Braun Back on the DL

[pacopete4]

 

Because you admitted to having hurt feelings, even after writing a piece defending him. See the difference? You tried to make a claim about me that you know nothing about.

 

Never once did I claim to have "hurt feelings" about Braun. I simply pointed out that I've been on the other side of the fence too. That doesn't tell you anything about me other than that I used to share your viewpoint on this.

 

My feelings aren't hurt. I just have a different perspective on this than I used to.

 

Sure

[pacopete4]

Braun was never a bad person to begin with. He's always seemed like a pretty nice, considerate person.

 

He did PEDs, which obviously wasn't good. The results of his failed test then got improperly leaked (*giggle*), essentially forcing him to lie, as he and his legal team knew that there was a screw-up in the handling of the sample, meaning that he could possibly win the appeal.

 

OMG BUT HE LIED. HE LIIIIIEED.

 

We all would have lied. Had his failed test not been made public, he would've gone about the appeal without any of us knowing and won without having to put up a facade. Of course, he then would've been caught in the later investigation, anyway, but then everyone could forgive him because he wasn't a LYING LIAR.

 

None of that makes him a bad person. He broke the rules and ended up in a media circus. Some of how it played out (other than the actual taking of PEDs) was his fault, some wasn't. Since then, he has been a good player who seems like a pretty cool dude, but because he has dealt with nagging injuries and makes a lot of money, we get all pissy and fall back on grudges.

 

I enjoyed this. Thank you.

[adambr2]

Braun was never a bad person to begin with. He's always seemed like a pretty nice, considerate person.

 

He did PEDs, which obviously wasn't good. The results of his failed test then got improperly leaked (*giggle*), essentially forcing him to lie, as he and his legal team knew that there was a screw-up in the handling of the sample, meaning that he could possibly win the appeal.

 

OMG BUT HE LIED. HE LIIIIIEED.

 

We all would have lied. Had his failed test not been made public, he would've gone about the appeal without any of us knowing and won without having to put up a facade. Of course, he then would've been caught in the later investigation, anyway, but then everyone could forgive him because he wasn't a LYING LIAR.

 

None of that makes him a bad person. He broke the rules and ended up in a media circus. Some of how it played out (other than the actual taking of PEDs) was his fault, some wasn't. Since then, he has been a good player who seems like a pretty cool dude, but because he has dealt with nagging injuries and makes a lot of money, we get all pissy and fall back on grudges as a way to feel better about our best player not being able to contribute.

 

First of all, none of us really have any idea what players are nice guys or pretty cool dudes. We only know what we see on TV, which is like 1% of what they really are, so that's not much to go on. I'd say 90% of guys seem that way. Me, I tend to believe that they are until they prove otherwise, which, to me, Braun has done.

 

If it only were as simple as "we all would have lied." Sure, if he had simply gone up to the camera and said "No, I didn't do this", and left it at that, I wouldn't really hold that part against him. The impassioned, over the top response about how he'd bet his life it never happened, and this and that, about all the dirty rumors about him, about all their concerns about their collector, none of THAT was necessary. All it was is his best efforts to make him believable in the public eye. Really, he didn't have to comment on anything, and in retrospect, probably shouldn't have.

 

No one feels better about him not being able to contribute by holding grudges. There is nothing about this situation that should make anyone feel good. It's totally your right to believe what you want to believe about Braun, but it isn't your right to tell everyone else how we should feel about it. You guys choose to believe he's a generally good dude who just made a mistake. That's your belief, it isn't mine.

[A Swing and A Drive]

As far as simply presenting all the facts about Braun to my son and letting him decide...

 

Well my son is too young IMO and still needs to be taught certain things. It's called parenting, teaching or mentoring.

 

Without guidance, he may well "decide" that he would be happy if the Brewers win the World Series and he doesn't really care if any Brewers cheat in order to do it.

 

I would simply explain to him that the game of Baseball has been around for nearly 200 years and that 99% of the players and teams have achieved greatness by playing within the rules of the game. There is simply no reason why the Brewers cannot do the same.

 

It's called integrity.

[LouisEly]

Back to Braun going on the DL, I think Stearns/Counsell would be nuts not to call up one of their OFs (Brinson, Cordell, Phillips) from AAA. With Thames and his hamstring issues I do not want to see him in the OF any time soon.

