Longtime Brewers stalwart Ryan Braun isn’t in the lineup for their Game 2 matchup against the Dodgers on Thursday. Braun explained why, telling Adam McCalvy of MLB.com and other reporters that he has been dealing with a strained left oblique since Sunday.
Not only could this injury end Braun’s season (especially with the Brewers facing elimination against what looks like the majors’ best team), but it might conclude his career in Milwaukee. The 36-year-old outfielder/designated hitter has a $15MM mutual option for 2021, but the Brewers are likely to buy it out for $4MM on the heels of a regular season in which he slashed a career-worst .233/.281/.488 with eight home runs in 141 plate appearances.
If this is the last we’ve seen of Braun as a Brewer, it’ll go down as a memorable tenure. The 2005 first-round pick is one of the most productive players in franchise history, having batted .296/.358/.532 with 352 homers and 216 steals across 7,340 PA. Braun has also won a Rookie of the Year, gone to the All-Star Game six times and taken home an NL MVP as a Brewer, though many see his MVP victory as tainted because of a failed drug test that led to a 65-game suspension in 2013.
Regardless of opinions over Braun’s career, and no matter if he’s a Brewer in 2021, it seems he wants to keep playing next season. Braun stated in July he’s “more likely” than not to continue his career.
He was never an MVP…what a POS for throwing everyone under the bus because he had no personal responsibility
Your username explains it all….
Lol you must be a Brewers fan Xabial…only a Brewer fan would stand behind this POS
Lifelong brewers fan and I don’t care him. Will be happy if he never suits up for us again. Just glad his #s are nowhere close to HOF so in the case the cheaters like Clemons, bonds and Mcgwire ever get in, he never will.
Not all of us forgave what he did.
afsooner02: Who is Clemons? Did you mean Chet Lemon?
It autocorrected the E to an O…..sue me
I’m not a Cards fan, and I don’t think Braun should have gotten the MVP either. So…
100 percent agree! I’m very surprised the Brewer fans stuck with him??
Everyone looks better and has more confidence after a couple drinks. Plus it was also a bit of Stockholm Syndrome. He had signed a “face of the franchise” number, then was damaged goods pretty early into it.
google.com/amp/s/sports.yahoo.com/amphtml/news/rya…
Might be a good article for you to read. Everyone isn’t a Saint and he owned up to it, could say the same about Mark Mcgwire couldn’t you? Not 100% defending him as he still made a guy lose his job, but you sure don’t know enough about him to call him a POS.
So sick of the Braun hate, great hitter before, great hitter after. Still think guys don’t use PEDs? Give me a break.
He’s a POS.
Great insight here!
vtncsc: So are you, and so are the people who responded “thumbs up” to your comment. So much hypocrisy on these boards.
Mark McGwire never ruined other people’s career…like I said I would have easily forgiven him about taking steroids…but how he handled it was POS material
Never ruined other peoples careers!?! What about all the pitchers he faced while juiced up he inflated their ERA against? What if that was their one shot in the majors? What about ruining America’s Pasttime, being among the dominant sluggers that harmed the integrity of the game KNOWINGLY, for years at any rate. He did just as much wrong as Braun, for a longer period of time in fact, not just against 1 person, but against numerous pitchers, far more than Braun, for YEARS.
Lol whatever makes you feel better about Braun..the fact is Braun has no personal responsibility and ruined a good mans career…keep defending him with your hypothetical BS…facts are facts
hypothetical, more factual than anything! I still like Braun, hes not the POS you make him out to be. He had enough personal responsibility to admit his wrongs, more than a lot of PED users have done, and take active steps to right his image. Whats he supposed to do, retire and forfeit his lifetime earnings? I feel horrible for the man’s career, it was Brauns fault, but he was able to become a better man,, and the guy was able to get a new career, and more likely than not a nice compensation. Have a good night bud hating Braun, hope it makes you feel better about yourself!
“Whats he supposed to do, retire and forfeit his lifetime earnings? ”
That would be a good start.
POS
cards81? I got your reply on email. Check below as i did not defend him.
Mahalo.
Owned up to it? Give me a break.
