful if I were you. If I were you I would direct attention from you as much as you can before people realize most of the guys having success on this team are guys that were drafted and not moves you had much control over.

[ClubLevel]

Doug is just throwing stuff out there so he's not the scapegoat if the Brewers don't finish well this year. He knows the fans (and Mark A.) will support Braun and he doesn't want to be seen as the only "bad guy" in this situation.

 

We need "Team Braun" and "Team Melvin" t-shirts printed up for this last homestand before the ASG.