Ryan Braun's 28th HR...

[Katuluu]

I am 37 and I don't have a problem with it. I do have a problem with Lance Berkman saying saying something to Braun as he passed first base, that is not his place to say anything.

I couldn't agree more. The only player who went out of their way to show up the opposing team was Berkman. Berkman has no business trying to lecture a Brewer player on how to play the game. He should have kept his mouth shut and let Yost deal with it. Unlike Berkman, that is what Yost is paid to do.

 

[homer]

"I couldn't agree more. The only player who went out of their way to show up the opposing team was Berkman. Berkman has no business trying to lecture a Brewer player on how to play the game. He should have kept his mouth shut and let Yost deal with it. Unlike Berkman, that is what Yost is paid to do. "

 

I didn't realize taking umbrage with cockiness went against baseball's unwritten rules.

[ttsather]

I like that someone on the Brewers might be getting under the other teams' skins a little bit, but in that instance it was probably a bit overboard.

 

Agreed -- I think the tired cliche "Act like you have done this before" applies here.

 

Kudos to Ned and Ryan for apologizing.

 

I certainly do not think Braun was really out of line -- but you don't want to rub it in to a team you are beating the poop out of either, especially a division rival.

 

It's got to be hard for Braun to remember he is a rookie sometimes.

 

I agree here, good to have some swagger, not good to rub it in.

I have zero interest in seeing one of our best two hitters (Prince could end up getting drilled, too) take one off of any part of their body.

[pebadger]

I'm of mixed ind on this, as I imagine many are. When I saw it live, I had a lot of thoughts, I loved it and hated it, but mostly thought , "Well, this could be interesting."

 

I want the team to play with swagger. But I also don't want this team to potentially get involved in a %$*-for-tat retaliation situation over stuff like this, either. All I want them doing is thinking about playing ball down the stretch. Even the potential of having some sort of brewing controversy means that some time/effort will have to be spent speculating on how this will play out, who on the staff is going to take up the banner if Braun or Prince takes one in the back, etc. Worst case, someone gets hit, there is retaliation, and then things spin out of control. Just no time for any of that right now.

[Katuluu]

I didn't realize taking umbrage with cockiness went against baseball's unwritten rules.

It does when he tries to dress down a player while a game is still being played. It's not, nor ever has been his place to do that. Baseball has all sorts of ways to deal with this, managers, kangaroo courts, pitching inside, even talking face to face to the player after the game. None of those involve a player trying to show up a player on his home field, in front of his fans, after he just blew open a game during the pennant race. But then Berkman learned from Biggio and Bagwell, who are terrible role models in how to let a manager run a team.

 

[milwaukeesportsfan]

I watched the bomb, and my initial reaction was, "That was the coolest thing I've ever seen." Mostly because he crushed the ball and there was no doubt it was a bomb, but also because Braun is arrogant and has the ability to back up his arrogance. We need a swagger on this club, as long as it's not over the top. I think he was totally caught up in the moment and it was in no means meant to show up the opposing teams pitcher. It's just Braun being Braun.

[BrewCrewForever]

Another thing that made me not mind it to much is tha fact that so many guys do that now that it isn't that big of a deal. And a lot of guys make it even more of a "show" then Braun did.

[TeeJayh1980]

I'm 27 years old and I didn't think it was that bad...he was looking in our dugout, not theirs. I'm sure him and Prince have some little thing going. He started his trot earlier than 15 feet from what I can see.

 

There isn't a right or wrong answer to this debate...everyone at work is talking about it and its completely divided. Can't we just be happy we have such a stud? That baseball has a new stud.

[Patrick425]

I think he was totally caught up in the moment and was in no means meant to show up the opposing teams pitcher.

Agreed, however perception is everything. Actually, other than what happened last night, I never understood why people viewed Braun as cocky. I think it's because he doesn't smile a whole lot. He also appologized to the catcher in his next at bat which I thought was the right thing to do.

 

However, I can't see how anyone can blame Berkman for saying something. In fact, if I'm a veteran 1st baseman, on a bottom of the standings team and just wittnessed some rookie showboat a HR against my team in a 6-0 game, I don't just say something, I walk a few steps with him and yell something like "Put your &^&*##@ head down and run rook!" .

[ttsather]

I know this is reading a lot into a situation, but I am also not a fan of when a guy showboats or whatever and gets himself or a teammate drilled, causing the ump to issue a warning and taking away some inside pitches. It says more about the umps than anything, but it's always bugged me.

[DSFastball55]

I think a little bit of cockiness is not only great, but necessary for a great team to have. Opposing players have done this to us for years, I have no problem with this at all. It's not like he stared at the Astros bench or something, that would be going overboard. He can do this everyday as far as I'm concerned.

[homer]

"It does when he tries to dress down a player while a game is still being played."

 

Oh come on, Kat. It's not like he stopped Braun between 1st and 2nd and gave him a talking to. He yelled something as Braun trotted by. That happens all the time.

 

Or are we saying that Braun can get caught up in emotion, but the opposing team cannot?

[Samurai Bucky]

That shouldn't happen at any level. If the Houston pitchers had any cohones, they would have put him on the ground the next time he was up. It was good that he seemed to apologize to the catcher as he was walking up for his next at bat, but the message should have been sent.

 

If we say it is OK for Braun to show up somebody like that, then we shouldn't get worked up when CooCoo Zambrano does his little dance after striking somebody out. It seems like it is one of those unwritten rules to keep the emotions in check.

[Katuluu]

Oh come on, Kat. It's not like he stopped Braun between 1st and 2nd and gave him a talking to. He yelled something as Braun trotted by. That happens all the time.

 

Or are we saying that Braun can get caught up in emotion, but the opposing team cannot?

