Shown in spring training, Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun has come under recent suspicion for performance-enhancing drug use because his name was on a list of clients at a Miami anti-aging clinic. Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

It is difficult not to wonder if rehabbing Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez and All-Star Ryan Braun are going to get nailed by Major League Baseball some way, some how because their names came up during an investigation of the Miami Biogenesis of America clinic.

This is not the place where you want your name listed as a client if you are playing a sport that is scrutinizing its players for taking performance-enhancing drugs. There are many more desirable lists for your name to turn up on, such as a party list at Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s place, a state dinner at the White House, or the special inductee tour of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

For the most part it has been quiet since a South Florida weekly newspaper ran a January expose about a number of baseball players, major and minor leaguers, being listed among the clinic owner’s clients. Then the other day baseball suspended Detroit Tigers minor leaguer Cesar Carrillo for 100 games because of his connection to the clinic.

What this shows is that the sport is not ignoring this issue, but acting with deliberate speed checking out individuals before acting. Minor leaguers have less power than major leaguers do because of union protection. But it seems certain that Major League Baseball is not going to blow off this incident without close looks at any big leaguers mentioned no matter what type of public statements they issue.

It was not so very long ago that Rodriguez was the brightest light in the game. A Most Valuable Player, a perpetual All-Star, someone compiling statistics impressive enough to propel him not only into the Hall of Fame, but into the discussion of who might be the best player of all time. Then his body started falling apart. Then he admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs for a while. Then he couldn’t hit his weight in the playoffs.

After career-threatening hip surgery Rodriguez pretty much went into seclusion, only to have his retreat for rehab and promise to come back to action later this season interrupted by the Biogenesis issue. Known as an anti-aging clinic, it’s hard to think of a ballplayer more in need of anti-aging chemicals than the 37-year-old Rodriguez right now.

Career already hanging by a thread because of injury, despite his pledge to return, not retire, Rodriguez could get slapped around by MLB and given some kind of suspension penalty as an offshoot of this Miami thing.

Braun, the Milwaukee Brewers’ left-fielder, was the National League Most Valuable Player in 2011 and then in the off-season was accused of violating baseball’s drug rules. He appealed, saying it was a misunderstanding, and to the astonishment of all watchers of these types of cases he actually beat the rap by winning the appeal. It was the first time that ever happened. So Braun played a full schedule in 2012 and again was a star.

Above all what Braun needed to do was to avoid ever having drug-related suspicion cast his way again. But now here he is back on baseball’s radar screen. It is pretty to easy to see baseball officials salivating over a second chance to pin his hide to the floor. Prosecutors, and baseball people were the prospectors, don’t like to lose cases and be told the guy they accused was innocent. It wouldn’t be surprising to hear that they are working double overtime to dig up something on Braun.

We want these guys to be clean as a whistle (heck, Rodriguez has enough problems anyway), but the performance-enhancing drug issue just won’t go away. If Rodriguez and Braun are innocent of obtaining drug prescriptions for stuff that is illegal under baseball rules then they were dummies for going to such a public clinic, too. If they went there to buy Flintstone vitamins instead of the local CVS that doesn’t appear to add up. If you are smart guys you don’t go near such a clinic under any circumstances to help preserve your reputation.

Neither Rodriguez nor Braun could afford to be besmirched again, but their names are out there in the debate over this mysterious clinic and its operations.  At the very least Rodriguez and Braun seem convictable of guilt by association.

Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The 2013 World Baseball Classic is now officially underway, and there have already been some fantastic contests. Still, many of the tournament favorites will not be taking the field until this coming weekend, when Pools C and D begin competition in San Juan and Phoenix, respectively. Pools C and D are comprised of: The Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Spain, Venezuela, Canada, Mexico, Italy, and The United States. One primary reason why these pools should be so entertaining to watch is the quantity of star-power, particularly at the plate. Three of these lineups, in particular, stand apart from the others in the tournament. I rank them as follows.

