Milwaukee Brewers Blog - Bernie's Crew : Ryan Braun

Braun Wins Silver Slugger

Jim Breen — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:17:36 GMT

Ryan Braun won his second consecutive Silver Slugger award in left field.

Braun batted .320 with 32 home runs and 114 RBI, and led the NL with 203 hits. He is the first Brewers player to win consecutive Silver Slugger Awards since Paul Molitor, who claimed the honor as DH in the American League in 1987-'88.

Brewers first baseman Cecil Cooper won the award at his position in the AL for three consecutive years from 1980-'82.

The Silver Slugger Awards are presented by Louisville Slugger and selected by major league managers and coaches.
[sic]
Braun became the first Brewer to lead his league in hits since Molitor led the AL in 1991. He was the eighth player in major league history to compile 100 runs, 100 RBI, 200 hits, 30 homers, 20 stolen bases and a .300 batting average.

Braun was joined in the NL outfield by the Dodgers' Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp, both first-time winners.

A Trip to the Infirmary

Jim Breen — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:54:21 GMT

Now that the Milwaukee Brewers have officially completed their 2009 season, news of more and more players with minor injuries continue to come to light.

Casey McGehee will undergo surgery this afternoon to clean out some "loose bodies" from his right knee. The potential NL Rookie of the Year has been playing through the pain since the All-Star Break, but the knee problems significantly lessened his range at third and his speed on the basepaths. With a .301 average and 16 home runs, it did not seem to affect him much at the plate.

The surgery is a minor procedure with no ill effects lingering into the 2010 season. McGehee should return with no pain in his knee whatsoever.

Braden Looper is scheduled to have surgery next week to fix some torn meniscus in his right knee.

"I tried the best I can to get the ball down because that's my whole game," Looper said Saturday. "I don't know [if the knee played a part in pitches staying up]. I know I haven't been as consistent this year. That's the thing that upsets me, I hope that [the knee] didn't cause that."

With 39 home runs and 113 earned runs surrendered throughout the season, it is unlikely that the knee caused that type of production. The numbers are not consistent with his career norms. If the knee would have been an issue during the season, you can be sure Ken Macha would have sat Looper for a start or two.

To blame a terrible season on a knee problem (or to hint that a bum knee caused it) is a huge cop-out. If it were actually a problem, he should have sat out a couple weeks in May and addressed the issue.

Craig Counsell has been battling a similar injury to that of Braden Looper, but Brewers fans heard about Counsell's knee troubles during Spring Training.

The utility fielder opted for rehabilitation rather than surgery and played through the pain throughout the season. It lead to a .285/.357/.408 season, which marked his best production since 2000 at the plate. Counsell changed his mind about the surgery, however, and is scheduled in the next week to undergo a minor operation to clean out his knee.

Counsell is an impending free agent, but it is almost a foregone conclusion that Milwaukee will make every attempt to resign the 39-year old Counsell during the offseason.

Manny Parra is a new name to add to the injury report, as he is scheduled for surgery today to "clean up his AC joint" in his left shoulder.

Before panicking too much and reminiscing over past shoulder issues, Gord Ash says the issue is minor and not related to his previous injuries in the minor leagues. The shoulder discomfort is also not thought to have contributed to his 6.36 ERA in 2009. His velocity was there. It was simply the lack of command that led to a 5.0 BB/9 walk rate and a general frustration throughout the Brewers fanbase.

Corey Hart was thought to have broken his ring and pinkie fingers after sliding into Todd Helton's foot during the final week of the regular season, but it has recently been determined that Hart only severely sprained his two digits.

He will not require surgery, and a rehabilitation program should return him to full health in short order.

Mark DiFelice continues to struggle with inflammation in his right shoulder, an injury that has kept him from game action since September 13th.

The cutter specialist recently sought out a second opinion to determine if surgery was required, but a specialist in Colorado confirmed Dr. Raasch's original diagnosis that rest and rehabilitation should eventually cure the issue.

The real issue is whether or not DiFelice's shoulder can every truly heal due to his severe slinging motion in his pitching delivery. During the second half of the season (when elbow and shoulder issues began to crop up), the right-hander posted a 7.27 ERA and a .333 opponent batting average. I am hesitant to even assure the fact that DiFelice will return in 2010. That is not a guarantee, due to his shoulder injury.