No, I'm saying the only player who tried to show anyone up was Berkman. Braun is well within his right to have fun with his teammates. It's not showing up the opposing team, no matter how much Berkman wants to cry and claim it was. It's not Berkman's place to "discipline" Braun, no matter how often vets yell at another player. That job falls to Yost and Braun's teammates if they feel he over stepped his bounds.

 

And if the argument is that Berkman is allowed to yell at an opposing player because it is done all the time, then why are people complaining about Braun? Good grief, their is 10x worse preening done by players after homeruns on a daily basis.

[lcbj68c]

I told my wife that if we weren't in the middle of a September pennant race, Ned really could have shown everyone who is boss by benching him right then and there.

Honestly, I didn't think anything of it. I thought he was looking for Prince, as if to say, "I caught you, big guy." And, watch the highlights again and check out Fielder's homer tonight. After he crossed the plate, he put his arm around Braun and said something with a smile, almost as if to say, "Your turn, rook."

I agree with Pitch league, I haven't read the last 3 pages of this post, but he spent more time looking into his own dugout then he did watching the ball go. He did walk, but he didn't stare at the ball, nor the pitcher. Instead he stared into the dugout and I suspect it was something said prior to the at-bat by Prince or maybe even prior to the game. In the end though, he still needs to put his head down and run and he brag about it all he wants in the dugout. It wasn't so much the walking either, it was that look on his face that says, "Damn, I'm good."

[Katuluu]

If we say it is OK for Braun to show up somebody like that, then we shouldn't get worked up when CooCoo Zambrano does his little dance after striking somebody out. It seems like it is one of those unwritten rules to keep the emotions in check.

I don't get worked up when Zambrano gets excited after striking somebody out. Trust me, it's much easier to sit thru a game when you don't let such minuscule details get under your skin.

 

[Patrick425]

I'm saying the only player who tried to show anyone up was Berkman

Really? You've got to be kidding! I'm sorry, but slowly walking and preening after hitting a HR in a 6-0 game is showing up the pitcher regardless if that was his intention. The difference with Berkman's action is that it was in response to another player's action, not just a "hey look what I just did" gesture.

 

I have no problem with players taking pride in their accomplishments, but there is a time and place for it. Like when you are receiving an award or being inducted into the HOF. I think you would be hard pressed to find many clips of Ripken or Gwynn (rolemodels of how a player should act on and off the field) showboating after a HR.

[Team Canada]

If any player or fan is upset by this they need to grow thicker skin.

 

Sorry, people are free to have any opinion they want.

 

 

After seeing the highlight, I thought it was ridiculous, and I think the complete opposite of Kat. If I was in the field and saw him do that, especially as a rookie, you better believe I'd be ticked off and tell him to put his head down and run. It's not "showing up" anyone, it's telling him to stop showboating.

 

As the saying goes, act like you've been there before.

[pitchleague]

this is sort of off-topic but still along the same vein and I would like to hear other people's experiences and memories.

 

First of all, how many members here actually played real varsity baseball/softball in high school or college? And how many homers did you hit? I don't want to know about beer league softball, little league, or anything like that--just legitimate varsity baseball/softball.

 

I ask this because, in High School I hit exactly one home run. And I crushed it. I wasn't the greatest player ever (obviously) but good enough to start everyday. And I crushed that sucker. But 17 years after the fact, there is a little bit of regret that I just put my head down and ran hard, even though I knew it was gone. I wish I had the memory of the ball flying over the fence. But instead, I have the memory of seeing my first base coach yell at me to slow down because it's way out of here. When I got back to the dugout, my teammates were pointing where it landed but to this day I still don't know if they were telling the truth or just pulling my leg. The coaches were pretty impressed, so it must have been fairly decent, though.

 

I was never cocky--I wasn't that good of a player to even think of being cocky. But I wish I was able to see my one lone legit homer go out of the yard.

[nsimps]

The looking at was no problem, it was the little pimp walk he did before he started running. We're just lucky Prince didn't get beaned on the elbow in the next at-bat.

[Patrick425]

The looking at was no problem, it was the little pimp walk he did before he started running.

Exactly

[Fatter than Joey]

But I wish I was able to see my one lone legit homer go out of the yard.

 

That would be the difference between you and Braun -- Braun needs to act like he has done it before, largely because he has.

 

The Brewers are struggling to stay over .500 C3P0 would play a tighter 3b than Braun, it's a little early for him to develop a HR trot.

[pitchleague]

C3P0 would play a tighter 3b than Braun

LOL! http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/roll.gif

[brewersbucks2323]

It's great to see a Brewer player show some emotion after a great hit but at the same time I can see why the opposing team could have a problem with it. At the same time we see this in other sports all of the time and nobody says anything. Packer players act cocky after just about every single tackle they make for a half way decent play and the fans love it. I get the point of arguing that you should act like you've been there before but at the same time why do younger veterans like Albert Pujols do it and it's okay. Braun is having one of the best rookie campaigns ever and 28 homeruns later he has done it before at every level and is doing it even better in the bigs. It's not like it's his first homerun in the bigs, he is absoultely smashing the ball and playing for the division in the final month of the season. A little emotion is great and needed for this team. It's not like he watched a ball that looked to be a homerun and then bounced off the wall for a double like some veterans do.

[MillerPark]

Honestly, I didn't think anything of it. I thought he was looking for Prince, as if to say, "I caught you, big guy." And, watch the highlights again and check out Fielder's homer tonight. After he crossed the plate, he put his arm around Braun and said something with a smile, almost as if to say, "Your turn, rook."

Exactly! I don't think he was showing up the other team...it looked like it was something between Braun and Prince. 'Cause, why did he look into the Brewers' dugout?