#3 Venezuela

Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The Infielders

There is a whole lot of depth and flexibility here. It’s not just quantity, though, there’s quality as well. Miguel Cabrera and Pablo Sandoval will be manning the corners, while some combination of Asdrubal Cabrera, Elvis Andrus, Marco Scutaro, and Omar Infante will fill in the middle of the infield.

The Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera was the best offensive player in the MLB this past season, going by wRC+, while the Indians’ Asdrubal Cabrera was top 5 among Major League shortstops. Coming off an MVP season, Miguel Cabrera doesn’t need much introduction. Asdrubal Cabrera’s offensive prowess, on the other hand, may not be quite so well-known. In 2012, the only full time shortstops who put up better seasons with their bats were Derek Jeter and Ian Desmond. It wasn’t an isolated occurrence, either, as only Troy Tulowizki and Jose Reyes have been better offensive shortstops in the last three years combined.

The one player in the Venezuela infield who should be most interesting to follow, though, is Giants’ 3B Pablo Sandoval. Sandoval is coming off a down season that saw him miss significant time due to injury as well as posting an AVG/OBP/SLG line below his career averages in each category. Then there is the weight issue. Sandoval has struggled with his weight in the past, and those problems have reportedly resurfaced again this Spring. When healthy and in-shape, Sandoval is a great offensive third baseman. It will certainly be interesting to see how he looks when he takes the field for Venezuela this weekend.

The Outfielders

Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Despite the Venezuela infield possessing the best offensive player in the tournament, Miguel Cabrera, there isn’t much of a dropoff when it comes to the hitting capabilities of its outfield. The starting three will likely be Colorado’s Carlos Gonzalez and Arizona’s Gerardo Parra and Martin Prado, all of whom had batting averages and on-base percentages above major league average for outfielders in 2012. Parra (the only player of the three to not to slug above league average) is not quite the offensive threat that Gonzalez and Prado are, but he mitigates some of his shortcomings in the power department by excelling on the basepaths.

Martin Prado possesses an offensive skillset which falls somewhere between Parra and Gonzalez. He is well-rounded offensively, possessing good contact and power tools in addition to adequate speed. Prado has good plate discipline as well, walking at a rate that was almost equivalent to that which he struck out, which helped contribute to a robust .359 OBP (32 points above league average).

Gonzalez was also significantly better at reaching base than league average, getting on base at a clip of .371. Where the Colorado Rockies’ LF really separated himself from the pack, though, was in the slugging department. Gonzalez slugged .510, a healthy 84 points above league average for outfielders. It should be noted that Gonzalez plays his home games in hitter-friendly Coors field, but even so, his park-adjusted numbers were still fantastic. Carlos Gonzalez’s offensive abilities are for real.

The Catchers

Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Venezuela has the luxury of having two exceptional offensive catchers. In 2012, the Diamondbacks’ Miguel Montero put up a slash line of .286/.391/.438, while Kansas City’s Salvador Perez posted one to the tune of .301/.328/.471. Both catchers dwarfed the major league averages for catchers, .247/.319/.399.

It is worth noting that one could nitpick each of the two players’ performances, Montero accumulated his numbers while playing half his games in an extreme hitter’s park, while Perez impressed for only a fairly short amount of time, after beginning the season in the minors. Still, the performances remain impressive. Montero’s park adjusted offensive numbers last season were still above league average, and the young Perez should only continue to improve upon his fantastic half season as he continues to mature. Having two offensively gifted catchers will be of significant benefit to the Venezuelan squad.

#2 Dominican Republic

The Infielders

Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The DR infield is stacked. It consists of the Jays’ Edwin Encarnacion at 1B, the Yankees’ Robinson Cano at 2B, and the former Miami Marlins duo of Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez at SS and 3B.

Of all qualified 1B, only Prince Fielder had a better offensive season (again, using wRC+) than Edwin Encarnacion last year. At second base, nobody was better than Robinson Cano, and at shortstop, only three players put up better offensive seasons than Jose Reyes (though none of those three came close to the 40 steals Reyes added).

