No major league player will be under more scrutiny this year than the Milwaukee Brewers’ Ryan Braun.
After accepting a season-ending, 65-game suspension in 2013 for performance-enhancing drug use in connection with the Biogenesis investigation and finally admitting to doing so after a year and a half of denials, Braun will be under the microscope to see how he reacts, on and off the field.
If the early days of exhibition season are any indication, Braun will handle himself just fine on the field. In his first four Cactus League games, he went 6-for-7 with a pair of home runs and reached safely in eight of nine plate appearances.
“He’s just one of those gifted guys that can sit out a long time, and he doesn’t need a lot of at-bats in spring training, and he can hit,” said Brewers manager Ron Roenicke.
The person who seemed least impressed with Braun’s quick start was Braun. In fact, he attached little meaning to it, other than being pleased with taking some good swings.
“Whether I’m 0-for-7 or 7-for-7, it makes no difference,” said Braun. “You can’t take them with you during the season.
“I think that’s the goal for everybody — just to try to start to get comfortable at the plate. See the ball well, hope to hit some balls on the barrel (of the bat).”
Before being suspended last season, Braun struggled with a lingering right thumb injury that made it difficult to grip the bat properly. He and the trainers have experimented with various forms of padding but Braun does not like the way it changes the feel of the bat and plans to go without that aid.
As for how the thumb feels this spring, Braun said, “Not bad. It’s OK. I still get ice or treatment or do what I can to try to protect it a little bit.”
NOTES, QUOTES
–RHP Francisco Rodriguez arrived in camp a couple weeks late after a delay in getting his work visa in Venezuela. The veteran reliever said he had plenty of time to get ready for the season because he does not need that many innings in exhibition play to sharpen up.
–RHP Johnny Hellweg, who had a rough major league debut in 2013 (6.75 ERA in eight outings), was even worse in his first outing of exhibition season. Pitching the ninth inning against Oakland with a one-run lead, Hellweg failed to retire any of the three batters he faced, including a walk-off, two-run homer by Luke Montz.
–RHP Wily Peralta, who has a history of slow starts in both the minors and majors, is focusing on getting ready as early as possible this spring. Peralta pitched five scoreless innings in his first two outings and was pleased with his progress. “I want to eliminate the slow start,” he said.
–2B Rickie Weeks, trying to fight off 2B Scooter Gennett and keep his starting job, was off to a strong start at the plate in exhibition play after making some adjustments in his stance, including raising his hands a bit. “Just keeping everything smooth, really,” said Weeks, who batted only .209 last season before a hamstring injury ended his year in early August. “You keep everything smooth, everything kind of falls in place.”
–Former Brewers players Craig Counsell and Darryl Hamilton will fill in on radio broadcasts this season as Hall of Famer Bob Uecker cuts back on some of his road travel. Counsell is a special assistant to GM Doug Melvin who also serves as an infield instructor in spring training.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I hate losing games like this. It just drives me crazy.” — Brewers manager Ron Roenicke, after Milwaukee surrendered two runs in the eighth inning and three in the ninth to blow a 4-1 lead and lose in exhibition play to Oakland, 6-4 on Thursday.