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When Ryan Braun publicly commented about the types of moves he felt the Brewers should make during a post-game press conference last weekend, I don’t think he figured it would cause the stir it did.
Of course, ESPN and other news outlets took the comments out of context.
They made it seem as though Braun was attempting to pick at Brewers GM Doug Melvin and the job he’s done so far, as though he should have already made a move.
Here are Braun’s comments:
"We're at the point right now where it would be important for us to go out there and acquire somebody.
"I know (Melvin) is trying to make our ball club better. I know he recognizes the importance of making a move and making it soon, but at the same time I think everybody's recognized there's a lot of teams that are still in the race.
"With that being said, it would be nice to make a move to help us out for the time being. The sooner we do it, the better.
"It's always important to have some momentum going into the second half and to show everybody that we're for real so we can go out there and make a move and improve our ball club.
"We want to be headed in the right direction, not the wrong direction to go out and do that."
Notice he did not say Melvin needed to make a move now, or that he was doing a bad job.
Instead, he praised what Melvin did in the past, and what he has vowed to keep doing for the future. He even acknowledged that there was a very small trade market right now.
This is just one of my many issues with ESPN and some of the coverage they provide.
While I love SportsCenter (and watch it most of the hours of the day), I have the same issue with what they talk about as I do with how some of the 24-hour cable news networks report the “news.”
After a certain amount of coverage, there just aren’t any stories left, and things end up getting so twisted that the real story is lost.
Everyone in Milwaukee knows Braun respects the job Melvin’s done, especially getting one of the biggest trades in the history of the sport done in acquiring C.C. Sabathia last season.
The notion that Braun should have left these comments in the clubhouse is absurd—he didn't say anything wrong.
If anyone can get us what we need to make a run deep into October, it’s Melvin. His track record speaks for itself.
I also want to quickly weigh in on the Roy Halladay situation. Personally, I feel the Brewers should go after him. He’s just the type of linchpin our starting rotation needs to fall in place.
Also, another veteran arm, especially one of his caliber, could help mentor the likes of Manny Parra, and even make the likes of Yovani Gallardo better.
As for whom to trade, I think any talks have to start with J.J. Hardy, not Alcides Escobar. I think that if you package Hardy together with Bill Hall, you don’t have to part ways with as many prospects, which is the new concern for most clubs.
Also, you get more of your top prospects (Escobar and Gamel) playing time, which, in a small market like Milwaukee, is necessary to win in October.
It’s all about the right balance, and I think now is the time to make this move.
Personally though, I feel the heart of this issue lies in us letting Mike Maddox go to Texas.
While he was very loyal to Ned Yost, he was also an amazing pitching coach, and so far this year we’ve suffered there most.
That wasn’t the case in years past.
While Bill Castro is a solid coach, I don’t feel he’s getting the job done the way Maddox would have.
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