[tmwiese55]

I'd actually say the vast majority of players cut corners in some way or have done something immoral or lacking integrity in some part of life and most teams have someone like that or who cheated in some way. There's cheating that goes on every day in baseball but everyone just looks the other way. Let's just say I don't see any outrage on here for what Paul Molitor was doing. Overall we all society should chill a bit on the gotcha way they treat public people and make sure to keep the Glass houses/throw stones line.

[tmwiese55]

Back to Braun going on the DL, I think Stearns/Counsell would be nuts not to call up one of their OFs (Brinson, Cordell, Phillips) from AAA. With Thames and his hamstring issues I do not want to see him in the OF any time soon.

 

You can just play Perez in LF. Maybe send down Franklin for a better OF backup though, rather not see a real prospect up just to have him sit the bench. Grab kirk types if you need, but don't start them.

[adambr2]

What I hope: Braun to DL, Franklin DFA, Guerra activated, Phillips promoted

 

What I think: Braun to DL, Guerra activated

[JohnBriggs12]

Back to Braun going on the DL, I think Stearns/Counsell would be nuts not to call up one of their OFs (Brinson, Cordell, Phillips) from AAA. With Thames and his hamstring issues I do not want to see him in the OF any time soon.

 

Why leave out Cooper who's had the hottest bat at AAA all year? He did play LF in 23 games last year and he has a higher OPS on the road (1.102) than he does at home (.876). Now if this injury was season ending, sure bring up Brinson. But it's an aggravation of a minor injury not involving a joint. DFA Franklin and add Cooper and give him some starts in LF. See what you have.

[DocLuna7]

With all due respect to those who want to forever hate Braun because of his positive test in 2011, I think that on the whole, Ryan Braun is and should be remembered for providing the fans with some wonderful memories of Brewers baseball at a time when the franchise was finally emerging from a quarter century drought. Without Braun there is no Wild Card in 2008 or NLDS win in 2011. I love the memories that he has provided me over my years as a fan and am rooting for him everyday he's wearing the Brewers uniform. I think that maybe it's a bit much to expect these guys to be perfect or to look up to them as heroes. They are guys who can play a kids game incredibly well. Would I prefer athletes to carry themselves with dignity and class; absolutely. They should strive for excellence. But baseball is a game (the greatest in the world of course), and it's a game played by humans who are not playing it to help society but to make money doing something they love. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but I would much rather have my son admire Nobel prize winners, transformational thinkers, soldiers, and inventors than kids who put on a uniform and play a game. Bottom line is that I don't know Ryan Braun personally (so can't really judge him) and I don't need Ryan Braun to be perfect because what he does in his life doesn't effect me in my own. I want him to hustle between the lines and to try and win games for a team that I love. Anything else is just gravy.

[reillymcshane]

If someone wants to start a thread about Braun and his PED use (and the entire ramifications surrounding it), please go ahead. But please don't hijack this thread to go down a path that has been well, well tread on these boards.

 

Thanks.

[Greenleaf1]

If someone wants to start a thread about Braun and his PED use (and the entire ramifications surrounding it), please go ahead. But please don't hijack this thread to go down a path that has been well, well tread on these boards.

 

Thanks.

 

Seconded.

[monty57]

This is showing exactly why I (along with many others) wanted Braun traded this past offseason. When healthy he's still a great hitter, but he's always one step away from a visit to the disabled list, and he is on the wrong side of 30, so his skills are going to diminish over the course of his contract.

 

We have two good young starters at the MLB level, three guys who are probably ready to be MLB starters sitting in AAA, and more talented OF throughout the lower levels of the minors. Having too much talent is usually a good problem to have, but something's going to have to give.

 

I agree with the others who say that now is the time to bring up one of our good players from AAA and let him start for the duration of Braun's DL stint. It's not a long-term solution, but at least it will start the "getting your feet wet" stage before some more permanent moves are made in the future.

 

Oh, I also hate having a short bench, so there's that too :-)

[Boomer5]

So if he is out a meaningful period of time, it's time to call up some of the real prospects. A 4th OF will play a lot anyhow so it's time to see what we have at CS.