Braun brought all of the hate on himself, and he deserves it. You are pathetic for defending him.
Not condoning his action in the least, however, he didn’t make a guy lose his job. That guy was fired because he didn’t do his job the way he was supposed to. He wasn’t supposed to take urine samples home for the weekend, but he did. He cost himself his job, not Braun.
Laurenzi said he was following protocols set by Comprehensive Drug Testing, his employer, in keeping the samples until they could be shipped. He said the samples never left his custody and that no one other than his wife was in his home while the samples were stored.
“Given the lateness of the hour that I completed my collections, there was no FedEx office located within 50 miles of Miller Park that would ship packages that day or Sunday. Therefore, the earliest that the specimens could be shipped was Monday, October 3,” Laurenzi said.
“In that circumstance, CDT has instructed collectors since I began in 2005 that they should safeguard the samples in their homes until FedEx is able to immediately ship the sample to the laboratory, rather than having the samples sit for one day or more at a local FedEx office,” Laurenzi said in the statement.
Well, there’s his attempted defense. Didn’t seem to hold much water with his employer though, did it?
Between the star baseball player with the high-powered lawyers and the little guy, who do you think is going to win? His employer needed a scapegoat and he was it.
If braun would only step on a rusty nail. Dodger fan, duh.
Couldn’t agree more. Stole the MVP that year from Matt Kemp. Braun tried stirring up nonsense about the guy who took his urine test being antisemitic. Complete loser and terrible person! I’m sure his kids are proud of their loser dad!
Matt Kemp was robbed.
The worst part about it is I think straight up Kemp had a better year. But then the positive test, and they still gave it to Braun. I never understood that, they had the chance to make it right before results even went out.
Ryan Braun * is how he should be remembered. Not only cheated, but damaged other people too. I’m surprised he wasn’t banned for a whole season.
Sure hope Braun comes back next year for a proper farewell from the Brewers faithful! Could care less what other fanbases think, true Brewers fans still love him as he is the bridge from our ’08 WC team to now. Sure he made a mistake, but owned up to it and still has a big role in the community. A true Brewers legend, and an example of someone who learned from his mistakes and produced after. Long live Brauny! #StillNLMVP #CreamNotRoids
You’re wrong he did not own up to it…he ruined other people’s reputation to save his own…I could have easily forgiven him for taking steroids…but the fact he didn’t own up to it is what will always make him a POS
Just a few things I found 5 min browsing the web..
“Braun and two of his teammates from last year’s Milwaukee Brewers, Christian Yelich and Mike Moustakas, have since joined forces to begin the “California Strong” campaign in support of those affected by the wildfires that spread through Northern and Southern California.”
“With the coronavirus putting sports on hold, Miller Park employees are out of work, and some are without an income. To help their workers, the Brewers established a $1 million fund.
When the fund was established, Braun kicked things off by donating $100K.”
I deeply regret many of the things I said at the press conference after the arbitrator’s decision in February 2012,” Braun said in the statement. “At that time, I still didn’t want to believe that I had used a banned substance. I think a combination of feeling self-righteous, and having a lot of unjustified anger led me to react the way I did.
In the statement, Braun apologized specifically to commissioner Bud Selig, executive vice president Rob Manfred, MLBPA chief Michael Weiner and test collector Dino Laurenzi Jr. As for his teammates, Braun said, “One of my primary goals is to make amends with them.
I would say he owned up to it just a LITTLE bit, thats enough to make my point. Hate him all you want, he made a minor mistake and still did more to moae up for than the roided sluggers of the 90’s, and it was a cream he used after a knee injury, he wasn’t injecting syringes for power. Still performed well after 2013…
Give me a break! Why would he make up an elaborate lie about the guy who handled his piss because he didn’t know he took steroids…does that even make sense? No it doesn’t…and oh, ok, he has since donated money to good causes…that’s is pretty much every MLB player who have big contracts…keep defending this POS
Nothing about about he did was ‘minor.’ He destroyed a person’s livlihood to save his own a$$. I wonder how ‘minor’ it would be if it happened to you? You ok with a multi millionaire taking your livlihood and food out of your family’s mouths? Sounds like you’d make a good patsy adamlivson.
