MILWAUKEE -- Before he plays for his team in 2009, Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun will suit up for his country.

Braun said Friday that he has accepted an invitation to play for Team USA in the second installment of the World Baseball Classic, the 16-team tournament scheduled for March 5-23 at locations around the world.

"I'm really excited to get to represent my country," Braun said. "It's an honor just to get invited for the event, and I think it's going to be great."

Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, Braves third baseman Chipper Jones and catcher Brian McCann, Angels pitcher John Lackey and Red Sox second baseman (and reigning American League MVP) Dustin Pedroia have also said they will play for Team USA, which will be looking to improve on its somewhat disappointing showing in the 2006 inaugural event.

The 28-man U.S. roster will assemble under manager Davey Johnson on March 2 in Clearwater, Fla., the Spring Training home of the Phillies. The squad will tune up with a trio of exhibitions from March 3-5 before its Classic opener on March 7 against Team Canada at Toronto's Rogers Centre.

Also in Pool C with the U.S. and Canada are Italy and Venezuela. The top two teams will advance to the second round in Miami against the winners of Pool D, which is comprised of the Dominican Republic, the Netherlands, Panama and Puerto Rico.

The Classic finals are scheduled for March 21-23 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Braun, who has belted 71 home runs in his first two big league seasons, is the first Brewer to commit to next year's Classic, but several other players expressed interest, including right-hander Yovani Gallardo, whose Mexican countrymen made it to the second round of the 2006 event. Considering Gallardo missed most of 2008 after undergoing knee surgery, the Brewers probably would prefer he remain at Maryvale Baseball Park.

But speaking in October, during the Brewers' brief playoff run, Gallardo said he was interested in suiting up for Team Mexico.

"I bet there are a bunch of guys out there who want this opportunity," Gallardo said. "So if the opportunity is there for me, I definitely would take it. I'm pretty sure the guys who did it last time had a great experience."

(mlb.com)

Had Ryan Braun not had to endure a ribcage injury during the final six weeks of the 2008 season, there's no telling what his final offensive numbers would have been.

As it was, the Milwaukee Brewers' leftfielder was productive enough to win his first Silver Slugger Award. Those awards, given annually to the top offensive performers at each position in both leagues, were announced Thursday.

Braun, who will be 25 on Monday, was named to the National League outfield with St. Louis' Ryan Ludwick and Colorado's Matt Holliday, who was traded to Oakland earlier in the week.

"It's certainly an honor to be included with those two guys because they had phenomenal years," said Braun, reached in Puerto Rico while on a sponsor trip with other major-leaguers.

"Whenever you get an award at the end of the year, it means you were consistent during the season and helped your team win. It means a lot to me."

The awards, sponsored by Louisville Slugger, were determined by a vote of major-league coaches and managers who selected players they thought were the best offensive producers at each position. Selections were based on a combination of statistics including batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, as well as general impressions of a player's overall offensive value.

In 151 games, Braun batted .285 with 37 home runs and 106 RBI, with 39 doubles, seven triples and a .553 slugging percentage. He ranked first in the NL with 83 extra-base hits, second with 338 total bases, tied for fourth in homers, was fifth in slugging percentage and tied for ninth in RBI.
Braun did all of that while playing since late August with an intercostal strain near his ribcage, which affected his swing and limited him to a .208 batting average in September with only three homers and 11 RBI.

Still, it was Braun's two-run, eighth-inning homer on the final day of the season that propelled the Brewers to a 3-1 victory over Chicago and the NL wild-card playoff berth.

"Injuries are a part of the game but it was definitely frustrating," said Braun, only the third Brewer to win a Silver Slugger Award since 1990. Outfielder Carlos Lee won in 2005 and first baseman Prince Fielder won in 2007.

"If I was 100%, my numbers probably would have been a little better. There's nothing I can do about that."

Braun said the intercostal strain has completely healed but he has pushed back his off-season program a month to early December to provide more rest and be stronger entering spring training.

"I talked to some other players on this trip, like Ken Griffey Jr., and they said they do their baseball stuff a little later," Braun said. "They said it helps you stay stronger through the end of (the next season)."

(jsonline.com)

MILWAUKEE -- Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun did not win the National League's Most Valuable Player Award on Monday, but if he stays on the same career path, he will someday.

Coming off his first full season in the big leagues, Braun placed third with 139 points in the Baseball Writers' Association of America's balloting system and was one of three Brewers to place. Left-hander CC Sabathia was sixth with 121 votes despite playing only half of the season in the NL, and first baseman Prince Fielder, last year's third-place finisher, was 20th with 11 votes.

The winner was Albert Pujols of the Cardinals, who won his second career NL MVP award and beat second-place finisher Ryan Howard of the Phillies by 61 votes. Pujols had 18 first-place votes and 369 total votes to Howard's 12 and 308.

Thirty-two BBWAA members cast ballots ranking players from first to 10th for the award, and Braun appeared on 25 ballots. He received two second-place votes and ranked as low as 10th on one ballot and received one more point than Dodgers' midseason acquisition Manny Ramirez, who totaled 138 points.

The balloting system rewards 14 points for first place, nine for second, eight for third and on down to one point for 10th place.

The Brewers had not placed multiple top-10 vote-getters since 1982, when Robin Yount won the American League MVP Award, Cecil Cooper placed fifth and Gorman Thomas was eighth. The AL champion Brewers actually had six top-20 finishers that year, with Paul Molitor running 12th, Rollie Fingers 16th and Pete Vukovich 18th.

Braun, the 2007 NL Rookie of the Year, batted .285 with 37 home runs and 106 RBIs this past season. He led the league with 83 extra-base hits despite playing much of the final two months of the regular season with a lower back injury that limited his range of motion and affected his swing. He also won a Silver Slugger Award last week.

Sabathia might have won MVP honors with more time in the NL. Acquired from the Cleveland Indians on July 7, Sabathia was 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA in his 17 Brewers starts, including a league-best seven complete games. He actually received more second- or third-place votes (nine) than Braun (five) but appeared on only 20 ballots

Fielder hit .276 with 34 homers and 102 RBIs and was Milwaukee's hottest hitter in September, when he batted 316 with six home runs and 21 RBIs to help the Brewers clinch the NL Wild Card. Fielder appeared on four ballots, as high as sixth.

(mlb.com)

(sportscomplex.com)

Ryan Braun’s huge home run in Sunday’s game not only broke the tie, it broke Niki O’Connor’s water as the pregnant woman jumped up and down in celebration.

Braun’s blast launched the Brewers into the post-season, but he also gets credit in the O’Connor family for a BBI, a baby batted in.

With her due date just four days away, the middle-school math teacher in a stretched-out Brewers T-shirt had walked to Miller Park on Sunday afternoon with her husband, Brian, from their nearby home on Blue Mound Road. It was a slow walk and, mercifully, downhill.

She and Brian were only 9 years old the last time the Brewers made the playoffs, so they didn’t want to miss the final game of the season with the wildcard spot up for grabs. They’ve been to 15 games this year.

But after attending Saturday’s game, Niki was having contractions that night at home. The painful spasms continued Sunday, and it was time to make a decision.

“I wanted to go sell the tickets, but Niki said, ‘Oh, no. No, no, no. I’m going to go,’ ” Brian said.

It’s probably false labor, she figured, and the Brewers’ opportunity to beat the Cubs was real. So off they went, joining Brian’s dad, Bill, and brother, Trey, at the ballpark. They had good seats on the first-base side in Section 110.

“I was having contractions the entire game every 5 or 10 minutes,” Niki said. “Every time I had a contraction, I was grabbing Brian’s hand and squeezing it.”

Her father-in-law said he wasn’t too worried. He joked that there had to be lots of doctors in the crowd. “I looked over at her once in a while and I’d see her breathing funny. I just thought it was discomfort,” he said. “She’s a real trouper.”

Sitting next to Niki was a woman — a Cubs fan and a mother — who was worried the sell-out attendance was about to increase by one infant. She tried to keep Niki seated peacefully.

There wasn’t much to cheer about in the early innings, but the place went nuts when Braun hit a two-run homer in the eighth, putting the Brewers ahead to stay, 3-1. Niki jumped and whooped and clapped.

That’s when she felt something warm and wet.

“You turned around without any embarrassment at all and told my Dad you peed your pants,” said Brian, who works as a financial planning consultant.

Niki soon discovered it wasn’t that at all. Her water had broken, but not entirely. It was more like the ground-rule double of amniotic fluid.

Her day at the game still wasn’t over. They watched the Brewers win, then stayed to witness the Mets lose to the Marlins on the Miller Park scoreboard, then lingered a little more to see the celebration on the field.

Niki and Brian rode home in a cab and a short time later went to Aurora Women’s Pavilion of West Allis Memorial Hospital. At 10:27 a.m. Monday, 6 1/2 -pound Addison Jean O’Connor was born.

The couple’s first child, Addison shares a birthday with Niki, Niki’s late grandmother, Dorothy Konieczki, and, appropriately, with Brewers owner Mark Attanasio.

The nurses call her the Brewer baby. Niki and Brian briefly considered a Brewer-related name but decided to stick with the pre-arranged Addison, which was in no way inspired by the street running past Wrigley Field, Brian emphasized.

Ryan, or maybe Ryann, was a close second, said the new mother and Brewers superfan.

(jsonline.com)

MILWAUKEE -- CC Sabathia strapped a whole city to his broad shoulders and carried it to the postseason.

Ryan Braun provided the last big push.

That's right, Brewers fans, for the first time in 26 years, your team is October-bound.

Sabathia made his third consecutive start on three days' rest and worked all nine innings in the most clutch pitching performance in Brewers history. Braun put the team over the top, blasting a tie-breaking, two-run home run with two outs in the eighth inning for a 3-1 win over the Cubs that helped the Brewers win the National League Wild Card.

That matter was settled about 30 minutes later, when the Marlins finished a 4-2 win over the Mets, giveing the Wild Card to Milwaukee and sending the thousands of fans who had remained glued to their seats at Miller Park into a frenzy.

Sabathia, a free-agent-to-be acquired in July who went a remarkable 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA and seven complete games in his 17 Brewers starts, drew the biggest ovation.

"It's unbelievable what he has done for the guys on this team, this organization and this city," Braun said. "He's revived baseball in Milwaukee. He took whatever expectation we had and destroyed it."

In front of 45,299 fans, the third-largest crowd of the season and fifth-largest in Miller Park history, Sabathia threw 122 pitches, struck out seven, scattered four hits and allowed only one unearned run.

He might have thrown up a zero if not for one close call at first base. An error by first baseman Prince Fielder helped the Cubs put runners at first and third with one out in the second inning, and Ronny Cedeno hit a slow roller to shortstop J.J. Hardy.

The feed to second baseman Ray Durham was clean and Durham relayed to first just as Cedeno crossed the bag. The call from first base umpire Jerry Meals was safe, and Aramis Ramirez scored the lone Cubs run.

The Cubs could not move another runner into scoring position. Not bad, considering Sabathia was making his third start in nine days.

"I think anybody in here healthy enough would have done the same thing.," Sabathia said. "Everybody in here, their main goal is to win. That's all I try to do."

He still needed some run support. Four Cubs pitchers blanked the Brewers on only one hit through the first six innings, and Chicago took its 1-0 lead into the seventh, when Durham led off with a double.

Chicago left-hander Sean Marshall intentionally walked Fielder with one out and was replaced by Michael Wuertz, who walked Hardy, struck out Corey Hart on three pitches and then walked Craig Counsell to force home the tying run.

Moments after former Brewer Wes Helms and Dan Uggla hit back-to-back homers for a Marlins lead over the Mets in New York, Braun put the Brewers ahead in Milwaukee. With Mike Cameron at first base and two outs, Braun hammered the first Bob Howry (7-5) pitch he saw for his 37th home run.