Rickie Weeks had been participating in defensive drills throughout the last couple weeks of the regular season, but his torn tendon sheath in his left wrist was still not strong enough to take swings against live pitching.

The 27-year old seemingly had turned a corner in 2009, sprinting out to a .272/.340/.517 slash line through the first two months of the season. Those numbers included nine home runs, a .245 ISO, and a +4.7 UZR at second base.

Rickie will look to continue that success in 2010, despite rumors that Milwaukee could try the young man in center field to replace Mike Cameron. He has already made his dislike of the idea well-known to the Brewers brass.

Mike Burns has the worst injury of the bunch.

An MRI revealed that Burns has damage to his labrum in his right shoulder. That probably signifies rather significant surgery and a lengthy rehabilitation process.

The 30-year old journeyman was going to have a difficult time making the Brewers 25-man roster out of Spring Training, especially due to his 5.75 ERA in 51.2 innings with the big league club. This injury and the uncertainty surrounding it makes it even more unlikely that Milwaukee keeps the right-hander on their 40-man roster heading into 2010.

Ryan Braun has dealt with intercostal issues throughout the past two seasons, but that issue seems to have died down during the second half of the 2009 season.

Instead, Braun missed some time down the stretch due to an injured shoulder. The injury appears to be extremely minor and could actually be completely healed at this point, but Braun's injuries tend to linger for a long, long time.

The offseason should help alleviate any aches and pains the Brewers superstar is currently dealing with. He should be set to come into Spring Training next February and mash from the get-go.

Dave Bush had a 4.38 ERA heading into a June 4th game against the Florida Marlins.

It was in that contest that Bush took a line drive off his right triceps muscle off the bat of Hanley Ramirez. From that point on, Dave Bush was not the same pitcher he was prior to the injury. He dealt with microtears in his triceps muscle, which contributed to the severe arm fatigue he suffered through in August and September.

As noted previously, prior to the injury, Bush had a 4.38 ERA and almost threw a no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies. Following the injury, Bush ended the season with a 6.38 ERA.

David Riske has one season left on his $13MM contract, but is likely to miss the beginning to 2010 due to Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.

The right-hander only made one appearance for the Crew in 2009. He surrendered four hits and two runs in one inning of work.

That followed a 5.31 ERA in 2008, so needless to say, Doug Melvin and his crew may have made a bit of an error in judgment handing out a three-year, $13MM deal to Riske. Overpaying on long-term contracts severely hurt small-market teams. They hurt even more when those contracts are for middle relievers who can be had for much, much cheaper.

Macha To Return in 2010

Jim Breen — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 16:37:39 GMT

Tom Haudricourt is reporting that Ken Macha will officially return to the Milwaukee Brewers as the manager in 2010, with a new option to return in 2011.

Brewers general manager Doug Melvin confirmed Sunday morning what had become increasingly obvious in recent days, that manager Ken Macha would be returning in 2010 for the second year of his two-year contract.
But, in an added twist, Melvin added an option to Macha's contract for the 2011 season. Otherwise, Macha would have returned with "lame duck" status for next year.

"He didn't ask for (the option)," said Melvin. "He said, "It doesn't matter to me. I don't do this job for security. I do it to win ball games.

"The option tells him I do support him in his role as manager."

Melvin also invited back bench coach Willie Randolph, hitting coach Dale Sveum, third base coach Brad Fischer and first base coach Ed Sedar.

Melvin said he is not offering contracts at this time to interim pitching coach Chris Bosio and bullpen coach Stan Kyles but would consider them for positions in the organization, including their current roles.

Ryan Braun became the fourth player in Brewers history to reach the 200 hit plateau in yesterday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Braun eliminated the suspense early Saturday, reaching 200 hits in grand style with a two-run homer in the first inning off St. Louis veteran Kyle Lohse to help the Brewers take a 5-4 victory over the mistake-prone Cardinals.

Braun later added an infield hit to finish the day with 201 hits, which leads the National League. One week earlier, Braun was sitting on 186 hits and wondering if it would be possible to get to 200 by season’s end.
[snip]
“I think I’ve been hitting more balls to right field than I did earlier in the year just because I’m trying to get hits instead of being home-run conscious,” said Braun, who has boosted his batting average to .319. “It’s worked out.

“It’s a special day. It’s a tremendous accomplishment. It’s certainly difficult to do. We all strive to be as consistent as possible and it’s impossible to get to 200 hits without being pretty consistent. I’m proud of that.

