Ryan Braun makes his return to Brewers On Deck

A year ago at this time, Ryan Braun was in limbo.

In the midst of appealing his 50-game suspension for a drug suspension, the Milwaukee Brewers' leftfielder basically dropped out of sight until the open of spring training.

That meant no media junkets in the weeks and months following his 2011 National League Most Valuable Player award, and no appearance at the Brewers On Deck event in downtown Milwaukee.

But with all that behind him, and an even better 2012 season under his belt, Braun made his return to the team's annual event on Sunday at the Delta Center.
Relaxed and all smiles, Braun not surprisingly said he's been enjoying this off-season much more than his last.

"This is nice," he said during a break. "It’s definitely a lot different for me. It’s just nice to be able to relax, to have a regular schedule, a regular routine, know exactly what I’m getting myself into. More than anything else, it’s far more relaxing."

Basically the entire Brewers' 25-man roster (save for a few exceptions) is on hand to meet fans, sign autographs and take part in team-sanctioned events.

In the few moments the players actually have downtime at these things, they use them to reconnect with teammates they haven't seen since the end of last season and meet players who have since joined the Brewers.

"That’s one of the most enjoyable parts of this experience for us, is just getting to see each other again, meeting some of the new guys," said Braun. "I think you start to build that camaraderie, start to make fun of each other again and it starts to feel like spring training is right around the corner – which it is.

"So it’s fun."

Braun wi'll head into spring training a little bit ahead of the curve this year having begun long-tossing in November and hitting in earnest in December. In the past, Braun typically wouldn't start hitting until sometime in January.

Much of this advance prep work is to help him get prepared for the World Baseball Classic. Braun, along with Jonathan Lucroy, is a member of Team USA, which will begin training in Phoenix on March 1. Team USA's first game is March 8 at Chase Field against Mexico (which will have a pair of Brewers starters in Yovani Gallardo and Marco Estrada).

Unlike some of the other big American stars who passed on the opportunity to play for Team USA, Braun said he relished the opportunity.

"First and foremost, it’s an honor," he said. "It’s a tremendous honor to represent your country. You don’t know how many opportunities you’ll get to do that – this tournament only happens once every four years, and four years from now who knows – for all of us – what our health situation will be, where we’ll be in the game, whether we’ll even get an opportunity to be invited.

"For me, I think it was a no-brainer. As long as I was healthy, it was something I was definitely going to do."

Braun was then asked about playing alongside Lucroy for Team USA, and got in the zinger of the day.

"It’s amazing – I didn’t even know Team USA had a bullpen catcher," he said with a grin. "It’s really cool to have a teammate. It’s going to be really fun for both of us. We’ve talked about it and we’re pretty excited. It’s definitely a cool opportunity, and we’ll get a chance to play against some of our teammates, too."

As far as the Brewers' chances this year, Braun, like everyone else, is interested in seeing how the team's rotation shakes out. Aside from Gallardo and Estrada, Chris Narveson is attempting to return from rotator-cuff surgery, and youngsters Mike Fiers, Mark Rogers and Wily Peralta will also be trying to win spots.

"I think the talent is there; it’s about going out there and doing it over the course of the season," he said. "We have some guys that are relatively inexperienced (in the rotation) – we don’t know exactly what they’re going to be able to do. But aside from that, I think we’re certainly going to be competitive again.

"And as long as you’re competitive, that’s all you can ask for."

As far as individual goals for the upcoming season, Braun said he's looking for continued improvement. Of course, bettering his 2012 season in which he hit .319 with a career-high 41 home runs, 112 runs batted in, 30 stolen bases and a .987 OPS, isn't going to be easy.

"I think the challenge is just always longevity and consistency, so hopefully I continue to have success," he said. "There’s always room for improvement. I think defense is something I’ve always prioritized and tried to get better at. I think I’m headed in the right direction. Hopefully continue to get better defensively.

"It’d be really cool if I could walk more than I strike out. I don’t know if that’s going to happen, but if I could do that, it’d be really cool."


(jsonline.com)