"Typical," Hardy said with a smile.

How so?

"That moment is perfect for him," Hardy said. "It's just awesome. You can't say enough about him or about CC. What those guys did today, it's downright ridiculous. It's the most fun I've ever had."

Braun hit a Howry fastball.

"All series, they were throwing me fastballs to get ahead and I was just looking for something to get the barrel of the bat on," Braun said. "Obviously, it worked out. I'm very comfortable in that situation. I expect to come through. Obviously, it doesn't always happen."

It happened Sunday. It also happened on Thursday, when Braun delivered a grand slam in the bottom of the 10th inning for a 5-1 Brewers win.

"It doesn't get any better than that. It's difficult to describe," Braun said. "The grand slam the other night, that was pretty special, but this one was pretty meaningful."

By that point, Sveum and pitching coach Mike Maddux were already committed to Sabathia in the ninth inning. They decided to let him hit leading off the eighth inning, and Sabathia struck out.

"Dale asked me, 'What would you do?'" Maddux said. "I told him he had to ride the stallion. He was hoping I said that, because that's what he was going to do anyway. We both agreed: Big game, big moment, big man. It was the right situation."

In the ninth, Sabathia retired Alfonso Soriano on a flyout before Ryan Theriot singled. That brought the tying run to the plate in the form of first baseman Derrek Lee, who could have tied the game with his 21st home run. Instead, Lee grounded to second for a game-ending double play.
It was precisely the kind of performance the Brewers were hoping for when they traded with the Indians for Sabathia in July. Did it feel like he delivered?

"Not yet," Sabathia said. "Until we win a championship, we still have a long way to go. But this is big for this franchise and this city. We'll just keep going hard and see what happens."

(mlb.com)

MILWAUKEE -- Slumping star Ryan Braun hit a game-winning grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning and the Brewers remained even with the Mets atop the National League Wild Card standings after a wild 5-1 win over the Pirates on Thursday at Miller Park.

Thanks to Braun's dramatic 36th home run -- his first career grand slam -- Milwaukee has won four straight games and finished the year 14-1 against last-place Pittsburgh. At 88-71, the Brewers and Mets are tied for the Wild Card with three games to play.

New York came back from a 6-3 deficit against the Cubs, scoring four runs over the final three innings for a 7-6 win at Shea Stadium.

That game was in the books when Rickie Weeks led off the bottom of the 10th inning against Pirates right-hander Jesse Chavez (0-1) with a single under the second baseman's glove. Weeks moved up on a bunt -- the Brewers' first runner in scoring position since the fourth inning - and an intentional walk to Ray Durham and an unintentional one to Craig Counsell loaded the bases with two outs for Braun, who was 0-for-4 in the game and had one home run in 91 at-bats this month.

He launched a 2-and-2 pitch into the left field seats and sent 40,102 fans on Fan Appreciation Night into a frenzy.

Lefty Brewers reliever Mitch Stetter (3-1) struck out Nate McLouth with a runner at second base in the top of the 10th inning to earn the the win.

Brewers right-hander Yoavni Gallardo made his first start since suffering a major right knee injury on May 1 and -- except for a solo home run he allowed to Pirates right fielder Steve Pearce -- delivered just what the Brewers were looking for. He worked around a pair of hits in the first inning with the first two of his seven strikeouts, and whiffed five consecutive batters in the second and third innings.

Bill Hall drove in a run with a double in the third inning.

(mlb.com)

As the baseball season turns it’s final month for the first time in what seems like a long time (fact check: one year) the NL MVP race is still wide open, and not wide open in the rhetorical sportswriter meme where “every vote counts” but wide open in the sense that I’ve read legitimate arguments for probably about 15 candidates.

I’ve seen that Chase is the odds-on favorite, read that Aramis Ramirez is going to emerge from the pack, heard that it’s between Pujols and Lance Berkman for the belt and even had people believe that the Kenesaw Mountain Landis Award is Carlos Delgado’s, or Ryan Ludwick’s, or CC Sabathia’s to lose.  And all of that is without delving into the layers of nonsense that commenters can come up with.

With that in mind, I’m going to dive into the stats, the standings, and the rest of the season to see who can, should, and will be the 2008 National League MVP.  One man’s MVP Ballot …

Obvious caveat: A lot can change in a month. If Miss Davis from Varsity Blues can beat out Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty for the chance to kiss babies, attend funerals and shoot friends in the face next to McCain for four years, it is plausible that any of two dozen more names could come up.  That said, in descending order and increasing in interest  …

(sportscomplex.blogs.citypaper.net)

Ryan Braun went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI in a lopsided victory over the Cardinals on Tuesday night.
Braun now has 33 homers on the season, one short of his 2007 total. He hasn't gone more than six games without a homer since the beginning of July, and his slugging percentage is now up to .596.

(rotoworld.com)

MILWAUKEE -- If a Major League Baseball season really is akin to a marathon, then the Brewers are doing a nice job of keeping pace.

Hours after the National League Central-leading Cubs won at Wrigley Field, the second-place Brewers took care of their own business 90 miles north, beating the Pirates, 6-3, in front of the 20th consecutive sellout crowd at Miller Park to remain 4 1/2 games out in the division and alone atop the Wild Card standings.

The Brewers did it on Saturday in businesslike fashion, getting a home run and three RBIs from Ryan Braun on the way to a 6-0 lead on Pirates starter Tom Gorzelanny (6-8). They held on behind starter Jeff Suppan (9-7) and relievers Brian Shouse and Salomon Torres (25th save) to climb 20 games over .500 for the first time since the end of a 92-win 1992 season.

"It's never routine," said Torres, who has already bested his 24 total saves for the Pirates from 2006-2007. "You don't want to get into [that] mode, because a true professional treats every game the same.

"To the fans, it may look like something easy because we've been doing it day in and day out. But nothing is easy; it requires a lot of work. What we're doing right now is not a product of fortune or a product of luck. We are talented enough to do this and more."

Braun, for one, does not mind that the Brewers have not given their fans much late-inning drama on the homestand. The team is 4-1 since returning from the West Coast while outscoring the Astros and Pirates, 32-17.

"That's a good thing, when there's not a lot of excitement and [the score] is in our favor," Braun said. "It's nice that everybody is contributing. It makes it a lot easier for us, individually."

Prince Fielder finished with two hits and two RBIs, including a run-scoring single in Milwaukee's two-run first inning against Gorzelanny, who was pitching in the Majors for the first time since he allowed seven earned runs in 4 2/3 innings at Miller Park on July 4. This time, Gorzelanny was charged with six runs on seven hits over 4 2/3 innings.

Braun helped the Brewers start to pull away in the fourth, when Gorzelanny threw a high, inside fastball to Braun on a 1-and-1 pitch that registered 90 mph on the stadium radar gun. Two pitches later, Braun deposited his team-best 32nd home run into the left-field seats.

"I know that he didn't do that intentionally, but it certainly wakes me up," Braun said. "It intensifies my focus a little bit. Obviously, whenever you get a pitch up and in or near the face at 93-94 mph, it probably makes you focus a little bit more."

Braun hit a two-run double off Gorzelanny in the fifth inning and then scored on Fielder's second RBI single of the night to extend the lead to 6-0. The Brewers improved to 28-13 against southpaw starters, a .683 winning percentage that ranks best in Major League Baseball.

The Pirates finally scored in the sixth, when Morgan hit a ground-rule double down the left-field line, where a fan tumbled over the wall to retrieve the baseball. Before that happened, Morgan had paused after rounding first base, apparently content with a single.

"I was trying to take the ball from him because I think we still had a play at second base," Braun said. "I don't think [the fan] should have been kicked out. He didn't realize it was a fair ball."

Braun briefly considered how those keeping score would have noted the play, had it been possible to make.

"I was hoping we were going to have the 'relay from fan to seven to four' for the first putout ever like that," Braun joked.

Morgan was granted second base because of the interference, and he scored after a pair of groundouts. Adam LaRoche made it 6-2 with a solo home run to center field. The Brewers will play for a three-game sweep on Sunday, when Miller Park will be packed for CC Sabathia's 10th Brewers start and J.J. Hardy Bobblehead Day. The team will try to continue rolling.

"It's easy because everybody is contributing," Braun said. "It all starts with starting pitching, and our starting pitching has been unbelievably consistent. Our guys are going deep into games and keeping us in games. It doesn't put too much pressure on one or two guys."

(mlb.com)

MILWAUKEE -- Ryan Braun is back in the Milwaukee Brewers' lineup Friday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and manager Ned Yost expects him to stay there.

Braun was sidelined for seven of the last nine games with a sore ribcage. His most recent start was Monday against Houston and he had to leave the game when the problem flared up again.

But Yost insists that the problem is not one of those nagging things that will impact his star left fielder down the stretch.

"I told him to make sure that when he was ready to play nine (innings), come see me," said Yost. "It's not an injury, it's a tightness. I don't even know what you'd call it. I don't classify it as an injury, something that needs to be healed. It was tightness on both sides of his ribs. It wasn't a strain, it wasn't like he pulled anything. It was almost like a spasm.

"I really, really don't think that it's an issue."

It didn't look like much of an issue to Braun, who had an infield single and a double in five at-bats. He also stole third base following his seventh inning double and then raced home on a routine ground out by Prince Fielder.

Braun leads the Brewers with 31 home runs and 87 runs batted in and his .300 batting average is tops among regulars.

(madison.com)

MILWAUKEE -- Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun was not in the starting lineup Tuesday night against the Houston Astros because of tightness in his lower back.

Braun missed six games last week with the same injury, returning to the lineup as a starter Sunday in Los Angeles -- he pinch hit Saturday.

On Monday, he appeared to be in pain after swinging and missing in his final at-bat in the sixth. He walked gingerly back to the dugout after the strikeout and was replaced in the field by Gabe Kapler.

Braun, batting .300 with a team-best 31 home runs and 86 RBIs, said he was fine and called it a nagging injury before Tuesday's game. He is day to day.

Milwaukee second baseman Rickie Weeks was also held out of the lineup with a sprained left thumb. He did not play on Monday, either.

(espn.com)

Leftfielder Ryan Braun, who felt more discomfort Monday night in his intercostal area and had to leave the game, is not in the lineup tonight against Houston.

Braun missed six games last week with the problem but I just talked to him and he said he didn't think he'd have to miss any lengthy period this time.

"I think I could play today," said Braun, who came out of the game Monday night after striking out in the sixth inning and showing obvious discomfort.

"It's just one of those nagging injuries that's probably not going to go away completely while I'm playing. I'll have to deal with it. I hope it goes away completely. But, realistically, the way this game is, it probably won't."

I asked Braun how much he aggravated the condition last night but he played that down.

"(Manager Ned Yost) just took me out as a precaution," said Braun. "We were up, 7-2.

"I can definitely play with it. It's not 100% but I can deal with it. I think it'll eventually get better. I hope it does."

Gabe Kapler, who has made many contributions to the team, is back in left field in place of Braun. Ray Durham is starting at second in place of Rickie Weeks, but he probably would anyway with a right-hander pitching, whether Weeks had a sprained thumb or not.

(blogs.jsonline.com)

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun left the game Monday night against the Houston Astros after apparently re-injuring his back following a swing.

Braun had missed seven starts last week with what the team called tightness in his lower back. He pinch hit Saturday and returned to the lineup Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He batted four times against the Astros on Monday, striking out twice. Braun appeared to be in pain after swinging and missing in his final at-bat in the sixth. He walked gingerly back to the dugout after the strikeout.

There was no immediate word from the team on why Braun left the game. Gabe Kapler replaced him in left.

Braun came in batting .301 with a team-best 32 home runs and 86 RBI.

