Braun’s Comments
By now, I’m sure you’ve all read them, but here’s a recap of some of what Braun said today after the game (cut out of the JSOnline article and the Brewers.com article):
“We’re at the point right now where it would be important for us to go out there and acquire somebody.”
“I know (Melvin) is trying to make our ballclub better. I know he recognizes the importance of making a move and making it soon, but at the same time I think everybody’s recognized there’s a lot of teams that are still in the race.”
“With that being said, it would be nice to make a move to help us out for the time being. The sooner we do it, the better.”
“It’s always important to have some momentum going into the second half and to show everybody that we’re for real so we can go out there and make a move and improve our ballclub. We want to be headed in the right direction, not the wrong direction to go out and do that.”
“(The Cubs) threw the ball a lot better than our starters did. They certainly swung the bats better than we did as well. Clearly, they were the better team.”
“Their starting pitching was clearly a lot better than ours in this series. All four guys we saw in this series are No. 1, worst-case, No. 2-type starters. They make big pitches in big situations. You’re not always going to get hits in those situations.”
“We need to find a way to throw the ball a little better to have success. When you’re constantly behind in games, it’s not easy. It’s not fun. Their starting pitching was clearly a lot better than ours this series.”
Personally, I don’t have a problem with anything Braun said. I don’t think his comments will make him any tighter with Seth McClung or Mike Burns, the players he seems to be calling out, but McClung seems like the kind of firey guy that will react positively to comments like this (although he’s likely ticketed for a return to the bullpen) and Burns, well, he’s really just a warm body they can throw on the mound right now anyway… Melvin probably isn’t too keen on being called out by his own players, but I’m sure he respects Braun’s intensity. Afterall, they both are after the same thing — winning.
What I think has been lost a bit in the comments is that they should work to rally the team too. Braun has done this before. Remember the Red Sox series at Fenway last year and the “I almost felt like this series, we didn’t expect to win” comments? The Brewers aren’t nearly as bad off now as they were then, but Braun’s comments can serve the same purpose: To unite the team, refocus them a bit and get them fighting together again. The Brewers turned things around after Braun called his teammates out last year. Why not this year too?
Dave Bush and Manny Parra should return in the coming weeks and that will help. Plus I think we all believe Melvin will do something before the trade deadline, and whatever players he does acquire will serve as an additional boost to the team. The Brewers are a game out of first place and have the first place team coming to town. It’s time to rally, not panic. Braun’s comments could help push the Brewers to a strong finish to the first half of the season and give them some momentum before they get to the stretch run.
Tags: Doug Melvin, Ryan Braun, Trade Deadline, Trades
July 6th, 2009 at 6:49 am
“We need to find a way to throw the ball a little better to have success. When you’re constantly behind in games, it’s not easy. It’s not fun. Their starting pitching was clearly a lot better than ours this series.â€
Yes, the pitching was sub-par, but I think Braun needs to look a little closer at how bad the hitting was this series. They were just as bad, if not worse, than the pitchers! I haven’t looked to see what Braun’s stats were for the series, but it seems like he was slumping quite a bit himself.
July 6th, 2009 at 9:42 am
Braun’s comments did include the below-average hitting: “They certainly swung the bats better than we did as well. Clearly, they were the better team.” He didn’t stress it as much as the pitching, but at least he tried to even it out a little.
BTW, Braun went 5 for 19 (.263) with 1 RBI (game 1) and no walks at Wrigley this last weekend. For him, I guess that’s a bit of a slump, but hardly something to point a finger at. Braun’s biggest worry is that his walks have been plummeting all through June. All of his other batting stats have remained reasonably consistent since the start of the year. In fact, this is the most consistent year in his MLB career, so far. I suggest looking elsewhere in the lineup to explain the lack of run production.
July 6th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Let’s keep our cool here… We are in-and-out of first place with St. Louis…with a lack luster rotation at best. Let’s not sugar coat this people, the Brewers rotation is a (grade) C at best. If it weren’t for Yovanni and the occasional good starts by Loop and Soup-dog, this train would derail. The thing that I’m worried about is, what happens if Yovanni goes down…AGAIN?
Granted, we can’t play the what-if game. But if the Crew were to lose another pitcher, we would plumet to 5th place in a matter of a week or so. And yes, I’m that “guy” who uses the term “we” because I spend good money on seeing this team play through out the season and on their merchandise. I treat it like a phantom stock option.
July 6th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
I think pretty boy Braun is starting to open is eyes to the fact that he’s stuck playing for this farm team till 2015. At that point he’ll leave for another team, only to find out that he isn’t the next Mantle or Williams… but just an above average player that stood out on a team full of rejects.
July 6th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Sounds like someone is sour about their team being stuck with Milton Bradley for the next 3 seasons. Sad Face :(
July 6th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Robin is a douches name: Well said, friend. Well said. Good, knowledgeable, sensible comment.
I heard sarcasm is a sign of weakness. If so, call me Rich Harden.
July 7th, 2009 at 8:30 am
Scoottage Cheese… sounds like someone else is sour about a cocky outfielder mouthing off about his team. Hot off the homepage of JSonline.com…
Milwaukee Brewers general manager Doug Melvin says it is “uncharacteristic” of him to publicly criticize a player but leftfielder Ryan Braun obviously struck a nerve Sunday afternoon.
“It was inappropriate for him to say what he said, and I’m not happy about it,” an upset Melvin said Monday in a telephone interview.
“To make the statements he made and also get on his teammates like that, it was irresponsible on his part. It just ticked me off.”
Double :( :( for the Brew Crew. Maybe Melvin will trade for a good pitcher… he might just start with trading away Big Mouth Brauny since he hurt his feelings.