Left fielder Ryan Braun. I can say a million things about him. And very few of them (ok, so maybe only 1 of them) will be bad. It's going to look like I have a total man crush on this guy. But I suppose that I do. And I can admit that without feeling like any less of a man. I don't find Ryan Braun attractive (but I can understand why the ladies do) and I'm not gay (but not that there's anything wrong with being gay). It is perfectly acceptable to have a man crush on another dude because a man crush is, "A strong and extremely complicated positive emotion that a straight male feels towards another male. It is by no means homosexual, although it could possibly involve some degree of sexual attraction. This is not the type of sexual attraction that one would actually pursue; it is merely a complex sort of desire out of "fantasy" that is driven by jealousy and/or great admiration." And it's mostly because Ryan Braun is the only man that I would admit gave me the greatest day of my life.
The day was September 28, 2008. The Brewers were tied with the New York Mets for the NL Wild Card. In order for the Brewers to make the playoffs for the first time since 1982, they had to win and the Mets needed to lose. Sounds simple right? I remember almost every second of this game, but I won't go into too much detail here. I thought I was originally scheduled to work this game, but when I went to punch in, my name wasn't on the schedule. At most jobs you'd be pissed because you put your life on hold and you traveled to get to work. But this isn't most jobs. When I get off work early or come in when I'm not scheduled, I get to sit and watch baseball. The fact that I was watching this for free instead of catch bits while I was working allowed me to commit it all to memory. It probably also helped that I wasn't drinking because I didn't have any money. The Brewers were playing the hated Cubs who had already clinched the NL Central, but that didn't stop the asshole fans from migrating to "Wrigley North." With the score tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the 8th inning Ryan Braun hit a two run homer (pictured above) that put the Brewers on top. Miller Park went fucking nuts. To this day when I see that highlight, and trust me they play it often around these parts, it still sends chills down my spine as I relive that memory. People might point out that he wouldn't have had that chance to win the game had CC Sabathia not kept the scored tied 1-1, but Ryan is the hero because he was our guy. CC was just a rental, and everyone knew it. But Ryan Braun is the face of the franchise.
The Mets lost to the Marlins and the Brewers advanced to the playoffs, and even though they lost to the Phillies in the 1st round that year, they are making a bid to return to the playoffs this year. And although in 2009 the team as a whole took a step back with an 80-82 record, Ryan Braun has shown no signs of slowing down. After batting .324 with 34 HRs and 97 RBIs in 2007 that saw him win NL Rookie of the Year, he followed that up with a .285 avg 37 HRs and 106 RBIs. As the league adjusted to him (much like they always do to 2nd year players) Braun made the necessary adjustments as well, and in 2009 he had a .320 avg 32 HRs and 114 RBIs. The two best stats that don't show up in the standard line are walks (57) and hits (203). Why do I feel like those stats are better than the impressive average and power numbers? Because in 2007 he only took 29 walks and in 2008 he took 42. Seeing his walk numbers increase shows patience at the plate, which will force the pitchers to give him good pitches to hit. And when Ryan Braun gets a pitch to hit - see ya! And speaking of hits, Ryan Braun became the first Brewer to top 200 hits since Paul Molitor in 1991. In addition to Molitor, Braun joins Cecil Cooper and Robin Yount in the Brewers 200 hit club. That's some pretty impressive company.
The day was September 28, 2008. The Brewers were tied with the New York Mets for the NL Wild Card. In order for the Brewers to make the playoffs for the first time since 1982, they had to win and the Mets needed to lose. Sounds simple right? I remember almost every second of this game, but I won't go into too much detail here. I thought I was originally scheduled to work this game, but when I went to punch in, my name wasn't on the schedule. At most jobs you'd be pissed because you put your life on hold and you traveled to get to work. But this isn't most jobs. When I get off work early or come in when I'm not scheduled, I get to sit and watch baseball. The fact that I was watching this for free instead of catch bits while I was working allowed me to commit it all to memory. It probably also helped that I wasn't drinking because I didn't have any money. The Brewers were playing the hated Cubs who had already clinched the NL Central, but that didn't stop the asshole fans from migrating to "Wrigley North." With the score tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the 8th inning Ryan Braun hit a two run homer (pictured above) that put the Brewers on top. Miller Park went fucking nuts. To this day when I see that highlight, and trust me they play it often around these parts, it still sends chills down my spine as I relive that memory. People might point out that he wouldn't have had that chance to win the game had CC Sabathia not kept the scored tied 1-1, but Ryan is the hero because he was our guy. CC was just a rental, and everyone knew it. But Ryan Braun is the face of the franchise.
