Braun more selective at the plate

Chicago — Ryan Braun's transition has been as smooth as an untouched eggshell.

From spring training through the first week of the season, the Milwaukee Brewers leftfielder has looked crisp and fluid. He is swinging the bat with his normal grace and the mechanics are as flawless as they can be seven games into the season.

Despite the Brewers dropping a forgettable first meeting with the Chicago Cubs, 9-5, Monday at Wrigley Field, Braun was solid.

He went 2 for 4 with a run-scoring single and a three-run, no-doubt-about-it home run. This came a game after he concluded a six-game home stand by smoking a two-run laser against St. Louis Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter.

"He's taking a lot of pitches, seeing a lot of pitches and getting good swings," Brewers hitting coach Dale Sveum said. "His hands are working. I don't think he's doing too much.

"That's a big reason why he hit .320 last year."

There had been times in the past when Braun would do one of two things: either try to see too many pitches and get behind in the count, or, trying to avoid that hole, he would chase balls out of the zone early. No matter what poison he chose, he was getting himself out, although those dips in production were sporadic and sometimes lasted only two or three games.

To this point, Braun is seeing more pitches because he is picking out ones he actually wants to hit instead of ones the pitcher hopes he swings at.

In Sunday's game against the Cardinals, Braun saw 14 pitches in his five at-bats and of the balls he put into play, not one was out of the strike zone despite his 1-for-5 night.

Against Cubs right-hander Ryan Dempster, Braun saw 16 pitches in four at-bats and of those he put into play, only one was out of the zone - a changeup off the plate inside - that resulted in a hard grounder to third baseman Aramis Ramirez.

"He'll swing out of the zone," Sveum said. "But he's starting to (get it) that if you put the ability with the understanding of hitting good pitches and not going into panic mode, you have a guy that's the full package, that can win a batting title, that can hit 30 to 40 (homers), that can drive in 130 (runs).

"He's a pretty smart guy and he's just getting smarter."

Braun bumped his average up to .333 (9 for 27) with a .367 on-base percentage, and for his career he hits .293 with a .361 OBP in March and April.

Right behind him in the lineup is Prince Fielder, who isn't going badly but also isn't punishing mistakes quite yet.

Fielder was 1 for 3 with a double and run scored against the Cubs, pushing his average to .280 (7 for 25). Fielder has a .400 OBP, but he has struck out a team-high nine times.

"I still think he's putting a little too much effort into his swing," manager Ken Macha said.

This is possibly a product of something Fielder has battled his entire career: trying to do too much too early. But considering his career numbers - he batted .234 in March and April last year and .250 during those months in 2008 - Sveum said he's encouraged, not discouraged, by Fielder's first seven games.

"To me he's swung the bat better than he has the first seven days of any season," Sveum said with a chuckle. "He's such a perfectionist. I think in April he wants to do things and get off to such a great start that it backfires a little bit."



(jsonline.com)