“It’s always nice to finish the season strong as an individual and as a team. It’s nice to win this series against the team I think is probably the best team in the National League.”

Six Thoughts on Brewers Loss

Jim Breen — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:12:30 GMT

Milwaukee scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth to rally back from a 6-1 deficit and forced the game into extras.

Unfortunately, the Reds still came away with a victory in thirteen innings. Joey Votto and Laynce Nix both collected solo home runs to put the Reds ahead by two, and the Brewers could manage nothing against Daniel Ray Herrera.

Here are six random thoughts on Tuesday night's contest:

My hat goes off to Todd Coffey.

The right-hander may have surrendered two solo shots in the top of the thirteenth to cost the Brewers the game, but it was also his third inning of work. He threw 46 pitches. That is significantly more than Coffey has thrown in a single game all season. Milwaukee needed him to eat some innings because Jeff Suppan's short start ate up the bullpen early.

Coffey answered the call. He simply ran out of gas in the thirteenth.

Sometimes you just have to tip your cap.

Baseball is a dualistic game of execution. Either opposing force can execute on any given play. A pitcher may groove a fastball right down main street, but the hitter still must put a solid swing on the ball and launch it out of the park. A pitcher may perfectly spot a sweeping slider on the low-outside corner of the zone -- an almost unhittable pitch.

On Tuesday evening, Joey Votto took a mid-90s fastball up-and-away and swatted a go-ahead homer to the opposite field. The 3-1 pitch was not even a strike. The ball was certainly elevated, but Votto had to reach out and take a bit of an awkward swing. And the ball left the park.

Just tip your cap and move on.

Why is Ryan Braun tagging up in the bottom of the ninth?

While it did take a perfect throw to nail Braun at the plate, Darnell McDonald was not exactly deep in left field when he made the catch. I may have been able to make that throw home to hose Braun at the plate.

Aggressiveness is desirable, but Ryan Braun needs to learn the basics of baserunning.

Stop being picked off first base with Prince Fielder at the dish. You should not be running anyway.

You do not make the last out of an inning at home. You take the bat out of your team's hand. Not to mention sucking the life out of the Miller Park crowd in one simple play.

Jeff Suppan did not improve from his rehab starts.

Suppan's rehab starts compared to his start for Milwaukee:

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Nashville Sounds: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Milwaukee Brewers: 4.1 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 1 K

Those outings do not exactly illustrate much improvement on the mound, do they?

Felipe Lopez is a second-half monster at the dish.

Lopez has been a second-half player throughout his career, as his batting average is about 30-points higher after the All-Star Break (.257 to .285, respectively). Despite that trend, no one particularly expected the second baseman to improve on his .301 average and .364 OBP that he posted with the Arizona Diamondbacks to begin the season.

Improve? That may be a bit of an understatement.

The second baseman is hitting .363 with a .419 OBP after a 4-for-5 showing last night, including a solo home run off Bronson Arroyo in the third inning. His bat is staying in the hitting zone for a long time, and he shooting the ball to all fields. His .370 BABIP should eventually cause his batting average to come back to earth. There is no reason, however, to think Lopez will end the season under the .300 mark.

Laynce Nix wonders, "Do you miss me now?"

After two forgettable seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, in which he only received minimal playing time at the big league level despite 20+ home run efforts in Nashville, Laynce Nix showed up his former team on Tuesday night.

The right fielder connected on a two-run shot off Carlos Villanueva in the top of the seventh and later took Todd Coffey deep in the thirteenth to essentially ice the game. He finished 2-for-7 with two homers and three RBI, including a spectacular diving catch in right that robbed Alcides Escobar of a base hit.

The Mike Burns Experiment

Jim Breen — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 05:03:59 GMT

The Brewers fell in the series opener to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-5, but the relative closeness of the score can be attributed to a ninth inning RBI-double by Craig Counsell and a two-run homer by Ryan Braun in the ninth inning. Braun's homer marked his first long ball in almost a month, with his last coming on June 25th against the Minnesota Twins.

Braun's home run aside, Milwaukee never held any momentum due to an absolutely horrendous start by right-hander Mike Burns. The 31-year old journeyman had a promising start against the Dodgers last week, but still owned a 5.54 ERA coming into Monday evening's contest against the Pirates. That ERA climbed even higher, as the Pirates torched Burns for six runs (only four earned) in only three innings of work. That left the Crew working from a 6-1 deficit early, and they were never able to recover -- despite the late offense.