Third baseman Hanley Ramirez is the primary questionmark in the DR infield. After being one of the better overall players in baseball from 2006-2010, Ramirez has seen his production decline in a hurry. This past season, Ramirez posted his worst walk rate since 2007 and the worst strikeout rate of his big league career. The eroding plate discipline, combined with a dropoff in overall power, led to a subpar season by his standards. It will be interesting to see if Ramirez can recapture some of his old offensive ability, but even if he can’t fully return to form, the DR infield still remains the best in the tournament.

The Outfielders

Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The dearth of outfield talent is the primary reason why the DR lineup landed at #2 on this list rather than #1. Though the Rangers’ Nelson Cruz and the White Sox’s Alejandro De Aza are good offensive players, they aren’t necessarily stand-outs with the bat. Furthermore, the lack of a legitimate third outfield option to tie it all together makes it difficult to rate the DR outfield highly. The final spot in the outfield will be given to either Ricardo Nanita, Moises Sierra, or Eury Perez, none of which possesses a significant amount of offensive talent. The DR outfield is not quite an offensive liability, but it certainly doesn’t compare to the immense talent possessed by the team’s infield.

The Catchers

Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The DR is going with two catchers on their roster, but in reality, it is likely that only one will see any significant playing time. That man is Cleveland Indians backstop Carlos Santana. Despite what seemed like a disappointing 2012 because of a semi-low homerun total (18) and batting average (.252), Santana actually put together a very good offensive season. He walked at an extremely high rate, leading to a .365 OBP, and hit for some decent pop as well, finishing with a slugging percentage 26 points better than league average for catchers.

Because of his size, Santana will likely never have a great batting average on balls in play, which will likely mean low batting averages. Still, with his exceptional ability to draw walks in addition to his raw power potential, Santana remains a great offensive catcher who should only get better in years to come.

#1 USA

The Infielders

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The USA infield is a pretty intriguing bunch. It consists of Mets 3B David Wright, Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins, Yankees 1B Mark Teixeira, Reds 2B Brandon Phillips, and Rays all-around-everything Ben Zobrist. The USA infield is interesting in this sense, David Wright is the best offensive player in the bunch, but not by much. Why — one might ask — is this interesting? Well, because the only other USA infielder who is right there with him, Ben Zobrist, likely won’t even be starting.

With a slash line of .270/.377/.471 last season while playing his home games in an extremely pitcher-friendly ballpark, Ben Zobrist amassed an offensive season that equated to a wRC+ 37% better than league average. The men who will likely be starting over him at 2B and SS (Zobrist can play a little of each), for comparison’s sake, were only 1% better offensively than league average (again, using wRC+). That is not to say Rollins and Phillips aren’t great all around players — they are — but it does go to show how truly underrated Ben Zobrist consistently is.

One USA infielder who should be particularly interesting to keep an eye on is first baseman Mark Teixeira. Teixeira, despite still posting a good offensive season last year, has seen his numbers decline in each individual season since 2008. Much of this decline has to do with a consistently eroding batting average on balls in play. Teams have begun utilizing the shift to neutralize the pull-heavy Teixeira, and the power hitting first baseman hasn’t yet been able to find an answer. In addition to the struggles on balls in play, Teixeira only managed to hit 24 homeruns in 123 games last season. Because he’s on the wrong side of 30 years old, it may be too much to ask for Teixeira to recapture some of his vintage form, but if fully healthy, he should still be able to provide solid offensive value.

The Outfielders

Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

This is where the USA team separates itself offensively from the other lineups in the competition. The unit consists of Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton, Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun, Baltimore’s Adam Jones, and Boston’s newly-acquired Shane Victorino. The three men who will see the lion’s share of the playing time are Jones, Braun, and Stanton.

