Braun's spring so far

[cnycerveceros]

I looked but haven't seen much discussion of Braun's play this spring. Are most thinking it's spring so it doesn't matter? Are any of you concerned with the lack of play, let alone few productive at bats (recognizing that spring is different here too)?

 

I'm concerned, but I'd be interested in the opinions of those of you who are more thoughtful about this than I am.

[dlk9s]

Are most thinking it's spring so it doesn't matter?

 

Yup.

[YoungGeezy]

1-15 equals a bad streak of 3-4 games. One hit was a bomb. In a 162 game season I am not worried at all. Really he has yet to play a full game and only seeing 1 or 2 PA a game. 1 for 50 I may be worried but 15 random/scattered AB's not so much

[Ennder]

If he were striking out a ton I might be concerned. He is hitting like normal and just making outs and he has almost never played 2 days in a row, not concerned at all.

[Schlitz001]

I'm not concerned about spring, but in the back of my mind I wonder what sort of year he will have. I think it's a very real possibility that he has a down year this year from the amount of media and fan scrutiny on him. And not to spark up the "sample" debate again, but if you believe that he has been using banned substances in the past to increase his ability, he might be off of those substances now to avoid future positive tests, which could affect his performance. I don't personally believe this, but it's certainly a point that I've heard some people bring up.

 

We saw how emotional Braun got during his first press conference. If a guy like Tiger Woods can have his play affected as much as it has been by off field occurrences, surely Ryan Braun could be susceptible.

[jazzytrav]

If a guy like Tiger Woods can have his play affected as much as it has been by off field occurrences, surely Ryan Braun could be susceptible.

 

I think Tiger may have had a tinge of guilt clouding his mind.

[pebadger]

The sad thing is that if Braun "only" OPS's let's say .925 or so and "only" has 70 XBH instead of 75, we'll be reading columns about "what it really means (wink-wink)."

[3and2Fastball]

He hit a rocket to left that was caught in his last game...he's gonna be fine

[brewtank34]

The only thing that worries me is the abuse he's going to get from the fans. Fans can be ruthless and he's going to hear some pretty nasty stuff. No doubt that's going to stick in your head. It's going to affect him and he'll go in droughts more than usual this year. He'll end up with above average numbers IMO, but it's not going to be near his MVP capabilities.

[RightFieldCoder]

I'm more worried about how his bad spring numbers could effect his mindset. I'm not concerned about his spring numbers. If we're going to take spring stats as future potential, we should start celebrating Lucroy's 2012 MVP award.

[jerichoholicninja]

Ryan Braun is already hated on the road. He won't be dealing with anything this year that he hasn't before.

[Ennder]

If a guy like Tiger Woods can have his play affected as much as it has been by off field occurrences, surely Ryan Braun could be susceptible.

 

I would say the injury has more to do with Woods than anything else. He seems completely over the rest of it and he still isn't the same player. I'm much more worried that Braun's groin is bother him than I am about some sporadic AB that don't even count for anything.

[JohnBriggs12]

It was a very tumultuous offseason for him. He'll play himself out of any issues he's had so far. His AB's so far have been sporadic. I think he'll be able block out the catcalls. My one concern is that he might be over motivated, not because of opposing fans who naturally will use any means to get on opponents but because of comments made by MLB that basically targeted him as guilty despite the arbitrators finding. That has to grate on him. I know it grates on me.

[dlk9s]

Ryan Braun is already hated on the road. He won't be dealing with anything this year that he hasn't before.

 

Oh yes he will.

[brewtank34]

Ryan Braun is already hated on the road. He won't be dealing with anything this year that he hasn't before.

 

Oh yes he will.

 

Much Much worse things are going to be said to him now. Things that unfortunately will be said around children in the stands as well. It's going to get nasty.

[topper09er]

The sad thing is that if Braun "only" OPS's let's say .925 or so and "only" has 70 XBH instead of 75, we'll be reading columns about "what it really means (wink-wink)."

 

Exactly, but when Matt Kemp under performs compared to last season (99% guaranteed) no one will make a big deal out of it

[Baldkin]

The sad thing is that if Braun "only" OPS's let's say .925 or so and "only" has 70 XBH instead of 75, we'll be reading columns about "what it really means (wink-wink)."

 

Exactly, but when Matt Kemp under performs compared to last season (99% guaranteed) no one will make a big deal out of it

 

But Matt Kemp said he's gonna go 50/50 this year!

[AZBrewCrew]

Ryan Braun is already hated on the road. He won't be dealing with anything this year that he hasn't before.

 

Oh yes he will.

 

Much Much worse things are going to be said to him now. Things that unfortunately will be said around children in the stands as well. It's going to get nasty.

 

Exactly. I was at the St. Patricks game against the Angels and there were chants of "Wheres the Needle" and "Ryan Bonds" etc. This all coming from a team that isnt even a division rival of ours let alone in the same league. I will be going to the Diamondbacks game this afternoon and it will be interesting what kind of reception he gets if he plays today. Overall though, I think he will be fine, he has seen limited ABs so far this spring and watching him take BP, his approach is still pretty much the same and the power is there.

[GormanHarvey]

He won't be playing...he's nursing a sore/tight groin

[MJLiverock]

I noticed during a fantasy baseball draft last night that the column showing average draft position for Braun was around 23 in the Yahoo leagues compared to his player rating of around 6 or so. I know he was taken in the top 5 last year so it appears the average fantasy baseball participant is expecting a big drop off in production from him. He was taken 6th our league of primarily Twins and Yankees fans. (I picked 7th).

[Baldkin]

I noticed during a fantasy baseball draft last night that the column showing average draft position for Braun was around 23 in the Yahoo leagues compared to his player rating of around 6 or so. I know he was taken in the top 5 last year so it appears the average fantasy baseball participant is expecting a big drop off in production from him. He was taken 6th our league of primarily Twins and Yankees fans. (I picked 7th).

 

A lot of that lower positioning has to be from drafts done before he was exonerated. I wonder where he's gone in drafts of just the last two weeks. ESPN has his average draft position as 4.9.

[MJLiverock]

Good point, Baldkin, I hadn't thought about that since we always try to have our draft later to account for injuries in the spring. This was the earliest we have ever drafted.

[Invader3K]

I really don't buy that Braun is going to be bothered by the heckling and name calling. The guy is a pro, through and through. I'm sure he's been jeered plenty for being "cocky" and whatever.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

Braun never got jeered in road games I've been to on the west coast (LA, Anaheim, SF, SD, AZ). I even sat next to a group of little leaguers in Brewers hats last year who were from LA, but Braun fans. The jeering was usually reserved for Prince. He always got an earful in LA, before and after the clubhouse charge.

 

In LA, between the drug test, beating Kemp for MVP and no "cover" from Prince, I expect it to be a little different for Braun this year.

[logan82]

I am not concerned with Braun's spring stats unless he starts striking out every PA. I am concerned with his health and ability to stay on the field.