(usatoday.com)

Starting Sunday for the first time in seven games, Ryan Braun went 2-for-4 with a game-tying homer in the ninth inning.
With two outs and an 0-2 count, Braun smacked a breaking ball from Chan Ho Park over the wall in left field, tying the game at 5-5 before the Brewers eventually fell in the bottom of the frame.

(rotoworld.com)

Ryan Braun experienced a "modest breakthrough" on Wednesday, and he hopes to return this weekend against the Dodgers.
He's been out with strained muscles in the back of his ribcage since Saturday. "It's definitely a lot better today," Braun said Wednesday. "This is the first day I've felt significant progress." It appears he'll be able to avoid a trip to the DL.

(rotoworld.com)

MILWAUKEE - Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash says leftfielder Ryan Braun could be out of action another two to four days.

Braun sat out his second straight game Monday with lower-back injury. He's listed as day to day.

Speaking on WTMJ-AM Tuesday, Ash says the Brewers don't want to jeopardize Braun's health by bring him back too soon.

Braun said he had trouble sleeping after sustaining the injury while swinging in the first inning of the Brewers' 6-0 win over the Washington Nationals on Saturday night.

Braun is batting .300 with a team-high 30 home runs and 84 RBIs in 114 games.

MILWAUKEE -- All-Star left fielder Ryan Braun was pulled from the Brewers' 6-0 victory over Washington on Saturday night because of tightness in his lower back.

Braun, listed as day to day, said muscles on both sides of his ribcage tightened.

"I couldn't breathe," he said.

He said he has never had this type of injury.

"Hopefully, it's just something that's a little irritated," he said. "Whenever you experience or feel something that you haven't felt before, it's obviously a little bit scary."

Braun struck out in the first inning, spiking his helmet into the ground as Ray Durham was thrown out at second attempting to steal for a double play. He said he felt the tightness on a 2-1 pitch during the at-bat.

"I took kind of an awkward swing," he said. "I think it might be some kind of muscle spasm or something because they both tightened up on me."
Braun stayed in the game until the third inning, when manager Ned Yost sent Gabe Kapler to pinch-hit for him.

"We don't need to have any problem there," Yost said of Braun.

Braun is batting .300 with a team-high 30 home runs and 84 RBIs in 114 games.

He has had one of the best starts to a career in major league history. In 227 games since making his debut on May 25, 2007, Braun is first in the majors with 558 total bases, 133 extra-base hits, second with 64 home runs and tied for second with 181 RBI.

His 64 home runs ties him for sixth with Mark Teixeira for the most home runs after two seasons in big league history. The first five are Joe DiMaggio (75), Ralph Kiner (74), Eddie Mathews (72), Albert Pujols (71) and Frank Robinson (67).

(espn.com)

Brookfield - In his young career as an all-star leftfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers, Ryan Braun has stared down the likes of opposing pitchers Johan Santana and Brandon Webb.

On a sun-dappled Friday on the baseball field behind Brookfield East High School, Braun took on what even he admitted beforehand might be a more daunting task: trading lines with supermodel and magazine cover girl Marisa Miller in a viral video for a new Remington men’s hair-care product.

“Aren’t you baseball all-star Ryan Braun?” Miller said to Braun as cameras rolled and a large crowd of technicians, actors, aides, associates, gofers, spectators and hangers-on stood by quietly from a safe distance.

“Aren’t you supermodel Marisa Miller?” Braun answered smartly as he stood next to a fence holding the leash on his dog.

“Not bad for a first take,” yelled director Adam Rifkin of Los Angeles. “Let’s do it again.”

Which is exactly what Braun and Miller did. Over and over.

Credit Braun with a ringing double off the wall in his acting debut pitching Remington’s ShortCut clipper, which is being promoted as an error-free way to give yourself a haircut.

Braun is the spokesman for the product and signed a partnership with Remington. The video is his first film effort.

You won’t find the ad on commercial television. This being the Age of the Internet, and with a product that zeros in on the demographic represented by the 24-year-old Braun, this viral video will debut on YouTube in the fall.

The company has hopes of getting 1 million unique visitors to watch the video and, company officials hope, link to the product’s Web site to learn more.

Glenn Rhodes, a Remington marketing director based in Madison, where Remington has its North American operations, said the whole idea was to market to men where they hang out.

“That’s where they’re at,” Rhodes said of the online world. “We want to take advantage of that.”

Remington has had success with viral video in England, but the Braun-Miller video is their first in the United States.

Remington, it seems, has done its homework. They were looking for a young superstar to promote the ShortCut and gravitated toward Major League Baseball. At the same time, they test-marketed the ShortCut in clubhouses and found ballplayers liked it.

According to Remington, the ShortCut allows men to cut their hair with no worries of turning a head full of hair into a very bad haircut day. And, with Braun’s help, they determined that as many as 30% of all major leaguers cut their own hair.

With that kind of synergy, Remington signed Braun.

While happy with the reigning Rookie of the Year, Remington decided to take the product promotion further. The next stop was Miller, who was the cover girl of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue, recently was on the cover of Maxim, and models for Victoria’s Secret.

With Miller supplying the sex appeal, Remington had plenty of star power to market its product.

“They are two up-and-coming superstars and they are good for our brand,” Rhodes said.

An hour or so before he was needed, Braun said he was excited about the opportunity.

“I’ve played baseball my whole life,” said Braun. “That’s kind of my comfort zone. I feel comfortable in this environment and this atmosphere. I’m not anticipating too much difficulty. But I’m sure it won’t be too easy.”

Braun said the world of endorsements and marketing interested him. “I grew up in Los Angeles and went to college in Miami,” Braun said. “My production on the field is first and foremost. But the more success you have gives you more opportunities off the field. I always envisioned myself doing something like this.”

Under nearly perfect conditions, the shooting of the video went well. The story line involves a softball tournament.

When a loose ball got to the fence, it was Miller, in a pink top, black shorts and black tennis shoes, chasing it down. Waiting in the outfield with ball in hand was Braun, dressed in an Affliction T-shirt and designer jeans, with his dog.

“Shouldn’t you be in a bikini on a beach?” Braun asks Miller.

“Shouldn’t you be signing some kid’s ball?” Miller responds.

Braun said his Brewers teammates knew about his appearance with Miller.

“I told everybody. They ribbed me some. But they are supportive. They know it’s all fun.”

(jsonline.com)

New York, NY (Sports Network) - Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun has been named the National League Player of the Month for July.

The right-handed hitter completed the month with nine homers, 23 RBI, six doubles, three triples and a .366 batting average. He posted 10 multi-hit games and on six occasions drove in two or more runs.

Braun had a career-best five RBI at San Francisco on July 20, then collected four hits in back-to-back contests on July 23 and 24 at St. Louis, only the fifth player in Brewers history to accomplish the feat.

In addition, Braun's power was on display in three consecutive games from July 26-28, when he homered in three consecutive games -- twice against Houston and once against Chicago.

The Miami-Florida product took home NL monthly honors for the second straight July. He has put together a stellar season thus far, with 29 homers and 82 RBI while batting .296 in 109 games.

(sportsnetwork.com)

MILWAUKEE -- Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun has lived up to expectations with the bat, including a recent surge of late-inning home runs that have played greatly in Milwaukee's recent winning ways.

Such heroics have completely obscured Braun's acclimation on the other side of the ball.

After his seventh outfield assist of the season on Friday and a sterling sliding catch on Saturday in the series against Houston, Braun has become everything the Brewers hoped for when they moved him out to left field for the 2008 season. He has yet to commit an error after logging 26 miscues at third base last season.

"I'm really comfortable," Braun said. "Probably after about 10 or 15 games, I felt like I'd played there my whole career. I feel like I've played really well, and I just continue to learn. Every different ballpark I go to, it's getting used to the dimensions, getting used to certain places where the ball could get lost in the lights, just little things like that."

Braun saw the ball perfectly when his sliding backhanded catch ended the eighth inning on Saturday, not long after his two-run homer tied the game at 4-4.

"Gotta watch them both," Braun said, when asked which highlight he would rather watch. "I try to take something positive from every game. I'll go watch the home run a couple times and watch the catch a couple times. I'll remember those things."

On Lance Berkman's single in the seventh on Friday, Braun initially looked to throw to third base but he reconsidered, tossing to second instead to retire a stretching Berkman. His seventh outfield assist tied him for sixth among National Leaguers.

"I try to instill their heads, even in Spring Training, you always try to keep the double play in order," said first-base coach Ed Sedar, the team's resident outfield defense expert. "The chances of throwing out the primary runner are minute, but to get the secondary runner, either [keeping him] staying at first or trying to advance, is a higher opportunity."

Said Braun, "Maybe early on in the year, I would have just thrown the ball to third base. Little things like that, I've learned."

Sedar said he felt Braun measured up among the league's elite left fielders.

"He probably has the best arm in baseball in left field," Sedar said. "He can cover more ground than 90 percent of the outfielders out there."

Though Braun entered the season with the reputation as a defensive liability, his impressive performance in the field could make him an attractive option when voting for the Gold Gloves takes place. No National League left fielder has played more innings or had more chances than Braun, though Gold Gloves do not differentiate between the outfield positions, and the hardware often goes to center fielders.

"I'm sure that's a goal of his," Sedar said. "It's to become the best out there. I don't know if they just hand them out to center fielders or not, but he's doing an outstanding job out there. "

(mlb.com)

Ryan Braun homered and drove in five runs as the Brewers beat the Giants 7-4 on Sunday.
Braun hit a three-run homer off starter Tim Lincecum in the seventh, then added a two-run double in the ninth. Braun also stole a base in the contest, and is up to .292 with 24 homers, 71 RBI, and nine steals.

(rotoworld.com)

NEW YORK - Milwaukee outfielder Ryan Braun found his locker located in a corner of the visitors' clubhouse at Yankee Stadium, surrounded by a group of Cubs.

"Yeah, it turns out the Cubs are nice guys," Braun said. "That's unfortunate."

While he's more than ready to fight the Cubs for the Central Division lead in a big showdown at Miller Park in a couple of weeks, Braun is glad he got a chance to get to know some of them.

"To hate 'em, it'd be real easy," he said. "But they're a bunch of great guys, great players and we really enjoy the rivalry and the atmosphere."

After coming back to beat the Cubs on May 1 at Wrigley Field, Braun and his fellow Brewer outfielders Mike Cameron and Corey Hart got together in the outfield and jumped into each other in midair. It was seen by some as a shot at the Cubs' outfielders, who have been doing the same thing since early 2007.

But Braun insists the Brewers didn't steal the idea from the Cubs, who never patented the "jump" anyway.

"Nah, that was just kind of our thing," Braun said. "Our newest thing is we all untuck our jerseys when we get the third out [in a victory]. We still do that, and do the jump/high-five. But it's based on whether we're winning or losing games. If something works, we stick with it. It had nothing to do with the Cubs."

(chicagotribune.com)

NEW YORK — Ryan Braun climbed up the steps of the National League dugout, walked onto the grass, stopped, and looked around at one of the most beautiful sights he has witnessed.

So, this was Yankee Stadium, the historic ballpark Braun has always known, but until Monday had never seen.

"This is unbelievable," says Braun, the Milwaukee Brewers outfielder and National League All-Star starter. "This is so cool. There's just a vibe about this place. There's so much energy.

"There's very few places that have this type of atmosphere."

Braun, 24, who learned this spring the All-Star Game would be played in the final season at Yankee Stadium, soon made it his mission to be an All-Star. He did his part, hitting .290 with a team-leading 23 homers and 66 RBI. He then let his family and fans do the rest, voting him to the game.

"I can't tell you how many thousands of times I voted," says his mother, Diane Braun, "but I never stopped. When I wasn't working, I was voting."