Since 2008, Adam Jones has gotten consistently better each year in both WAR and, more pertinent to this offense-based discussion, wRC+. In 2012, his best season to date, Jones saw a significant improvement in the slugging department. He had both his best line drive rate and home run rate since becoming a full time player, leading to a robust .505 slugging percentage. Offensively speaking, Adam Jones is the worst starting USA outfielder, and that speaks volumes to how good the USA outfield is.

Ryan Braun, since the day he became an everyday player in 2007, has been a force at the plate. His career slash line is an obscene .313/.391/.595, and he’s only getting better, besting all three of those career averages in each of the last two seasons. In fact, according to wRC+, over his career, Braun has been exactly 50% better than league average at the plate. Throw in his back to back 30 steal seasons in ’11 and ’12, and it’s safe to include Braun in the discussion of best all-around offensive player in the game.

Now we get to the player whom I consider the main event when it comes to entertainment value at the plate, Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton, as a 22 year old, led the majors in both slugging and isolated power (SLG – BA). He hit 37 homeruns in only 123 games, an extremely impressive feat in MLB’s current, low run-scoring environment. The huge HR and K rates that Stanton puts up might lead a person to believe that he is merely a hacker, and might not provide much in the way of offensive value aside from his massive homeruns. Don’t be fooled, though. Stanton’s .290 batting average last year as well as his .361 on-base percentage were both well over league average. Make sure you keep an eye on the big boy, he can do it all.

The Catchers

Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Team USA’s group of catchers consists of Minnesota’s Joe Mauer, Milwaukee’s Jonathan Lucroy, and Toronto’s J.P. Arencibia. More than likely, Mauer will see the strong majority of the playing time, while Lucroy will be first in relief. Mauer is coming off a quietly terrific offensive season. Though his numbers didn’t quite compare to his extraordinary 2009 campaign, his slash line still managed to read .319/.416/.446 — elite numbers when it comes to catchers.

Mauer walks more than he strikes out, and consistently enjoys great on-base numbers as a result. His slugging percentage has never returned to the lofty .587 mark he put up in ’09, but his .446 mark last season was still good enough for roughly 50 points above league average. Mauer plays his home games in a very tough offensive environment and still manages to hit for good power. There are many good offensive catchers in this tournament (Santana, Montero, Molina), but Joe Mauer is likely the best among them.

Closing Thoughts

All three of these lineups (Venezuela, Dominican Republic, and USA) possess a wealth of talent at the plate, and are separated only by a thin margin. Venezuela has great depth, but aside from Miguel Cabrera and Carlos Gonzalez lacks the amount of truly elite bats that the Dominican Republic and United States have. The Dominican Republic’s stacked infield/catcher combination is what positions it just ahead of Venezuela, but its lack of impact outfielders is what keeps the team’s offense from being quite as talented as that of the United States.

Team USA has no real weak spots on offense, and its multitude of elite bats coupled with great all-around depth is what earns its lineup the top spot on this list. However, strange things happen in small samples, so don’t discount any country’s potential for an offensive explosion or drought. Still, if I could choose one lineup to manage out of any competing in the World Baseball Classic, I’d go with Team USA.

Meet the new face of…the Helena Hyenas!

Kyle Lohse Never Signs Anywhere, Starts His Own Team

We’re less than two weeks away from the beginning of March and starting pitcher Kyle Lohse somehow still remains a free agent. There hasn’t really even been a serious bite on Lohse’s services, or if there has been we haven’t been made aware of it. The only other logical path is for Lohse to branch out on his own and start his very own Major League Baseball club. Aware of Montana’s untapped baseball reservoir, the best free agent still left on the market will found the sure-to-be competitive Helena Hyenas. The Hyenas will occupy the NL Extra-West, a division they will surely win despite having one player because, well, they’ll be the only team in the division.

