Braun playing through inner-ear infection

Jun/01/08 05:34 PM Filed in: Ryan Braun
RyanBraun
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)