 

A Brain/Broxton/Santana OF is full of questions marks anyhow from health to consistency so if say Phillips shows plus skills he will play a lot.

[monty57]

One bit of good news: Kirk N is posting a .567 OPS in Colorado, so the Brewers won't be able to justify bringing him up over one of the prospects.

[patrickgpe]

don't we have enough threads about this, yes he lied about PED's, Also the contract he signed was under false pretenses. fine, its in the past.

 

i am hardly a Braun sympathizer or a hater, i just want him to do well (like every other brewer).

 

can't we just use this to speculate on the corresponding roster move or even how to move on without Braun in the near future.

[owbc]

checks Puig's War

 

it's 0.0

 

shrugs shoulders

[adambr2]

If someone wants to start a thread about Braun and his PED use (and the entire ramifications surrounding it), please go ahead. But please don't hijack this thread to go down a path that has been well, well tread on these boards.

 

Thanks.

 

Seconded.

 

I think you're a great poster and mean this only in good fun, this sequence just made me think of this :

[adambr2]

So if he is out a meaningful period of time, it's time to call up some of the real prospects. A 4th OF will play a lot anyhow so it's time to see what we have at CS.

 

A Brain/Broxton/Santana OF is full of questions marks anyhow from health to consistency so if say Phillips shows plus skills he will play a lot.

 

I agree, and if Phillips is the call he should play most days.

 

Also can't tell you how many times my phone has also wanted to autocorrect 'Braun' to 'Brain'.

[Boomer5]

So if he is out a meaningful period of time, it's time to call up some of the real prospects. A 4th OF will play a lot anyhow so it's time to see what we have at CS.

 

A Brain/Broxton/Santana OF is full of questions marks anyhow from health to consistency so if say Phillips shows plus skills he will play a lot.

 

I agree, and if Phillips is the call he should play most days.

 

Also can't tell you how many times my phone has also wanted to autocorrect 'Braun' to 'Brain'.

 

I've given up. From now on he is Ryan Brain and that's final.

[adambr2]

Braun to DL and Junior Guerra up is the move.

 

Get ready for lots of bad LF defense and lots of Nick Franklin.

 

For God's sake just dump Franklin, and get an actual outfielder up here. They're going to do the exact same thing as last time and probably going to rush Braun back again as a result.

[MilwaukeeBeers]

Boy this contract is gonna be a disaster for the foreseeable isn't it.

 

No matter if he never played again, it shouldn't effect anything the Brewers are doing or want to do.

Don't get me wrong I love Braun, and contrary to popular belief I think he's a wonderful person. That said that amount of money, while the payroll is low now, could hurt us in the near future in terms of flexibility. I don't understand people who want to trade him now while his value is at an all time low. He's hemorrhaging money, but would you really want to eat a large portion of his contract just to see him on another team? Because we certainly aren't getting back a prospect worth a damn.

[MilwaukeeBeers]

checks Puig's War

 

it's 0.0

 

shrugs shoulders

Really?! Wow after that hot start I thought he was a new man this year. At least that's what sportscenter said. Goes to show how big national attention gets when you're in a large market. I remember Puig first coming up, and after three weeks in the show people were billing him as "more talented than Harper." (Really wish I could find that clip because I believe another analyst said he was comparable to Trout) Heck even Trayce Thompson was a "star" for swinging a hot bat for a couple weeks. Ridiculous.

[pacopete4]

Braun to DL and Junior Guerra up is the move.

 

Get ready for lots of bad LF defense and lots of Nick Franklin.

 

For God's sake just dump Franklin, and get an actual outfielder up here. They're going to do the exact same thing as last time and probably going to rush Braun back again as a result.

 

Hopefully it is Perez and Thames who are out there above Franklin.

[Greenleaf1]

I guess to be fair, someone had to go to get Guerra up. It probably would've been Franklin.

 

At this point, I would wager that they have an exact date at which they are willing to call up Brinson or other top prospects, and they have not hit that date yet. That date is probably sometime in early to mid June. Once that date happens, they probably DFA Franklin and call someone up if there's a need, but they seem to be adhering to some kind of plan to not bring Brinson up at this point when he would be allowed more regular playing time.