 Everyone on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” Picks the Orioles to Win the AL East

Because you simply can’t ever go wrong riding the hot wave of luck and using the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately rationale of prognostication, every single on-air personality from ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” is totally going to pick the Orioles to win the AL East. Don’t bother looking at Baltimore’s roster or noticing that there are a couple of teams with significantly better chances going forward; this is all about “gut feelings,” “cloud readings,” and “cases of the smilies.” “Baseball Tonight” is taking the O’s to win it all, and you can’t stop them!

 Giancarlo Stanton is Finally Told This Has All Been a Reality TV Show

Months after his Marlins seemed to have given up on being a professional baseball team in favor of scrapping everything at starting over at square one again, remaining Miami star Giancarlo Stanton is at last going to find out that none of this has been real. After all, how could it be? A couple weeks into spring training, right around the time Stanton realizes the Marlins are actually trying out a third baseman that looks suspiciously like his area grocery store’s elderly door greeter, reporters will break the news that HBO’s upcoming reality show “How Much Can You Take Without Needing Clinical Help?” has been behind every action the Marlins have taken over the past year. Surprise!

Ryan Braun Caves and Tells the Whole Truth

We’ve been wrong about Ryan Braun for a long, long time. Never one suspected as a performance enhancing drug user, a positive test sent Braun’s career into a whirlwind that hasn’t ever really calmed down. Braun is now linked to one in a seemingly-endless line of PED-pedaling clinics, and now he’s finally going to tell us all the truth. Technically he never lied to anyone, as he never used PEDs in the first place. Braun’s well-hidden secret has all along been his status as a half-human, half-cyborg baseball hitting device created by Bud Selig over two decades ago in an attempt to keep his beloved Brewers relevant. It’s going to be tough to believe, but just remember how bad his third base defense was. The bugs hadn’t all been worked out yet. Robots!

Former Major Leaguer Derek Bell Reiterates Just How Successful “Operation Shutdown” Has Truly Been

After blanching at the news that the Pittsburgh Pirates may not start him in 2002, outfielder Derek Bell quickly announced that he was retaliating with “Operation Shutdown,” a plan that Bell has successfully deployed for over a decade now. Just in case the general public forgot about Bell, who is now 44, he’ll be sure to give us a press release in a few weeks just to make sure we realize how flawless “Operation Shutdown” has truly been. For those interested, Bell and some colleagues will be attending a special 11th anniversary gala to commemorate “Operation Shutdown” a week before opening day. Raffle winners will be allowed to touch his goatee and reminisce about that awesome year Bell had in 1998.

If Brian’s writing strikes your fancy, read his work at StanGraphs and follow him on Twitter at @vaughanbasepct.

Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun (8), along with the Yankees Alex Rodriguez is the face of the Biogenesis PED investigation. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Many media members and fans thought the “Steroid Era” could be relegated to a certain spot in time, with only occasional reminders of the past. However a decrease in the amount of positive results and the creeping resurgence of offensive numbers should have been a warning. Blood testing will not stop PED use any more than police using radar can eradicate speeding. As long as ego, money and human nature are involved, there will always be the temptation to gain an unethical advantage in sport. The sad is that the news no longer shocks or surprises, many of baseball’s stars and heroes have been exposed as frauds.

For Rodriguez and Braun, the damage to their reputation and the perception of their careers is irreversible. A contrite Rodriguez’s offered a mea culpa following a 2009 Sports Illustrated expose, claiming he only used PED’s in the early 2000’s. Following his admission, A Rod helped lead the Yankees to the World Series title in 2009, winning the Series MVP along the way. Rodriguez seemed to have been partially vindicated. Nobody would have ever gone back to using so fast, and he was so forthcoming in his admission. Now, could Rodriguez’s entire career be viewed as a fraud, possibly using since his high school days at Westminster Christian, following the lead of fellow Miami native Jose Canseco?

For Braun, his explanation is at once plausible and damning. Braun claims to have sought the services of Anthony Bosch as a consultant during his suspension appeal. Braun tested positive for synthetic testosterone following his 2011 MVP season. Those that followed his case knew that the overturning of his positive test result was based on technicality involving testing procedure rather than Braun disputing the actual finding of the test. Who better to seek advice from than an expert at avoiding PED detection and deflecting blame than a snake oil salesman like Bosch. No matter the final result of the Biogenesis investigation, the public will better understand the facts of Braun’s 2011 appeal.