Do you live in Milwaukee? He’s done far more greater things in the community for local businesses and feeding America, and not every player with a big contract donates substantial amounts of money. And like the quote says, it was because of his own arrogance, is the man free of sin? He made amends, and I believe the guy who handled his sample found another job if I remember correctly. Don’t be bitter, honestly who are to judge a man negatively you clearly know nothing about?
adamlives – blah blah blah.
“Pasty”, thats a new one, clever. Youre upset about him taking the livelihood of one man who found another career. He lost his job at the hands of him, Braun didnt fully understand the consequences in the moment and was horrible for doing it.
Just to take your point, capitalists have used greedy tactics for over a century to rob millions of Americans behind the scenes of much of their hard earned revenue to line their pockets and dont do nearly enough to make up for it, isn’t that something you should be more worried about.
I’d rather be a “pasty” willing to see past a person’s mistakes than be harsh and judgmental upon a man’s character you base surface level stories on.
Great Insight Cecil!
Lol who said people aren’t worried about what you speak of? Of course I am worried about that…but this is a baseball forum and since it is that I am talking about this POS Braun…Who knowingly lied and worst of all blamed other people for his mistakes…sorry bud but that is POS material
Was speaking to BucketBrews point, just to provide context and not a random point. This is a baseball forum, and while you have every right to hate Braun (most Cardinals fans do along with Every other fanbase), I, as a diehard Brewers fan, simply attested to the VERY miniscule opposite POV of how while he was a POS, he was able tmake amends with the man who handled his urine sample and has gained the respect of Milwaukees fanbase again, thats all!
Listen..from a baseball perspective he is and always will be a great hitter…but how he handled himself in that situation…well, only a brewers fan can stick up for him
This just in, adamlivson is willing to take the fall the next time Braun wants to cheat and lie. It’s good to know he has collateral in you Adam. I’m sure he appreciates it.
Cecil is right.
@Adam: He’s a POS. You’re just a blind homer. I bet you have an Official Ryan Braun Autographed jockstrap hanging on your wall.
Nope, the guy didn’t do his job properly so he lost his job. Braun just exposed him.
Laurenzi said he was following protocols set by Comprehensive Drug Testing, his employer, in keeping the samples until they could be shipped. He said the samples never left his custody and that no one other than his wife was in his home while the samples were stored.
“Given the lateness of the hour that I completed my collections, there was no FedEx office located within 50 miles of Miller Park that would ship packages that day or Sunday. Therefore, the earliest that the specimens could be shipped was Monday, October 3,” Laurenzi said.
“In that circumstance, CDT has instructed collectors since I began in 2005 that they should safeguard the samples in their homes until FedEx is able to immediately ship the sample to the laboratory, rather than having the samples sit for one day or more at a local FedEx office,” Laurenzi said in the statement.
“#creamnotroids” really
Owned up to it!? Lol, he pissed dirty a second time and couldn’t pull the ole “I’m the victim” card. I heard they have a saying in Texas, “Fool me once shame on you…fool me twice…you see you can’t be fooled again!”
I wonder if Braun can scratch his balls. He probably has to dig pretty deep into his body cavity for them.
POS!
Coming from an M’s fan with no stake in the NL central, he’s a POS. Disliked him ever since he blamed others for his failed test and didn’t own it.
Brewer manage C Counsell is a big game chocker. Look it up on Youtube game 7 vs LA from 2018.
Counsel is one of the biggest whine bag managers in the game…after talking $h!t to Molina he couldn’t even own up to it…Brewers fans know what I’m talking about
I wonder if these injuries are because he PED’ed up all those years.
Maybe he can sign with the Astros next year. that would be fitting.
“It’s not the sin that angers people, it’s the lying about it.”.
Truer words have never been spoken. Just ask the all-time MLB hit leader. JMHO, but Pete Rose would be in the HOF today had he not taken ten years (And a new book.) to admit he lied and did indeed bet on baseball games.
Braun is no different. Had he fessed up when he was first caught, that would have taken some of the sting (And stigma?) our of what he did. Instead, and like a lot of others, his initial reaction was to lie and deny.
