Will Ryan Braun decision come this week?

By the time Milwaukee Brewers pitchers and catchers take the field for their first spring training workout two weeks from today, they'll know how big a setback they'll have to overcome to repeat as NL Central Division champions.

Do they merely have to replace Prince Fielder's 38 home runs and 128 runs batted in, after the free agent signed with Detroit last month? Or do they also have to try to survive until Memorial Day without reigning NL Most Valuable Player Ryan Braun?

The Brewers could learn this week whether Braun wins his appeal of a positive test for a performance-enhancing drug during last October's playoffs. Braun's appeal was heard Jan. 19-20 in New York and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal reports MLB's Joint Drug Agreement specifies that a ruling is to be made within 25 days of the opening of the hearing. That would be next Sunday, Feb. 12.

A written opinion should come within 30 days of the hearing, so it's possible there'll no announcement until then. Either way, the Brewers should know before the start of spring training whether Braun must serve a 50-game suspension.

Braun originally was scheduled to attend the Brewers' fan convention Jan. 29, but the club decided to excuse him from the festivities a few days beforehand.

Brewer diehards remain excited about the season, as evidenced by the record crowd of 12,000-plus at the "On Deck" event at a downtown convention center. Offseason ticket sales are on a record pace, portending an all-time attendance record following last year's 3.071 million.

Replacing the two men who last year combined to provide 38% of the team's home runs (71 of the 185) and 33% of its runs batted in (231 of 693) could make the team's first 50 games a struggle.

There are no sure-fire replacements for either. The Brewers say they want to give prospect Mat Gamel a legitimate shot as Fielder's replacement at first. Once rated among the Brewers' top three prospects, Gamel struggled in three brief trials in Milwaukee. The left-hand hitter, originally a third baseman, batted just .222 with five homers in a total of 171 at-bats, but has hit consistently in the minors.

Right-fielder Corey Hart has agreed to work at first this spring to spell Gamel 30 games or so against tough left-handers. Former Giant Travis Ishikawa comes to camp as a non-roster invitee.

If Braun is suspended, there's a new uncertainty in left-field. Can newly-signed Japanese veteran Norichika Aoki, three-time Japan Central League batting champion, handle the job in his absence? If not, the effective center-field platoon of Nyjer Morgan and Carlos Gomez will be broken up and Morgan will play left every day.

The sports winter has been depressing enough in Wisconsin, with the Packers' early exit from the NFL playoffs and the University of Wisconsin Badgers' loss in the Rose Bowl. Now comes the decision that could impact whether the blahs extend to spring.


(usatoday.com)