The names of Bobby Estalella and Randy Velarde are not well remembered in the BALCO case a generation ago,just as the names of Francisco Cervelli and Danny Valencia will be little more than a footnote in this episode. Rodriguez and Braun will not suffer the same fate. As more players possibly become implicated in the investigation, MVP’s Braun and Rodriguez are cast as the  headliners. Rodriguez and Braun may never face a 50 game suspension for first time PED offenders, they have not generated a positive test result. But the damage to their credibility and their perceived guilt in the court of public opinion will haunt them, like it has haunted Bonds and Clemens, for the rest of their careers.

Ryan Braun’s name appears in journals belonging to a Miami clinic charged with providing PEDs to numerous MLB players. (Image Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)

Braun tested positive for a synthetic testosterone during the 2011 postseason. He didn’t challenge the results of the test and the subsequent 50-game suspension that was handed down, but rather the handling of the sample was what Braun and his lawyers opted to go after. Chain of custody concerns arose when it became known that the test-taker responsible for the sample took it home over a weekend, rather than shipping it to the lab immediately as protocol dictates. The suspension was thrown out and Braun eventually publicly denied using testosterone.

Braun has still been forced to cope ever since with the belief of many that he was in fact guilty of using a PED. With these latest allegations arising, he has since released a statement:

During the course of preparing for my successful appeal last year, my attorneys, who were previously familiar with Tony Bosch, used him as a consultant. More specifically, he answered questions about T/E ratio and possibilities of tampering with samples.

There was a dispute over compensation for Bosch’s work, which is why my lawyer and I are listed under ‘moneys owed’ and not on any other list.

I have nothing to hide and have never had any other relationship with Bosch. I will fully cooperate with any inquiry into this matter.

One of the key factors being investigated by MLB is the link between the Biogenesis clinic and Jimmy Goins, a strength and conditioning coach at the University of Miami, who was named throughout a number of the records obtained from the clinic. Goins has a relationship with a number of the players linked to these reports including Gio Gonzalez, Yasmani Grandal, Cesar Carrillo, and now Braun.

Alex Rodriguez, Bartolo Colon, Melky Cabrera, Gonzalez, Grandal, and Carrillo were all included in initial reports regarding Biogenesis. In addition to Braun, these new reports also implicate Francisco Cervelli and Danny Valencia, though it’s worth noting that there do not appear to be any specifics within the clinic’s journals that mention what each player may have received from Bosch through Biogenesis.

Author: Colin Bennett

The Milwaukee Brewers of 2012 were, for lack of a better term, a test of faith.

The 2012 season that started with so much optimism and hope, and it ended quite the same. So long as you discount the three months in between where everything came apart at the hinges. The 2012 Brew Crew fell into that strange space between potential and actualization, but somehow still managed to make waves despite being lost at sea for the better part of a season. They lost a high-caliber pitcher to general mediocrity, several players to injury, and a few more became combat ineffective thanks to the ravages of pressure, exposure, or good old-fashioned hype. With all that accounted for, the Milwaukee Brewers achieved a great moral victory – finishing third in the National League central and a record above .500, which is more than most fans could have hoped for by the All-Star break.

What Went Right

Ryan Braun

The reining NL MVP had another banner season in 2012. Image: Benny Sieu-US PRESSWIRE

Well, there’s no question that things got off on a good foot as the season began despite being a result of some really bad news. We can’t avoid it, so we might as well get it out of the way right now – The overturning of Ryan Braun’s 50 game suspension for a positive test was, regardless of anyone’s personal feelings on the matter, imperative to the success of the club. He was a pivotal part of an offense that was as prolific as it had ever been for most of the season. He put up MVP numbers again during a season that many thought would lack the firepower – and therefore the success of Braun himself – with the loss of Prince Fielder.