The Mets lost to the Marlins and the Brewers advanced to the playoffs, and even though they lost to the Phillies in the 1st round that year, they are making a bid to return to the playoffs this year. And although in 2009 the team as a whole took a step back with an 80-82 record, Ryan Braun has shown no signs of slowing down. After batting .324 with 34 HRs and 97 RBIs in 2007 that saw him win NL Rookie of the Year, he followed that up with a .285 avg 37 HRs and 106 RBIs. As the league adjusted to him (much like they always do to 2nd year players) Braun made the necessary adjustments as well, and in 2009 he had a .320 avg 32 HRs and 114 RBIs. The two best stats that don't show up in the standard line are walks (57) and hits (203). Why do I feel like those stats are better than the impressive average and power numbers? Because in 2007 he only took 29 walks and in 2008 he took 42. Seeing his walk numbers increase shows patience at the plate, which will force the pitchers to give him good pitches to hit. And when Ryan Braun gets a pitch to hit - see ya! And speaking of hits, Ryan Braun became the first Brewer to top 200 hits since Paul Molitor in 1991. In addition to Molitor, Braun joins Cecil Cooper and Robin Yount in the Brewers 200 hit club. That's some pretty impressive company.
After signing a 7 year contract extension at the beginning of the 2008 season for as much as $51 million when all is said and done, Braun probably gave up some money by signing past his free agency years. But by doing that he guaranteed himself financial security and showed the fans that he wants to be around for some time. In these days of professional sports when players move from team to team like the hired guns of the Old West, fans in Milwaukee are pleased to have some stability on the field. That and the fact that they can buy a player jersey and know that they can still year that next year to a game. Not everyone has baller status like me and owns over 30 jerseys, so they need to be selective with the one they purchase. Ryan Braun will not be a free agent until after 2015, so buying a Ryan Braun jersey is a pretty sure bet. So like Robin Yount before him, Ryan Braun has cemented himself as the face of the current franchise. And now for the 1 negative. Ryan Braun has quite a mouth on him. Tim and Sparky on Sportsradio 1250 call him "The Mouthpiece." There are plenty of documented occurrences when he publicly criticized his teammates and General Manager for the pitching failure of last year. Truth be told, he did say what everyone else in Milwaukee was saying, but as a member of the team you can't throw the people you work with (and the people who pay your salary) under the bus. He made some other comments as well, but my favorite is when he complained about the shadow problem at Miller Park. Because of the way the sun passes over the park during game days, the shadow cast by the roof creeps onto the field around the 4th or 5th inning. At some point the pitchers mound is in the sun and the plate is in the shade, so Braun among other bitch about it. In the last few years the Brewers record during home day games was atrocious, which doesn't make sense because you would think they could use that as a homefield advantage. So every time Braun would strike out, I'd kind of heckle him by saying things like, "It wasn't you man, it was those God Damn shadows!" or using Groundhog Day lines like, "Ha ha ha ha! Watch out for your shadow pal!" So my friends and I have started calling Ryan Braun "Shadows." But honestly, that is the only knock that we got on him. Watching Ryan Braun play left field, it's easy to forget that he came up (and spent his rookie season) as a 3rd baseman. After committing an unholy 26 errors in 2007 at 3rd, he only has 2 errors in left field in the past 2 seasons. I know left field isn't the most challenging of positions to field, but that's still pretty damn good. His speed along with Carlos Gomez in center and Corey Hart in right combines to form the fastest outfield we have ever had. Miller Park isn't very spacious, but I have no reservations watching them roam the grassy outdoors of Petco Park or Dodger Stadium. So Braun is neither a liability on offense or defense, which in my opinion makes him the best player on our team (even better than Prince Fielder) because he can be classified as a five-tool player.
A-five tool player is one who excels at hitting for average, hitting for power, possesses good baserunning skills, speed and has plus throwing and fielding ability. I've already touched on Braun's average, power, speed and defense so the next logical category is baserunning. Despite hitting and being on base in front of the cleanup hitter Prince Fielder, Braun led the team with 20 stolen bases. It's usually a no-no to run in front of your biggest RBI machine because you don't want to run into unnecessary and costly outs. But Braun is quick and he is a smart baserunner, which actually ended up accounting for more team runs because he was constantly on the move. Scoring from 1st on a double or going from 1st to 3rd on a single sometimes can change the dynamic of an inning. For the time being Prince Fielder is the single most important piece of the Brewers offense, but once he in gone Ryan Braun will be the focal point. And after a few years studying under Prince's tutelage, he will be more than capable of leading this team on and off the field. If Ryan Braun puts up another year in his young but storied career, he will make the NL All-Star team once again and cement his place in Brewers history:.317 avg, 35 HRs, 111 RBIs, 18 stolen bases, 188 hits, 2 new clothing lines launched and 1 new restaurant opened.
I currently own 4 Ryan Braun jerseys - 1 alternate blue, 1 from each All-Star team he has made (in New York City and St. Louis) and my favorite, his jersey from when he played with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. But I don't have a jersey for tomorrow's featured player centerfielder Carlos Gomez. Gomez is one of the new acquisitions who came here from Minnesota in the JJ Hardy trade. Gomez kind of fits the mold of a Rickie Weeks in the fact that he has tons of potential but has yet to live up to it. But since he is 24 compared to Weeks' 27, he still has a couple more years of seasoning before we can determine his fate in the organization. But that my friends, is a topic that will be covered tomorrow. Brewers! Brewers! Keep Turnin' Up the Heat!
- pookon -
www.pookon.com
email: pookondotcom@gmail.com
1 comment:
Haha, I laughed when I read that first paragraph. You know, Iceman, he's available...
Post a Comment