Diane, who actually works as a brewer at Anheuser-Busch in the Los Angeles area, made sure everyone joined in the effort. There was company-wide e-mail encouraging everyone to vote for her son. Relatives voted across the country.

"I had everyone but my poor dead mom voting," says Diane, who personally built a batting cage for her son in high school. "It paid off."

When Braun heard the news he made the All-Star team, he sent a simple three-word text message to Diane informing her of the news:

"We did it."

The effort paved Braun's road to the Bronx and this week's proceedings, three days he won't soon forget.

Long delay
Braun and fellow All-Stars Ben Sheets and Corey Hart sat on the runway for about three hours Sunday in Milwaukee waiting for clearance to leave. Their private plane finally took off, but once it reached the Philadelphia area, they were caught in a holding pattern before finally landing after about a six-hour journey.

They reached their Manhattan hotel at about 11:30 p.m. ET. Diane, part of the 15-member family contingent in town to watch Braun, kissed her son hello when he walked into the door. Braun handed her his All-Star tickets, and said she was in charge.

"Mom, this might be the last time I even get to see you," says Braun, who plans to stay in New York an extra day just to relax. "It's going to be so hectic."

Braun dropped his bags off. He then took his girlfriend, Andreena Clark, and brother, Steve, 23, to Tao restaurant. They got back to the hotel about 3 a.m. and slept. Braun didn't wake up until seven hours later; room service began his day.

Braun went downstairs to the hotel lobby at noon for the home-run derby press conference. He laughed at questions asking if he really wanted to participate. You kidding? This is what he dreamed of since high school.

"I remember Ryan was watching the Home Run Derby one summer," Diane Braun says, "and said, 'I want to be in there. One day, I'm going to be in that Home Run Derby. You'll see, Mom.' "

That's Braun. Always confident. He not only believed he would be in the big leagues one day, but become a star.

"I've always been extremely confident in my abilities," says Braun, who was in the minor leagues just 14 months ago, "and always believed I would get to this level. And now that I'm here, nothing could be better.

"There's no bigger accomplishment for a baseball player than to be an All-Star in the Major Leagues."

Embraces faith
Braun turned out to be quite popular at the National League press conference session, particularly after Jewish All-Stars Kevin Youkilis and Ian Kinsler said they wanted to meet Braun. Braun, however, said he actually is half-Jewish. His father was born in Tel Aviv, but his mother is Catholic.

"I didn't grow up celebrating the holidays or anything," Braun says, "but it's something I certainly embrace."

Braun, who had his agent, Nez Balelo, pitch to him during the Home Run Derby, knows that tonight will be the most magical night of his baseball career. He hopes to pick the brain of NL teammates Albert Pujols and Chipper Jones in the clubhouse. He wants to talk to as many Hall of Famers as possible. And he is not about to leave town until he visits Monument Park at Yankee Stadium.

"I want to do it all," says Braun, who plans to stay in New York an extra day for sightseeing. "And at the same time, I don't want it to ever end.

"Believe me, this is something I'll remember forever."

(usatoday.com)

New York - Milwaukee's Ryan Braun has a whole new appreciation for All-Star Home Run Derby after finishing fourth in the competition tonight at Yankee Stadium.

Here are some things he had to say:

"That was a phenomenal display by Josh Hamilton," said Braun, referring to the Texas outfielder who hit 28 first-round homers yet finished second to Minnesota's Justin Morneau.

"Home Run Derby is about putting on a show for the fans. Josh definitely won that competition."

Boosted by his record total of 28 homers in the first round (Bobby Abreu hit 24 in 2005), Hamilton intentionally shortened his second round and still finished with a total of 35 home runs. Morneau, on the other hand, tallied 22 homers.

But, under rules of the Derby, the two finalists start over from scratch in the final round. At that point, Hamilton had 32 homers and Morneau 17.

"We were going by the rules," said Morneau, the last player added to the Derby. "(Hamilton) is the story of this year. I was kind of cheering for him. At the same time, I've dreamed since I was a kid about winning Home Run Derby."

Hamilton was obviously weary in the final round, using up four of his 10 "outs" among his first five swings, then making five "outs" in succession to end it. Any ball that didn't go over the fence was an "out."

"You don't think you're tired, then you realize you are," said Hamilton. "I guess I used it all up in the first round."

Braun was pleased it into the second round, finishing among the top four of the eight contestants. He bowed out with 14 home runs, slugging seven in each round.

"I was a little nervous at first," said Braun, who made six "outs" in Round 1 before hitting his first homer. "People don't realize how difficult it is, standing out there by yourself with no (batting) cage.

"I was exhausted and I only hit 14 homers. Josh hit about 70. I can only imagine how tired he was. But it was one of the best experiences I've ever had. I wouldn't trade it for the world."

(blogs.jsonline.com)

New York - I'm at the press conference at the Grand Hyatt in Manhattan for the All-Star Home Run Derby tonight at Yankee Stadium. Brewers leftfielder Ryan Braun will be one of the participants for the NL.

Many players, including New York's Alex Rodriguez, declined to participate because they think it messes up their swing. Braun said he wasn't concerned about that.

"For me, personally, that's not a concern," said Braun. "I don't feel like I have to change my swing drastically (to hit in the Derby). So, I'm not concerned about that."

In an usual twist, Braun will have his agent, Nez Balelo, pitching to him during the Derby competition. Balelo is a former minor league infielder and often throws to Braun during off-season workouts.

Part of the Derby is a fund-raiser for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and youngsters from area clubs are paired with the players. Should that player win the Derby, that youngster's club gets $50,000 for his or her chapter.

Braun was paired with Kareem Guthrie of the Newark chapter of the Boys & Girls Club.

Each contestant was asked which player he likes to watch take batting practice. Braun chose teammate Prince Fielder.

"Plus, there are some interesting sound bytes that go with it," said Braun.

(blogs.jsonline.com)

MILWAUKEE -- Add Brewers slugger Ryan Braun to the list of players who will swing for the fences at Yankee Stadium next week.

Braun agreed to a Major League Baseball request to participate in the State Farm Home Run Derby on Monday night. Braun leads the Brewers with 22 home runs. "It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, something you dream about," Braun said. "It's too good an opportunity to pass up."

He went 15 games without a homer from June 18-July 5, a power outage probably related to a sore right hand that sidelined Braun for two games in Arizona last week. He returned to the lineup on July 4 and has made every start since.

Braun consulted with Brewers general manager Doug Melvin, assistant GM Gord Ash and head athletic trainer Roger Caplinger before agreeing to participate.

"I feel like I'm healthy enough to do it," Braun said. "[League officials] asked me a couple of days ago and I was kind of debating, seeing how my hand felt. ... It's gotten better over the last couple of days, so I'm definitely in. If we were to have a setback or something, we'll pull out."

Braun ended his home run drought on Sunday against the Pirates and hit another to highlight CC Sabathia's winning Brewers debut on Tuesday night against the Rockies. Braun's first-inning, three-run shot gave the Brewers a 3-0 lead.

Others confirmed for the Derby include the Phillies' Chase Utley, the Marlins' Dan Uggla, the Astros' Lance Berkman, the Indians' Grady Sizemore and the Rangers' Josh Hamilton. Vladimir Guerrero of the Angels, the 2007 Home Run Derby winner, said on Sunday that he would defend his crown, but pulled out of contention on Tuesday.

That leaves two open slots remaining in the field of eight.

(mlb.com)

Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun on Sunday was named a starter for the National League in the All-Star Game, which will be held July 15 at Yankee Stadium in New York City.

Braun made a surprising surge in fan balloting, finishing first among NL outfielders and second among all NL players with 3,835,840 votes, behind only Chase Utley of the Phillies (3,889,602). Just two days before the voting closed on Wednesday, he wasn't even in line for a starting spot.

Braun came into Sunday's game against the Pirates hitting .279 with 20 homers and 58 RBIs. He hit a homer in the first inning just before the team was announced.

Sheets is 10-2 with a 2.77 ERA -- third in the NL -- in 17 starts this season.

The announcement of Braun as a starter -- which was made on mlb.com and in a televised show on TBS -- comes as somewhat of a surprise, because Braun was in fourth place in the most recent balloting numbers that were released.

Also, the New York Post errantly reported on its Web site Saturday that Braun had fallen short of a starting spot. The report was later retracted, as noted early Sunday by The Capital Times in a blog post. Notably, the Post had every selection right except for Braun.

Braun was 32,925 short of Cubs outfielder Kosuke Fukudome for the third and final starting outfield spot heading into the final two days of balloting.

He made up that deficit and then some even though the Brewers were on the road on Tuesday and Wednesday, when the polls closed.
That push was the product of an orchestrated effort by the Brewers that included a computer kiosk at Summerfest and a viral e-mail effort circulated by fans. According to an article on mlb.com on Wednesday, Braun had received 41 percent more online votes than Fukudome over the final 48 hours.

The loser in this game of musical chairs was future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., who had been No. 2 in fan voting. He was surpassed by Fukudome, who is in his first year in the majors after coming over from Japan, and Braun.

However, the other elected NL outfielder is Alfonso Soriano, who has been sidelined by a broken left hand and is not expected to play. He took batting practice on Saturday but said he was still experiencing pain. 

Braun will be the first Brewers outfielder to start an All-Star Game since 1999, when Jeromy Burnitz replaced an injured Tony Gwynn at Fenway Park.

He is one of seven first-time starters in the Midsummer Classic.

(madison.com)

PHOENIX -- Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun is looking forward to swinging for the fences at Yankee Stadium.

First he has to shake a right hand injury, and then he has to formally make the National League All-Star team, of course. But assuming Braun does make the cut when rosters are unveiled on Sunday, he is looking forward to participating in the State Farm Home Run Derby on July 14, the day before the All-Star Game.

"If I'm invited, I'll do it for sure," Braun said on Wednesday. "I think you owe it to the fans. If you're lucky enough to be invited, I think you should do it."

Wednesday was the final day for fans to vote for the All-Star starters, and Braun and the Cubs' Kosuke Fukudome were in a heated battle for the third and final NL outfield spot.

But Braun could not make a last-minute push on the field because he was out of the Brewers' starting lineup Wednesday night. He was sidelined because he was slumping and hurting, hitting .186 with no home runs and three RBIs in his past 10 games including a current 0-for-18 drought while nursing soreness in his right hand.

Braun injured his hand on the Brewers' last homestand -- he doesn't know how -- and on Wednesday emerged from the trainer's room with a blue wrap around his wrist. Braun did not participate in batting practice.

Brewers manager Ned Yost would not commit to whether Braun would be back in the lineup for Thursday's series and 10-game road trip finale. The Brewers were 4-4 on the trip entering play Wednesday night and were scheduled to face D-backs ace Brandon Webb on Thursday.

"I think it makes sense to rest it now and make sure it doesn't become an injury that lingers later," Braun said. "We're trying to eliminate some of the pain and the swelling and the inflammation now so it doesn't become a nagging injury."

Braun has started 81 of the Brewers' 84 games this season.

He'll need healthy hands to make a run in the Derby, one of the signature events of All-Star Week. Entering Wednesday's games, Braun was third in the NL with 181 total bases, tied for fifth with 20 home runs and tied for eighth with 58 RBIs.

Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder took part in last year's Derby and didn't make it past the first round, where he hit three homers. Brewers players sometimes play "home run derby" in batting practice, but Braun prefers to hit line drives.

"I'm not really a home run guy during BP," Braun said. "But once I get out there, I'll give it everything and I think I'll be OK. It will be fun, that is for sure. Hopefully I'll get to find out."

(mlb.com)

Leftfielder Ryan Braun, in his worst slump of the season and battling through a sprained right hand, is out of the lineup for the second consecutive game today as the Brewers play the series finale against Arizona.