And yes I do believe the physical problems he’s had the past few years is most likely a result of him using a steroid. We’ve seen this time and time again with athletes in all sports.
In Philly, Lenny Dykstra was the darling of the city in 1993 after bulking up on his “special vitamins” in the off-season. He never was the same player again after the Phillies went to the WS in 1993.
Lenny showed power and speed that year, and then poof! All the magic was gone in a flash.
20 years from now, people won’t remember Braun’s stats. All they’ll remember is that he was a cheater and a liar.
Probably just the opposite. Time is forgiving.
Many people don’t remember Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire as one of the best home run chases ever. Many people don’t remember Barry Bonds for hitting 73 home runs in a single season. Many people won’t remember the 2017 Houston Astros for winning the World Series. What makes this any different?
Because the haters will be louder than anyone, and bring up the scandal every chance they get, for no reason.
I don’t really believe that many brewer fans have [completely] forgiven or will forgive him. I think most of us just want to move on from it, but no matter what the topic of a story is regarding braun, the discussion will ALWAYS turn into the PED scandal.
That’s his defining characteristic now.
Wait, so in what way have the Dodgers not looked like the best team in baseball?
Not condoning Braun’s actions but it was actually an arbitration panel that said Laurenzi failed to properly handle the sample per the agreement with the MLBPA. If a person is committed a crime and they can afford good lawyers many people do the exact same thing. Usually not as publicly and no less wrong but he did what countless in his situation have done by lawyering up and trying to get away it at any cost.
Not a Brewers fan, or Dodgers fan, so don’t care either way about the past PED issue and the “stolen” MVP. I’ll let the rest of you bicker about it, as I see you are. 🙂
With the universal DH likely to stay, Braun probably will find a job somewhere. He’s only a season removed from a strong year, and still slugged nearly .500 this season, or what there was of it. The brief 60-game schedule accentuated the slump of any player, such as Braun, by not providing time for a rebound. He also can play in the OF, which is important as teams don’t want a player who will fully lock up the DH spot. Flexibility is key in roster construction today. That all said, still not a lock he finds a job. He’ll be 37 and his batting the last few years clearly indicates a player in age-related decline. His combined OPS+ the last four seasons is below standard DH production level, even including his decent 2019. He has name value, but only as a positive to the Brewers. He’ll get offers but likely incentive-laden deals. If he’s smart, and wants to play and believes in himself, which I’m sure he does, he should grab an incentive-structured deal for one year. If he lets his ego control negotiations, demanding too high a guaranteed salary, he’ll find himself unemployed. My guess is he goes with the former. Brewers may still be his best bet.
The line up the Brewers put out last night was a JOKE. Stearns, the boy wonder, ruined this team over the last off season, has done nothing to improve the minors, and will again shuffle the deck this off season. He should be fired.
4 hits last night, 2 runs total in 2 games — just like the Reds — that is how far the Brewers have fallen.
Those of you who like all his crazy signings are…..crazy too. Stearns is a joke, .and so is Counsell. Fire both.
For as bad as you may believe Stearns has been (with some moves, I couldn’t argue at all, others..if you at least try and understand why, they’re excusable) at building a roster, how can you say Counsell is a joke for taking them to the playoffs in ’18 and ’19? Sure, some of his gimmicks are whacky or overused, but again, if you think Stearns failed at building a roster, how do you explain Counsell’s success getting to the playoffs? (I’m not counting this year since they truly didn’t deserve to GET there, and so losing to the Dodgers is irrelevant to me)
Watch how Counsell performed in their last playoff game of 2018 – you can find it on youtube, then come back and comment again.
Astros fans should use Ryan Braun as a barometer of sorts. Wondering how long the MLB fan base can hold a grudge? Looks like quite a while. So maybe by the time the Astros have done a complete turn over of all players that were on the 2017 team?
It might take another tank and rebuild before fans move on. As long as they continue to be successful they won’t be forgiven.
“As long as they continue to be successful, they won’t be forgiven.”
This right here. Well stated thought. Damn quotable too.
Well the P E D Prince will have a lot of time to recover now