What to do about Braun?

[YoungGeezy]

Without a doubt the Brewers could easily cut Braun, he is absolutely terrible! We are talking about Steve Braun right? ha

 

This may be one of the more pointless treads, Braun along with Gallardo are the faces of this franchise for the next 5 or more years, yeah he it a rough patch but he is still hitting .285, that is like 2nd or 3rd on the team. It is nothing new for Braun to hit a rough spot like this, he has every season (no quit this bad but still has gone 2 or 3 weeks of god awful hitting) and like usual he will play his way through it and get on a tear that will shoot him back up over .300. Braun is probably the last guy on the team I'd worry about. Even if he finish up with a season line of .290 25HR 85 RBI's (that is a guess of what he is on pace for) I would not consider that to be anything to complain about.

[kramnoj]

Of course there was going to be some regression but he shouldn't be hitting worse against LHP than RHP. Especially not 190 points of OPS worse.

It's 126 PA. Lots of things are possible. He shouldn't have had a split .600 points higher than his OPS against righties in 2007, but he did, and that was in 128 PA.

If you look at this line right now and his season line in 2008, his BA and OBP are remarkably similar, it's the slugging that is 90 points lower that is different.

[logan82]

If you look at this line right now and his season line in 2008, his BA and OBP are remarkably similar, it's the slugging that is 90 points lower that is different.

 

 

Braun's LHP splits are way out of line with his career or even a normal right handed hitter vs LHP. His RHP slits are all pretty similar to the rest of his career. I think it is safe to say that he hasn't hit LHP well this year for some reason or another and that is dragging his stat line down. Should we expect it to continue next year? I doubt it. He obviously will not hit LHP as well as in his rookie year but I really doubt anybody expected him to.

[pete]

He looks really tired sometimes, almost zombie like. A few days off now and then and maybe less business, social and/or charity work - possibly.

[Baldkin]

I've never seen Braun swinging to make contact as much as I have this season.

A few times in that Cubs series, he was wagging the bat through the zone, almost like a right handed Ichiro.

Before this season, he'd swing through more pitches, but he was always swinging hard. It seems as though his approach, at least to me (and I'm by no means an expert), has changed.

[Invader3K]

Braun has his own thoughts on the topic:

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/100054989.html

[Principessa21]

Braun has his own thoughts on the topic:

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/100054989.html

This probably belongs in that other thread, but this article is a collection of quotes. You could do some work Mr. Witrado.

Anyway, he didn't talk about why he was struggling. I hope he isn't lost at the plate. I still believe he got into bad habits from the injury and it hasn't been corrected or recognized, so until then he's going to be subpar.

 

[valpocrewsader]

....And right in the midst of this thread banter, Braun wins NL Player of the Week:

 

"Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun has been named ... National League Player of the Week for the period of August 2-8, 2010. ... Braun led the Majors with a .538 (14-for-26) batting average and a .586 on-base percentage in six games last week. His 14 hits also led the big leagues while his eight runs scored were tied for first." (brewers.com email)

 

He's boosted his BA from .273 to .290 over the past nine games. 'Atta boy.

[endaround]

But there was still no power.

[bork]

Of course just as he gets hot, he gets hurt. Hopefully, the hand injury isn't serious.

[TooLiveBrew]

Seeing Braun wearing that brace tonight sure wasn't encouraging. I hope the org. doesn't let him rush back.

[Invader3K]

Sounding more and more like a DL stint might be in order for Braun. How ironic after he just won NL Player of the Week.

[RobDeer 45]

Get him some rest, get him healthy, he'll be fine.

[BrewCrewForever]

Ryan has now gone 22 straight games without a home run. His last was July 24th. I never thought Braun would go that long without a round tripper. Crazy.

[Invader3K]

Braun's final slash line on the season:

 

.304/.365/.501, 25 HR, 103 RBIs

 

Not too shabby for a "down season."

[sveumrules]

Yeah, I can think of about 300 guys who'd love to have Braun's (or Prince's for that matter) DOWN year.

[craigharmann]

What to do about Braun? Get out of his way, and watch him be awesome.

[BrewCrewForever]

Was this thread for real when it was started back in August? I mean, really? If Braun has a year like this the rest of his career I would be pretty happy. But I am sure he will have better years than this more often than not.

[endaround]

Yes it was for real. He was terrible in the middle part of the season and had below normal power in an August that was entirely BABIP driven.. Most thought he was injured. Did he finally get healthy? Maybe.

[BrewCrewForever]

I think he did admit late in the season that he was bothered by the elbow after he was hit by Tommy Hanson in May. Once he felt better the power came back and he started hitting better overall.

[RockCoCougars]

Drill Tommy Hanson in the ribs the first time he steps to the plate against you next year.