(blogs.jsonline.com)

It's a race between the Brewers and Cubs, but this one's not for the NL Central Division Title.

It's an election-style race for the title of All-Star starting outfielder.

Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun stands around 33,000 votes short of Chicago Cubs counterpart Kosuke Fukudome in fan balloting for the starting nod.

"For me it would be a tremendous honor," said Braun on Newsradio 620 WTMJ's Wisconsin's Morning News. "It would be great for the whole Brewers' organization and the city of Milwaukee.

"It would certainly be a lot of fun and I hope I get that opportunity."

For him to get it, some serious fan voting from Brewers' supporters could make the late difference before the online "polls" close during the late evening of July 2nd.

"Yeah, it's kind turned into a Brewers-Cubs thing, no question about it," admits the 2007 NL Rookie of the Year.

"I really appreciate the support everyone's given me so far, and I really hope we can pull it out in the next couple of days."

Statistically, Braun far outperforms Fukudome in two of the three main categories, with Fukudome outpacing Braun in batting average.
• Braun '08: .282 BA, 20 HR, 58 RBI, .544 Slugging % • Fukudome '08: .296, 6 HR, 34 RBI, .430 Slugging %

"It's unbelievable because this is my first opportunity to make an All-Star team," states Braun. "Just to have this type of support means a lot to me. It's fun to be a Brewer and to play in Milwaukee."

Braun recently signed an eight-year, $45,000,000 contract that extends his current deal through 2015.

Click Here to vote for Ryan Braun

(620wtmj.com)

Growing up in California, Milwaukee Brewers’ slugger Ryan Braun idolized Ken Griffey Jr. Now, with National League All-Star voting drawing to a close, Braun will have to overcome his boyhood hero for a starting slot in the NL outfield.

Braun, currently fourth among outfielders, has been making up ground on Griffey rapidly, and was about 175,000 votes behind in the most recent results. Balloting ends next Wednesday, and fans can vote on MLB.com.

After a 2007 season in which he set an all-time rookie slugging record (.634) and hit 34 home runs in just 113 games, Braun captured the Rookie of the Year Award, then promptly donated his bonus to charity. He so impressed Milwaukee brass on and off the field that in the offseason, the team locked him up to the richest deal in organization history, an an eight-year, $45 million contract.

It appears he’s worth the money. Currently, he’s fifth in the NL in home runs with 20, and ninth in RBI (57). Among NL outfielders, only Lance Berkman has more home runs and RBI than Braun, who recently took a few moments during a rare off day to speak with NBCSports.com about his wondrous rookie season, what making the all-star would mean to him, and baseball pranks.

Q: Almost midway through ’08, you’re probably on your way to 40 home runs, 100+ RBI, what do you think about your year so far? A: I feel like I’m doing OK. I have extremely high expectations, and I always feel like there are things I can improve upon. For the most part I feel like I’ve been consistent, and the team is playing well right now so it’s exciting to continue to get better and work hard to get to the postseason.

Q: What do you feel you need to improve on? A: Everything in general. The biggest thing for me is my approach. Offensively, I just want to have consistent at-bats and make sure I have the same level of focus and intensity for every at-bat, day-in and day-out.

Q: How do you feel about where the Brewers are? You guys are 15-7 in June, are you reaching your stride? A: We’re in great shape. Beginning of the year we had a tough schedule; a lot of day games, a lot of road games, but I think we weathered that storm, and right now we’re hitting on all cylinders. We’ve had great starting pitching, the bullpen’s been phenomenal, and everyone’s contributing offensively, so it’s a lot of fun to come to the clubhouse when we’re playing like this, and I don’t see any reason for that to change.

Q: What is the clubhouse like with many young players who are helping to revive Milwaukee baseball? A: It’s fun. It’s a very loose clubhouse, and we have guys with great personalities so we have a lot of fun messing with each other. It makes a big difference, just the fact that we enjoy spending time with each other, even away from the field. We spend so much time together, that having that relationship and wanting to win for each other goes a long way.

Q: You guys finished two games behind Chicago last year in the division. What’s going to be the key to making the playoffs this time around? A: Just recognizing the importance and significance of every game. Just having the experience of being in the playoff race last year in September is something invaluable for us this year. We know what to expect and anticipate, and we’re more prepared than we were last year.

Q: What’s the biggest lesson from it? A: I think we learned the significance of focusing on ourselves. You get caught up sometimes in scoreboard-watching, and we were definitely watching what the Cubs were doing. But ultimately if we go out and play the way we’re capable of, and the way we expect ourselves to play, it doesn’t really matter what anyone else is doing.

Q: You were a Brewers first-round pick in ’05. Did you expect success so quickly? I always had high expectations for myself. I certainly expected to get there pretty quickly but I never set a timetable. I wanted to go through the minors, learn as much as possible, get used to the grind of playing every day, and as soon as I was prepared and ready in all facets, I hoped the opportunity would come. It certainly came pretty fast.

Q: You came in with a big impact, and won rookie of the year hitting 34 homers despite playing in only 113 games. At any point during that wild ride, did you kind of pinch yourself over your success? Not really, not during the course of the season at least. Everything happens so fast and there’s so much going on that you rarely have the opportunity to reflect on it. Not until the offseason when things slowed down did I get the chance to look back, reflect and realize how special the first year really was. I learned a lot last year and I’m continuing to learn more now.

Q: What did it feel like to win the rookie of the year award? A: It’s extremely special. It’s a culmination of everything I’ve worked for to that point of my baseball career. Whenever you win an award like that, in a historical sense, it’s something special in the history of the game. Obviously there’s only one person in each league, each year who gets that award. So I really felt an appreciation for what everyone’s done to help me get to that point, and it’s rewarding to know that all the hard work and effort I put in has paid off as well.

Q: Obviously, you experience the season in the daily grind of it, but when you maybe look at your rookie card, and just look at the statistics of what was a truly remarkable season, what do you think of it? A: It really is pretty special, especially for my first year. Whenever you do something that is mentioned in a historical sense, it’s pretty crazy. And I know last year I set the all-time rookie record for slugging percentage. When you hear the names of people who put up similar slugging percentages or numbers, it’s really amazing and incredible, and nothing I could have envisioned happening to me, certainly not this early in my career.

Q: How have you had to adjust at the plate this year as pitchers have gotten to know you more? A: Baseball is a constant game for adjustments. Whoever makes them quicker – the pitcher or the hitter – will ultimately have more success. Teams are constantly changing the way they pitch to me, so I’m constantly trying to adjust to that. For the most part, I feel I’ve done OK, but I feel I can certainly do better than I have.

Q: You switched positions this year to outfield. Are you more comfortable there? A: I am. I feel great. I’m really enjoying it, trusting my athleticism, relying on my instincts, and trying to learn from everything I’ve been through. I feel like I’ve played it well, and the adjustment has gone smoothly, and I’m having fun out there.

Q: Between yourself and Prince Fielder, the Brewers might have a middle of the order to rival any team in baseball for years to come. Do you two talk about expectations of the future? A: It’s not something we necessarily talk about. We’ve learned the importance of focusing day-to-day, not looking ahead too much. We certainly appreciate the fact we play together along with so many great young players for the next few years. The future is something that’s extremely exciting for us, but at the same time, we expect to win now. Our focus is on right now.

Q: You’re currently in fourth among NL outfielders for all-star voting? Have you been keeping an eye on the voting tallies as they come out? A: You know, the media brings it up every time it’s updated, so I’m certainly aware of what’s going on. I’m not going to pretend like I’m not paying attention to it. At the same time, it’s not a day-to-day focus, but at least once a week, I’ll see where I’m at. It’d be a tremendous honor and a great accomplishment and obviously I’d love the opportunity to play in the all-star game, so we’ll see what happens.

Q: And what about potentially having the opportunity to play at Yankee Stadium before it closes? A: It’s certainly going to be a historic all-star game. For me, I love New York and I love the big stage, so I would love the opportunity to play in the all-star game just because it has a chance to be the last significant sporting event in the stadium unless the Yankees make the World Series. It’s certainly going to be a special event.

Q: What would it mean to you to be a starter? A: You know what, I think it’s pretty cool because Ken Griffey Jr., is in third place, and he was one of my favorite players growing up, so just recognizing that I’m right there in votes with him speaks volumes to where I’m at and what I’ve accomplished, so that alone is pretty cool.

Q: So Griffey was one of your favorites? Who else did you look up to? A: Griffey was definitely one of my favorites. Also, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. Those guys are great baseball players, but they’ve also carried themselves the right way off the field as well, so they’re great role models for myself and all the other young guys coming up now.
Quick hits
Q: There are so few days off in the schedule. What do you do on your days off? A: Golf a little, go to the local mall or just hang out. It’s nice to relax and get away from baseball a little bit. If we’re in Milwaukee, we go up to Lake Geneva, we go up there all the time, do some jet skiing, or just rent a boat, go out and spend a nice day on the water. It’s a nice escape from baseball.

Q: Where do you keep your rookie of the year award? A: My parents have it at their house in L.A.

Q: How many of your own rookie cards do you own? A: I don’t own many myself, but my parents have every one they could get their hands on.

Q: What’s your favorite sport to watch other than baseball? A: Basketball. I grew up in Los Angeles and I’m a big Lakers fan so I watch as many Lakers games as possible. It hasn’t been a fun last week-and-a-half, I’ll tell you that.

Q: Do you play fantasy sports? A: Not really. I follow it, but I don’t really play very often.

Q: What’s your favorite movie? A: I’m a big Denzel Washington fan. I don’t have a specific favorite, but any movie he’s in.

Q: What was the best rookie prank your team played against you last year? A: The rookies have to sing on the bus, I wasn’t really prepared for that, so the first bus trip, I had to sing.

Q: That doesn’t sound that bad. What did you have to sing? A: I did two Boys II Men songs. One was "On Bended Knee," and the other was I think, "River Runs Dry." It wasn’t very good, and no one wants to hear me sing, but I had fun with it.

Q: Can you sing? A: Not really. I’m OK. I got into it. I got a personality, but not the voice.

Q: Here’s the most important question: Did you know the words to those songs by heart? A: I had an iPod in one ear. Whoever was sitting in the front of the bus, I got their iPod and that was the first available song.

(msnbc.com)

ATLANTA - Ryan Braun tugs at the gloves, pulls an imaginary wrinkle out of the shoulder of his jersey and takes his stance. He takes his initial pose at the plate, feet slightly wider than shoulder width, slightly leaning toward the pitcher, the bat held out defiantly at an angle in his left hand, like some sort of "I dare you" pose out of "Braveheart."

He then settles back, confidently holding the bat high, like trying to entice a lightning bolt out of the sky.

Why not? That seems appropriate, especially to reach for another movie image.

"He looks like 'The Natural,' " said Jim Powell, the Milwaukee Brewers' radio voice.

There is an arrogance to it all. There is a message to the pitcher from Braun that, odds be damned, I own this at-bat, this plate, this game.
In this case, it is exuded by a 24-year-old with a mere 190 games in the major leagues. He's still supposed to be knock-kneed and fetching the doughnuts for the veterans, not up there acting he has Cooperstown on call-waiting.

"From the day he came up he looks like the best major league hitter I've ever seen," Powell said. "We keep waiting for him to tail off, for the flaws to be exposed, the problems to emerge, and it's not happening."

In 77 games this season, Braun is batting .287 with 20 homers and 57 RBIs. He's fifth in the National League in homers, sixth in RBIs, third in total bases, eighth in hits, fifth in extra-base hits.

This after a .324 average with 34 homers and 97 RBIs in 113 games of his rookie season in 2007.