The real question is what the Brewers are to do about Mike Burns and his inadequacy on the mound. There is almost no chance, nor should there be, of Ken Macha handing him the ball on his next turn through the rotation, which would be on Sunday against the Braves. The search for a starting pitcher in Milwaukee just became more frantic.

What are the Brewers' options?

The Brewers could simply skip Burns' start. An off-day on Thursday would allow the Brewers to get by without needing a starter until next Tuesday against the Washington Nationals. Perhaps that would be enough time for Dave Bush to work back into the rotation from his "microtear" issue in his arm. If not, however, it would allow Doug Melvin and Ken Macha ample time to find a suitable replacement for Tuesday's contest.

Milwaukee could also acquire a starting pitcher via the trade market in the next week. With Felipe Lopez now manning second base for the Crew -- it should be mentioned that he went 4-for-4 with a walk on Monday -- the ever-popular trading piece J.J. Hardy could now be legitimately "expendable."

At this point, I the most likely suitors for Hardy would be a team like the Seattle Mariners (Erik Bedard, Jarrod Washburn) or the San Francisco Giants (Jonathan Sanchez -- who threw the ball quite well again Monday). Another possibility would be, of course, Roy Halladay, along with some under-the-radar arms such as Brad Penny, Brian Bannister (KC), Ian Snell, or even Cliff Lee.

The likelihood that Melvin will address the starting rotation via a trade in the next week is doubtful, however, so the other option is for the Crew to fill the void internally. Since Seth McClung has proven his inefficent (and recently ineffective) style will not be tolerated on the mound, Milwaukee will have to pull from the Nashville Sounds' rotation. Who is available?

Tim Dillard is a popular option because he made an appearance with the big league club last season in the bullpen and has a nice 9-4 record with a 3.93 ERA. Once delving past those superficial numbers, however, Dillard is no longer an attractive option as a starter. He is actually walking more batters than he is striking out, and his strikeout rate is at a career low of 3.27 K/9 -- which is incredibly far below-average. Opposing batters are also hitting .272 off the right-hander.

Milwaukee will probably look a different direction than Tim Dillard if they wish to avoid another Mike Burns-esque appearance in the big leagues, albeit one with fewer strikeouts and more walks.

Chase Wright was seen as a shrewd depth acquisition in the spring, but has pitched very much like Tim Dillard this season. Going into Monday evening, Wright owned a 3.68 ERA in 85.2 innings. That ERA jumped a bit after giving up four runs in six frames of work against the Memphis Redbirds for Triple-A Nashville. Chase is also producing career-low numbers in the strikeout column (3.89 K/9) and is barely whiffing more opposing batters than he is walking.

With a 4.69 FIP in Triple-A, Chase Wright profiles very closely with Tim Dillard, which is not a positive for the Brewers' organization. He is nothing more than a replacement-level pitcher at this point in the season. Milwaukee would again be wise to look a different direction.

Another option is the soft-tossing Lindsay Gulin. The southpaw struggled to begin the season, but has thrown the ball extremely well in his last ten outings, compiling a 2.85 ERA in that time frame. Gulin's issue throughout his career has been control, and that remains an issue this season -- even during his recent hot-streak. Still, it is difficult to argue against a starting pitcher who is keeping the ball in the ballpark, actually striking out more than he is walking, and has thrown the ball exceedingly well as of late.

The other legitimate option besides Gulin is Chris Cody, who is another soft-tossing lefty who has dominated the Pacific Coast League as of late. Cody began the season in Huntsville, but has worked his way up to Triple-A and has not posted above a 3.00 ERA in any level along the way. His strikeout rate has dropped to 5.36 K/9 since being promoted to Nashville, but his walk rate is still a solid 2.40 BB/9. If going strictly on performance (and peripherals), Milwaukee would have a difficult time looking past Cody.

While Lindsay Gulin and Chris Cody have posted solid numbers in Nashville, the fact that those two southpaws are the Brewers' best options for the starting rotation at this point in the season is a bit depressing. Gulin has never managed to conquer his control issues on the mound, while Cody only has about 50 innings in Triple-A ball.

Mend quickly, Dave Bush.