"Come up your first year and just instantly start putting up the numbers he did, you don't see that. Guys don't do that," said Jim Skaalen, the Brewers' hitting coach.

"The guy did it last year and he's doing it again this year," said teammate Rickie Weeks. "He's a great hitter now, and he's getting better and better."

For big-picture stuff, Braun is the Brewers' left fielder, the 2007 National League Rookie of the Year and superstar in the making.

To think locally, Braun will ultimately be considered the greatest major leaguer to have ever worn a Huntsville Stars uniform. Better than Jose Canseco, who became an inflated Marvel Comics character and nowhere near the all-around player he had been in Huntsville. Better than Mark McGwire, who had a season for the ages, but an inconsistent career.

Braun played only 59 games for the Stars and, like McGwire (who played just 55 games for Huntsville), was a third baseman whose defensive skills did not bring to mind the word "smooth."

Hence the Brewers have moved Braun to left. For the most part, he has made the transition nicely. For the most part. Apologies to lip-readers who caught the close-up Wednesday afternoon when a misjudged line drive soared over his head.

"He's already started to look like a guy who has been playing left field for a long time," Powell said.

There's one guy in particular, though, who isn't very impressed with Ryan Braun.

Ryan Braun.

"I'm disappointed in my performance so far," he said, sitting at his locker in the Brewers clubhouse. "I've got to keep working hard. I feel like I've swung the bat OK, but I feel like I can do a lot better than I've done."

That's not false modesty. It's actually a little of that arrogance or confidence.

"He's a nice kid, quite down to earth," Powell said. "He just knows he can play. I don't think he looks down his nose at anybody, but he knows he's a stud. And it's hard to argue with him."

Said Braun, "I know what I'm capable of doing. I've always had high expectations for myself. My goals far exceed anybody else's expectations for me. I don't worry about what anybody else says."

Naturally.

(al.com)

ATLANTA -- A minor hand injury could be contributing to a rare -- and relative -- cold streak for Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun.

Braun went 3-for-8 in Games 1 and 2 of a series in Atlanta that concluded Wednesday afternoon, but still entered the finale hitting .240 with two RBIs and 10 strikeouts in his previous seven games. Braun was hitting .256 this month, though he had contributed six home runs and 17 RBIs.

He has been getting treatment for soreness in the meaty part of his right hand between his thumb and forefinger for about a week. Braun cannot trace the source of the injury, but believes he irritated a ligament on a swing during the Brewers' last homestand.

"I'm just trying to get by right now until I get healthy," Braun said. "I feel OK, but not great.

"The good thing is that everybody is contributing," he said. "It's not a case that I need to carry the team or Prince [Fielder] needs to carry the team. It's a lot easier when everybody is contributing and that's why we're winning games."

Brewers manager Ned Yost wondered why anyone would think Braun -- hitting .287 this season with 20 home runs, 57 RBIs and a chance to start next month's All-Star Game -- was slumping in the first place.

"He's an incredible, talented kid, but you can't expect him to get three hits every night," Yost said. "If he goes his little 1-for-4 with a single or a double, he's not having a little bump in the road."

Braun said he is swinging the bat, "OK, but not great," and declined the notion that his ups and downs this season are related to the growing scouting report on him.

"Anybody who brings that up as an excuse, I just don't get it," Braun said. "I think the scouting report is based more on individual pitchers' strengths. If you get guys who throw real hard, they'll probably challenge you with more fastballs. If you get finesse guys, they'll throw more off-speed pitches."

Braun has not missed any time because of the soreness in his hand. He did leave a game for a pinch-hitter on June 19, when the Brewers had an 8-1 lead in the eighth inning. He has started every game since May 25.

"Everybody has something. The hardest thing in this game is staying healthy," Braun said. "You just deal with it when things come up. The bottom line is that everybody deals with it and you have to make the most of it."

(mlb.com)

MILWAUKEE -- Ryan Braun continues to climb up the ladder in National League All Star voting results.

With the top three outfielders elected to starting spots, Braun is in fourth place after ranking 10th just two weeks ago.

Braun trails Ken Griffey Jr. -- currently in third place -- by less than 200,000 votes. Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome are ranked first and second among outfielders, respectively. Last week, Braun was sixth in voting.

His teammates Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Bill Hall, Jason Kendall, Corey Hart have all now ranked among the league leaders at their respective positions.

None of those four players were ranked on the leader board last week.

To help get out the vote, the Brewers are offering fans the opportunity to win a suite for a Brewers game, whichincludes a special visit to the suite by Braun and J.J. Hardy.

Fans are encouraged to vote via paper ballot at Miller Park at the All-Star Polling District set up during Brewers home games along the first base concourse. To be eligible for the sweepstakes, fans can visit the Polling District through June 21, or go to brewers.com through the conclusion of the online voting process on July 2.

Everyone that votes 25 times or more at either the Polling District or at brewers.com during these specified time frames will be eligible for the suite prizes.

The winner of each package will receive a private suite with 12 tickets and ballpark fare. The selected recipients will also have the opportunity to meet Braun and Hardy as they will make a special appearance in the suite. All entrants must be 21 or older to be eligible for the sweepstakes.

In addition, with every 10 ballots turned in to the All-Star Polling District through June 21, fans will receive one prize ticket that will enter them in a drawing for the opportunity to win a Brewers autographed baseball or autographed jersey.

A drawing will be held during every home game through June 21 and the winning ticket will be announced during the game.

(wisn.com)

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Ryan Braun is battling a head cold and an inner ear infection, and that's bad news for the Milwaukee Brewers' opponents.

Braun homered and matched a career-high with four hits, Manny Parra pitched six strong innings and the Brewers beat the Houston Astros 5-1 on Friday night.

“I think it worked for me today,” said Braun, who has battled dizziness and other symptoms for more than a week. “I've been sick for a little while. It happens throughout the course of the season. You just continue to play hard.

“For me, a lot of times if I have some kind of small injury or I'm a little bit sick, I think it helps me relax. When I feel too good, I try to do too much.”

Cameron hit his seventh home run in the first inning and Braun homered three pitches later, putting Backe in a hole early. It was Braun's team-leading 14th homer.

“Backe is a guy that gives us troubles, so to hit two home runs in the first inning made you feel pretty good,” Brewers manager Ned Yost said. “That took a little pressure off us right out of the gate.”

Braun singled in a run in the third and Milwaukee added two more in the fifth. Braun reached on a single and Fielder hit a two-out homer just over the right-field fence, his first in 45 at-bats and seventh this season.

“I felt like I had pretty good stuff, I just couldn't get guys out,” Backe said. “I had no putout pitches.”

Especially against Braun.

“He's a guy who is seeing the ball real well right now,” Backe said. “We have a guy like that in Lance Berkman. When he's seeing the ball well, there's not much you can do to get him out.”

Berkman, who came in hitting .474 (46-for-97) in May, had two more hits, including a bunt single in the eighth.

Miguel Tejada had his 13-game hitting streak snapped for the Astros, who did not get a runner past second base after the second inning.
Carlos Villanueva, sent to the bullpen more than a week ago after struggling as a starter, pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth for Milwaukee. Guillermo Mota took care of the ninth.

Parra, however, drew the attention of Houston manager Cecil Cooper.

“We faced him in Houston, and he wasn't the same guy,” Cooper said of Parra, who gave up six runs and nine hits in four innings against the Astros on May 3. “He had command (tonight). When you have command and throw 94, it's pretty tough to beat that.”

Parra said his performance was a confidence booster.

“Sometimes I just felt like I didn't belong,” he said of his struggles this season. “I didn't really understand it because last year I felt like I had a lot of success.”

Braun, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, also had success in 2007 — and has carried it over to 2008.

“He's real good,” Cameron said. “When he is right, he is probably one of the best in the game. He can hit all pitches out of the ballpark. He is not real big, but he's strong. His balls travel for a long time.”

(timesrecordnews.com)

MILWAUKEE -- Ryan Braun hasn't been 100 percent healthy for the last two weeks, but he hasn't let his ills sideline him.

The Brewers outfielder has been suffering from an inner-ear infection in his right ear that has left him feeling weak and dizzy since the team was in Boston for a three-game series May 16-18.

"I got it in Boston, haven't gotten better since then," Braun said. "There's some fluid built up so I've been a little dizzy. It's like that sensation when you get off a plane and your ear needs to 'pop' and it doesn't for a week. It's weird."

Beyond the dizziness, Braun has been having trouble hearing out of his right ear. He saw a doctor last weekend in Washington and again earlier this week when the team returned home for its current nine-game homestand.

He was scheduled to see another doctor on Friday night before the opener of this weekend's three-game series with the Astros.

Braun is on day two of a five-day dose of antibiotics but has not noticed much of an effect on his symptoms.

Aside from last Saturday's game in Washington against the Nationals -- his only at-bat came in a pinch-hit situation -- Braun hasn't allowed his ear to take him off the field.

One can imagine that feeling dizzy and weak can't be helpful while trying to hit Major League pitching, but Braun has performed about as well as anyone on the roster since falling ill.

In the 10 games since the Brewers left Boston, Braun has hit .263 with two walks and two RBIs over a period of time where the majority of the Milwaukee offense has struggled.

"I'm dizzy so I'm not always seeing straight all the time," Braun said. "It definitely doesn't help."

But since returning home to Miller Park, Braun has batted .400 over the first three games of the nine-game homestand. He won't let the ear infection deflect any responsibility for his play.

"I'm not going to make any excuses," Braun said. "It doesn't help, that's all I can say. It's something you deal with during the course of the season. It's no different than dealing with a minor injury."

(mlb.com)

MILWAUKEE -- Ryan Braun grinned. He had just agreed to the largest contract in Milwaukee Brewers' history.

"I really believe in the direction this franchise is headed," the NL Rookie of the Year said Thursday after his $45 million, eight-year deal was announced. "I'm extremely excited in our future."

Braun's contract, which runs through 2015, replaces the $455,000, one-year renewal the Brewers gave him in spring training. It includes a $2.3 million bonus this season and could increase to $51 million through escalators.

"How unreal is this?" said Braun's mother, Diane, who was looking on from the front row.

Braun hit .324 with 34 homers and 97 RBIs last season in 113 games after a May 25 callup. He entered Thursday with a .287 average, nine homers and 29 RBIs.

"For me, the opportunity to secure my future financially is something that really means a lot to me," the 24-year-old said. "I feel I was ready to make this commitment to the city of Milwaukee, to the fans and to the Brewers' organization. For them obviously to step up and give me this type of deal, this type of offer, is unprecedented and it means a lot to me."

The deal surpasses the $42 million, four-year contract the Brewers gave free-agent pitcher Jeff Suppan got before the 2007 season.

Braun said the money talks distracted him early this season.

"Anybody who says that contract negotiations aren't a distraction is not telling you the truth," he said. "It definitely comes into play, it definitely factors in and for me, it's just great to have that out of the way and just be able to focus on baseball and know financially I'm secure for the rest of my life."

General manager Doug Melvin said Braun made a commitment from the start, just like when he immediately signed after being selected with the fifth pick of the 2005 amateur draft.

"When we went into negotiations, Ryan wanted to be a Milwaukee Brewer for an extended period of time," Melvin said. "It wasn't about three years, it wasn't about four years. He wanted to be here that long a period of time -- eight years."

Braun's power was never a question from the start, but his league-high 26 errors last season forced the team to move him from third base to left field. Braun has not had an error there in 39 games this season.

He becomes the first player with a long-term deal among the Brewers' young core, which includes Prince Fielder, Corey Hart, Rickie Weeks and J.J. Hardy. Braun hopes the others get long-term contracts.

"Obviously, we have a lot of great young players, and we have a lot of guys that enjoy playing with each other, enjoy being around each other," he said. "I certainly hopes this starts a trend."

Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio said he hopes for a "domino effect" with his other young players.

"Relative to the state of baseball, there's a little bit of a sea change here," Attanasio said as he was leaving the owners' meetings taking place about 5 miles from Miller Park. "There's been a number of young players now who are getting signed, and I think what you see is there's a real economic incentive on both sides to do something."

Braun has a no-trade clause for the next four years, then a limited no-trade clause allowing him to block deals to 12 teams from 2012-13 and six teams from 2014-15.

"We've done other long-term agreements before, but I was surprised at the complexity of this one," Attanasio said.

(espn.com)

MILWAUKEE -- The St. Louis Cardinals have seen just about enough of Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun over the last two days.

Braun hit two home runs for the second game in a row in the Milwaukee Brewers' 8-3 victory Monday night.

For Braun, it was another sign that he's beginning to regain the form that made him National League rookie of the year last season.

"I feel the game slow down a little bit," Braun said. "I feel like I see pitches longer -- and bigger."

Braun followed up Sunday's two-homer performance by hitting two more off stingy Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright (3-2), who had given up four runs or fewer in his first seven starts and had a 2.25 earned-run average going into the game.

"The thing about him is if you make tough pitches, you hold him to singles or you get him out," Wainwright said. "You make bad pitches, he hits home runs."

Jason Isringhausen, demoted from the closer's role over the weekend, pitched a scoreless eighth for St. Louis.

(ap.com)

If you're looking for a sophomore jinx to bring down Milwaukee's Ryan Braun, don't bother.

At least don't mention it to Braun.

''No, I don't believe it that,'' said Braun, who is in town with the Brewers for a three-game series against the Marlins. ``I guess you could say I'm off to a slow start, but it's a long season. I'm not worried about [a sophomore jinx]. I work too hard to worry about it.''

That's Braun, whose talent is only exceeded by his confidence. He has always been that way, even in his days at the University of Miami, where he was an All-American.

''Confidence, that's never been a problem for Ryan,'' said UM baseball coach Jim Morris. ``He has always felt like he could play. From Day 1, he never questioned his ability to play at the big league level.

``I talked to him about that last year, and he said most [young players] do question it. They don't know if they do belong. It's such a select group. But he has never felt that way. He's actually done better in the big leagues than he did here.''

Braun had one of the finest rookie seasons in history, hitting 34 homers, driving in 97 runs and batting .324 in just 113 games. He was named the National League Rookie of the Year. He entered Wednesday's game against the Marlins hitting .267, with five homers and 23 RBI. Those are good numbers, but so much is expected of Braun.

''No one is immune to a sophomore jinx, but he has shown he can put up some pretty impressive numbers,'' said Milwaukee infielder Craig Council, a former Marlin. ``That was a special year he had. His numbers this year are pretty good if you stretch them over a season.

``He will succeed more than most players because he is confident he will.''

If you extrapolate Braun's numbers over 162 games, he would have 27 home runs and 120 RBI.

''What he did last year was unbelievable,'' Morris said. ``I think that second year thing is a mental thing, and that's not going to be an issue with Ryan. That's just Ryan Braun.

``People don't realize how smart this guy is. He turned down Stanford to come to UM and he came on a three-quarter academic scholarship.''
The Brewers were smart enough to move Braun from third base, where he made 26 errors, to left field.

''I'm thoroughly enjoying it,'' Braun said. ``I was never a big fan of third base, to be honest with you. I loved playing shortstop [in college] but third base is just different. I just never enjoyed it.

``Playing left field is a lot of fun. I'm able to use my speed a little bit and my arm strength a little bit more. I'm ahead of where I had anticipated being at this point.''

Not only has Braun played errorless defense, but he already has had three outfield assists.

''I worked really hard, and still work on it every day,'' he said. ``I take pride in my defense. I want my defense to catch up with my offense. Ultimately, I want to be a Gold Glove outfielder, and I don't see any reason that can't happen.''

One season in the big leagues can feel like a dozen.

''I've grown tremendously,'' Braun said. ``The biggest thing I learned last year was learning to deal with the grind of the season, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. It's really an emotional roller coaster, individually and as a team, because you experience so much failure. But that should make me better.''

That's confidence talking.

(miamiherald.com)

LF Ryan Braun is starting to show signs that he's getting back to his 2007 form. Braun was 8 for 25 during the road trip with nine RBI and two home runs. He's hit safely in 10 of his last 13 games and has raised his average to 268. In left field, Braun has preformed fairly well defensively. There have been some isolated gaffes, including missing the cut-off man against Florida during the last home stand, but Braun has yet to commit an error in his first 30 games this year. Braun was charged with 26 errors last season as a third baseman.

(onmilwaukee.com)

Ryan Braun had a solo homer in the sixth and a go-ahead two-run double in the ninth as the Brewers came from behind the beat the Cubs 4-3 on Thursday.
Braun drove one over Kosuke Fukudome's head in the top of the ninth to score the tying and eventually winning runs. Rickie Weeks also tried to score on the play, but he was thrown out at the plate. Braun finished the series against the Cubs with seven hits, three doubles and seven RBI in three games. Hopefully, it means his season-opening slump has come to an end.

(rotoworld.com)

Last year, Ryan Braun didn't crack the Brewers' lineup until Memorial Day weekend. Yet the Brewers' third baseman went on to have one of the best rookie seasons in major league history. Braun hit .324, led the National League with a .634 slugging average and finished in the top 25 in MVP voting, despite playing only 113 games. In his second big league season, the Brewers moved Braun to left field, hoping to take some pressure off defensively while giving one of their top young hitters a chance to produce over a 162-game season.

Braun discussed the move to a new position, the team's abundance of top young hitting talent, and how he spent his Rookie of the Year bonus.

Jonah Keri: What are the areas you think you need to work on at the new position?

Ryan Braun: I feel great; I'm more comfortable than I anticipated being. The focus for me is on my footwork, on my routes, dealing with the sun, dealing with shifts. Left-handers hit a lot of balls that slice toward me, right-handers hit a lot of balls with topspin that slice away from me. So, just the more experience I have, the better off I'll be.


Keri: Does moving to the outfield change your workout regimen at all? An NFL cornerback, for instance, will work a lot on opening up the hips, being able to turn and run back quickly. Being in the outfield now, are you changing your exercise patterns, the drills you do, what you focus on in the weight room?

Braun: I look at it as an opportunity to work out a little bit longer and a little bit harder. I'm definitely stronger than I was last year. At third base I'm bending over, taking 200, 300 ground balls a day. Chasing down fly balls is definitely a little different.

Keri: What about at the plate, are there specific parts of your hitting game you'd like to improve? Are you thinking about cutting down on your strikeouts, going the other way a bit more?

Braun: I never set statistical goals for myself. I can always get better. It's really about consistency, consistency in my approach every day. I definitely want to cut down on my strikeouts. I really want to swing at far less bad pitches. If I can do that, I should have continued success.

Keri: The Brewers had a lot of breakout performances last year from young players: you, Prince [Fielder], J.J. [Hardy], Corey [Hart]. Is there one player you could point to on this year's roster where you could say, "Watch out for this guy"?

Braun: Rickie Weeks. Rickie has the ability, the talent, the work ethic to be the best player in baseball. He's that good. I see him play every day. I'm just happy he's on my team.

Keri: There's been some discussion of long-term contracts, for you and Prince, especially. Troy Tulowitzki got a long-term deal, some other guys with similar amounts of service time. You won Rookie of the Year and had a huge season. How do you make a decision between "I'm going to put up big numbers, I want to roll the dice," versus "I'm ready to make a long-term commitment"?

Braun: I'll let my agent handle the majority of those questions. But for me it's just exciting to even think about and consider.


Keri: Do you buy into the concept of lineup protection, that hitting in front of Prince could mean, say, that you see more fastballs?

Braun: Not necessarily. We have an extremely deep lineup, a very powerful lineup, a very consistent lineup. So wherever I'm at, I'm happy.

Keri: You donated your Rookie of the Year bonus to Habitat for Humanity. What prompted that decision?

Braun: I had an opportunity to go down there and participate in a project where Habitat for Humanity was building houses in San Pedro [Calif.]. I live in Los Angeles, so I went down there for a build project. The families who were moving into the houses were actually there. When I got an opportunity to meet them and see what an influence I had on their lives, it really moved me. It's great to be in a position to have a chance to give back. It was the least I could do.

(espn.com)

Every time a pinch-hit opportunity neared Tuesday night, Milwaukee's Ryan Braun was ready. He had his bat in hand, his helmet handy, and made sure he was in plain view.

And every time, his manager told the eager Brewer to relax.

"Not right here, son. Go sit down," Milwaukee's Ned Yost recalled telling Braun several times.

Yost added, "It's hard on those kids. They want in that game. They have to sit back and regroup a little bit."

Yost has a couple of those kids. And the season so far has been hard on them.

Braun and first baseman Prince Fielder — two of the finest young sluggers in baseball — are off to sluggish starts in their encore seasons. Braun, the reigning rookie of the year, returned to the lineup Wednesday toting a .226 average with 11 strikeouts and no walks. Fielder, who hit 50 home runs last year, had yet to hit one in his first 58 plate appearances. Yost is eyeing both to be sure their sputtering in April doesn't turn into a bona fide slump.

Their youth "has just about everything to do with it," Yost said. "They're going to play through it. You just hope that it doesn't last too long. When you have years like both of them did last year, your tendency — especially when you're young — is to come back the next year and even do better. You force it a little bit instead of just relaxing it and letting it happen like it did last year."

Yost sat Braun on Tuesday to calm what the manager called his young left fielder's "over-anxiousness." While tumbling to a .186 average over the previous 10 games, Braun, 24, had started to force his swing and fish for pitches.

Fielder, 23, refused to do that Tuesday. He took four walks from the Cardinals, an encouraging difference.

"For me, I know I definitely haven't been seeing the ball as well as I did last night," Fielder said. "It doesn't matter where your hands are or where you're standing in the box. If you don't see it, you're not going to hit it."

But hit is all the duo seemed to do last season.

Combined the pair launched 84 home runs, drove in 216 runs and made history. Fielder became the youngest player in baseball to hit 50 home runs. Braun's .634 slugging percentage was the highest ever by a rookie, shattering Mark McGwire's record .618 in 1987. A year after Fielder set franchise records with 28 home runs and 81 RBIs as a rookie, Braun bested those with 34 and 97 — in 118 fewer at-bats.

(stltoday.com)

ST. LOUIS -- With just 12 games ticked off the schedule and the Brewers coming off an off-day, when Ryan Braun was not in the lineup Tuesday you had to wonder whether the left fielder was nursing some sort of injury.

Braun said he wondered the same thing.

"I don't need an off-day. I don't want an off-day," Braun said. "I would much rather be playing. I don't ever want to sit. Obviously, there going to be times when you need an off-day when you're tired or you're hurt, but I'm perfectly healthy.

"I'm just an employee. Seriously. I don't make those decisions."

But Brewers manager Ned Yost does, and the skipper decided that the 24-year-old Braun needed what he called a day to "relax." Braun hit a key, two-run single in Sunday's win over the Mets, but that was one of just three hits in his past 25 at-bats.

Braun entered the Brewers' series at Busch Stadium batting .226 with 11 strikeouts and no walks in 53 at-bats.

"He got a day off [Monday, with the team], and it's nice to back it up," Yost said. "He's been going hard. It's not even rest. It's just, 'relax.' Right now, what he's doing is stepping in the [batter's] box and wanting to get into a real big hurry. He's too good a hitter for that to happen. He needs to stay patient. He needs to stay a little more disciplined and let the at-bat come to him. ... I've still not seen pitchers get him out on a regular basis."

In other words, Braun has been getting himself out by fishing at pitches out of the hitting zone.

"Yes, all players go through this," Yost said. "The difference being that a player of his caliber doesn't have to go through it for as long. He needs to take a step back."

Joe Dillon made his first start of the season in Braun's place, batting third and playing left field.

(mlb.com)

Nez Balelo, the agent for left fielder Ryan Braun, was in town to check in with clients Braun and reliever David Riske, and for a face-to-face meeting with general manager Doug Melvin. The Brewers have already submitted at least one long-term contract proposal to Braun, first baseman Prince Fielder and at least one other player, according to principal owner Mark Attanasio.

Neither Balelo nor Melvin would divulge any details Tuesday, which was not surprising. Balelo's policy is to not comment on ongoing discussions, and Melvin has said in recent weeks that he does not want to give public play-by-play of negotiations.

Attanasio last week confirmed the team's interest in locking down some of its young stars with long-term deals, preferably "buying out" at least one year of free agency. In Braun's case, that likely would require a contract through 2014.

"There's nothing really to talk about," Melvin said.

Another benchmark was set in place Tuesday, when the Arizona Diamondbacks finalized a five-year extension with outfielder Chris Young that buys out his first year of free agency and includes a club option that would cover his second year. Young, who has already signed for $400,000 this season, got a $1 million signing bonus and is guaranteed $1.75 million in 2009, $3.25 million in 2010, $5 million in 2011, $7 million in 2012 and $8.5 million in 2013. The club option calls for an $11 million salary or a $1.5 million buyout.

Young is represented by agent Jeff Berry, who also represents Brewers outfielder Corey Hart and is affiliated with Los Angeles-based CAA Sports. Balelo is affiliated with the same firm.

(mlb.com)

Ryan Braun drove in three runs on three hits, including a homer, in a 7-0 blanking of the Giants on Sunday. Braun drove in one run each time on a single, double, and homer. The left fielder now has 16 home runs in 119 big league at-bats against left-handed pitching. He has 'only' 20 homers in 360 at-bats versus right-handers.

(rotoworld.com)

CHICAGO -- Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun talked his way back into the starting lineup for Thursday's series finale against the Cubs, a day after he tweaked his groin in an 8-2 win.

An early version of manager Ned Yost's lineup had shortstop J.J. Hardy hitting in the cleanup hole and Gabe Gross playing left field. After Braun arrived at Wrigley Field on Thursday morning, he worked on changing that.

"It was just tight, and [Yost] didn't think I would be ready to go," Braun said. "But I told him I was all right. 'Put me back in there.' I was ready to play."

Braun went 0-for-4 in the Brewers' first loss of the season. In the first and second games of the series, both Brewers wins, he was 4-for-10.

Braun said he "irritated" his groin muscle while legging out a double in the fourth inning Wednesday, when he couldn't see whether diving Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez had come up with the baseball. When Braun saw it squirt away, he had to take a somewhat awkward route to get to second base and felt something pull.

He played on and collected two more hits, including an RBI single, then was removed from the game as part of an eighth-inning double-switch.

Braun was replaced defensively in all three games. But Yost argued throughout the week that the decision to remove Braun in the late innings had everything to do with setting up relief pitchers to work multiple innings without having to bat and nothing to do with Braun's defense. In all three games, Braun, who worked this spring on the move from third base to left field, made the next-to-last or last out immediately before the double-switch.

"I'm trying to keep a balanced bullpen," said Yost, who hopes to use all of his setup men for multiple innings this season to keep others fresh.

Braun said Thursday morning that he has received an explanation of the decisions and was fine with them. Last year, when Braun played third base and led the National League with 26 errors, he was often replaced in the late innings for defensive purposes. He understood those moves at the time but was not exactly happy with them.

This was totally different.

"It's not a defensive issue," Braun said. "It makes sense, because I made the last out. It's all good."

(mlb.com)

It was a little more than two hours before the first pitch of the game today when Brewers manager Ned Yost sat behind a microphone and gave a glowing review of Ryan Braun's first spring as a leftfielder.

He said Braun has looked like a veteran and made a smooth transition from the infield to the outfield. And for the most part, Yost is dead on.

Braun has played the position well. He can definitely cover ground and looked good tracking liners and high fly balls while in Arizona. He also showed an ability to take good routes when cutting off balls down the line or in the gap, holding batters to singles.

His only flub came in the final game at Maryvale when he fly ball in the sun and it nearly busted him on the head. He joked about it afterward, saying he almost made it through spring before the infamous Maryvale sun got him.

Well, it didn't take as long for him to misplay his first ball at Miller Park. Miguel Olivo laced a line drive right at Braun, but over his head, in the sixth inning. Braun turned over his right shoulder and broke back, but the ball was curving away from him, so he turned over his left shoulder and by the time he reached out the ball was by him and off the wall.

It was scored as a double, but it should have been an out, and Braun will probably be the first to say that. Olivo didn't score, however, as Dave Bush got a ground out and line out to end the inning.

Braun, who has proven he never lets his defense bother his offense, came up in the bottom of the inning and doubled off the center field wall, but he didn't score and the Royals still lead 2-1.

(blogs.jsonline.com)

24-year old righty swinging Ryan Braun will move to LF this season after playing horrible defense at 3B last season. Braun played in 112 games at 3B last season for the Brewers and he made 26 errors while showing awful range. The Brewers are hoping that Braun will at least be an average LF in the future on defense. Braun played in 113 games for the Brewers last season and he was 146 for 451 (.324 avg, 1.004 OPS) with 91 runs scored, 34 homers and 97 RBIs. Look for Braun to continue to blast away with the bat in 2008 as the sky is the limit for him.

Gabe Gross, Tony Gwynn Jr. and Gabe Kapler will back up Braun in LF but none of them will get much playing time there except as a possible defensive replacement late in games.

(brewerslocker.com)

Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun is one of six young major-league stars pictured on the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated, the magazine's baseball preview issue.

Braun shares the cover with other players chosen in the 2005 draft: Arizona's Justin Upton, Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki, Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz and Washington's Ryan Zimmerman.

The magazine predicts the Brewers will finish out of the playoffs and in third place in the NL Central with a record of 85-77, six games behind the 91-71 Chicago Cubs and two games behind the 87-75 Cincinnati Reds. It has Houston, St. Louis and Pittsburgh, in that order, in the bottom half of the division.

The magazine has the Cubs beating the Rockies in the NLCS, the Detroit Tigers beating the New York Yankees in the ALCS and the Tigers over the Cubs in the World Series.

(jsonline.com)

Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun are expected to be the first Brewers approached about long-term deals. Both team owner Mark Attanasio and general manager Doug Melvin have said they plan to explore multiyear contracts with the young core of players. Fielder and Braun apparently are taking priority over players like Rickie Weeks, J.J. Hardy and Corey Hart.

(rotoworld.com)

PHOENIX -- If organizers of next year's World Baseball Classic ask Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun to play ball, count him in. First baseman Prince Fielder will have to think it over.

"Yeah, for sure," Braun said when asked if he'd be interested. "I remember watching it last time and thinking it looked like a great experience. It definitely piqued interest in baseball in a lot of different countries.
"I would be excited and honored to be asked to play."

Major League Baseball unveiled on Monday from Tokyo its plans for the opening round of next year's Classic, to be staged beginning March 5, 2009, in Japan, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico. The U.S. is in Pool C and will play its opening-round games at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Braun would not worry about missing part of the Brewers' Spring Training camp to play in the World Baseball Classic.

"If anything, it makes you get ready a little bit sooner," the native Californian said. "I think it would be an advantage coming into the season that you've already played some meaningful games. Sometimes, for these [Spring Training] games, it's harder to have the same energy, the same focus."

Fielder, who led the National League last season with 50 home runs, was entering his rookie season in 2006 when the inaugural World Baseball Classic was staged. Would he take part in 2009?
"I don't know. That's a good question," Fielder said. "I guess I would have to decide when it gets closer. I'd have to think about it."

(mlb.com)

Leftfielder Ryan Braun was back in the lineup after being scratched from two of his last three starts because of stiffness in his right Achilles' tendon. Yost said he would have scratched Braun again if he experienced any discomfort during batting practice.

The staff thought the stiffness was caused by new spikes Braun wore in the outfield with a soft heel that created a strain on his Achilles' tendon. He had worn molded or plastic cleats in the infield since high school.

(jsonline.com)

Peoria, Ariz. - Ryan Braun was scratched from the Brewers' lineup today with "right Achilles tightness," the second time in five days he was removed for that same problem.

Braun now will have played just once in the last five games. He was scratched last Wednesday, did not play Thursday, did play Friday, did not play Saturday and now has been scratched today.

We have been told that the situation is not serious, that it has been more precautionary than anything. But you do have to wonder if this is going to be a lingering thing for Braun. We'll get more details on the situation and post them later.

(blogs.jsonline.com)

Braun was scratched from Sunday's spring training game due to lingering tightness in his right Achilles' tendon, the team's official web site reports. "We don't know what's bringing it on," manager Ned Yost said. "It might be a new pair of shoes that he put on. It might be an exercise program that he was doing. He's got stiffness in his Achilles and there's no sense taking chances. ... I don't see it to be anything major."

(rotowire.com)

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Ryan Braun's right Achilles tendon kept him from joining his teammates on the two-hour bus trip from Phoenix to Tucson Electric Park.

Manager Ned Yost decided to make Thursday a day off for Braun, who had been scheduled to have Friday off.

"He won't get Friday off now," Yost said. "He had a little stiffness in his Achilles and we banged him [Wednesday]. He feels better today; he feels a lot better today. He'll be ready to go tomorrow."

But the 24-year-old Braun, NL Rookie of the Year last season, will be at the ballpark on Thursday, though he won't be sitting on the bench with his Brewers teammates.

He has a photo shoot scheduled with Sports Illustrated, and he's supposed to be one of the rising stars featured on the cover of the magazine's baseball preview.

"He said he had a cover shot," Yost said. "That's why he's coming up here -- to do it."

Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton and Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki will also be in the photo shot with Braun. Both play with clubs that train in Tucson.

(mlb.com)

PHOENIX -- Manager Ned Yost likes the idea of left-fielder Ryan Braun batting cleanup behind Prince Fielder.

"They're gonna pitch around Prince, just because of Prince's intimidation factor," said Yost, who sat Braun for the Cactus League game Monday against the Cubs.

With Fielder on base, Braun will have more opportunities to knock in runs, something that he proved capable of doing in bunches [97 RBIs in 113 games] as a rookie last season.

"They're not gonna pitch around Prince too long with me behind him," said Braun without even a hint of cockiness. "Obviously, we have a lot of great hitters in the lineup.
"Whether I'm third or fourth, there should be plenty of protection. It doesn't make much of a difference to me."

But the key to Braun handling the duties of the No. 4 hitter is selectivity. He can't come to the plate hacking at just anything, Yost said.

"If he's not, then I've gotta change the order," Yost said. "Then I have to put him in front of Prince. ... If Braunie stays in his game, Corey Hart's gonna have a helluva year. Or Billy Hall. Or so will both Prince and Ryan."

Braun didn't disagree.

"Our lineup is dangerous all the way throughout," said the 24-year-old Braun, who spent most of last season in the No. 3 hole. "So I don't think they'll have too much of any opportunity to pitch around anybody."

(mlb.com)

PHOENIX (AP) -Ryan Braun plopped down at a clubhouse table next to some minor leaguers for a breakfast feast. It was the glazed doughnut that grabbed his teammates' attention and led to a little harassment about his figure.

"Hey, I'm cool with it,'' Braun said coyly.

Suddenly, Braun is getting attention for everything he does.
In one short year, he's gone from a touted, raw power prospect to one of the Brewers' most potent offensive threats and the reigning NL Rookie of the Year.