Off-season Acquisitions

Two deals were made for Milwaukee during the off-season that amounted to major success for Milwaukee before 2012 even began. One of them was a well-known name in the Major Leagues, and one of them no doubt will be by the end of his career.

Aramis Ramirez was picked up as a free agent during the winter, and his job was to fill some of the power vacuum left by the loss of Prince Fielder to Detroit. Though he struggled in the first two months of the season to find a comfort zone at the plate, by season’s end he was hitting nearly .300 and had knocked in 50 doubles on the year. He became an all-around threat in Milwaukee’s lineup, and fit in nicely behind Braun. Ramy had one of his best years in a career filled with quite a few good ones – and had Milwaukee been able to stay above water earlier, he may have been in the discussion for some hardware.

The other big signing for Milwaukee before the regular season began was a little-known Japanese player named Norichika Aoki. I say little-known because at the time, the first and only name coming out of Japan was Yu Darvish, and Milwaukee’s history of international signings amount to nearly nothing outside of Latin America. But Aoki was a beast in the Japanese Professional Leagues – having a career average over .300 and a perennial batting champion in five years in the league. He took all of that and more to Milwaukee and put forth one of the most productive rookie seasons in the Majors this year.

Trading Greinke

I know, on the outset, it seems a little strange that we should champion giving away one of the best pitchers of a generation – but it was a pretty shrewd move by GM Doug Melvin. At the time, there was little reason to expect great things from Milwaukee, and the farm system desperately needed some new life. The trade worked out perfectly for Milwaukee. Mike Fiers, Wily Peralta, and Marco Estrada proved they belonged as part of the starting rotation, and Yovani Gallardo was already cementing the title of staff ace, so getting rid of Greinke at the top of his game guaranteed to get the team high-level prospects. Jean Segura, the Angels’ shortstop of the future, became the Brewers’ best prospect almost instantly. And even though he needs a little more improvement, he showed far more potential than anyone else on the team in filling that hole in the infield. Johnny Hellweg and Ariel Pena will make a difference for this club – either as starters or relievers – in the very near future. It wasn’t as sexy a deal as a starter-for-starter trade, and it didn’t bring any big names in, but this deal will work for Milwaukee for years to come.

The Month of September

When talking about what went right for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2012, you really need to look no further than the last full month of the season. Everyone had already concluded that the Brew Crew would not be playing for the postseason heading down the stretch.

Everyone except for the Milwaukee Brewers, that is.

The team went on an unholy tear through the final month of the season, going 15-5 over their first 20 games of the month. They climbed all the way to within one and one-half games of the St. Louis Cardinals for the second Wild Card spot and suddenly made this season seem like 2008 or 2011 all over again. This team looked unstoppable for most of the month. The team hit .278 that month, drove in a league-best 137 runs, hit 97 extra-base hits (including 37 home runs) and stole 40 bases. All in September alone. Though post-season play was not meant to be, the moral of Milwaukee’s final month of play was that this team was not willing to give up and would play to win the whole season through. That might be more important than any stat looking ahead to 2013.

What Went Wrong

Lack of Depth

This was a hard section to nail down, because Milwaukee – despite their many admirable qualities – had plenty of deficiencies in 2012. One of the most glaring was the complete lack of depth in terms of bench players. While injuries do occur, and there is a case to be made that Milwaukee took the lion’s share of injury problems, it is not unreasonable to assume a team should have a plan for when injuries happen. This year’s club did not look that way. Travis Ishikawa, Milwaukee’s back-up first baseman, is servicable at best. Hence why Corey Hart had to move from the outfield to first – although his play this season at first has been remarkable. Cesar Izturis and Cody Ransom are barely back-ups, they are relics and they did very little to improve or even stabilize the infield. When Rickie Weeks was struggling so mightily over the middle part of the season, the team did not have someone to replace him. Many fans and analysts saw this coming since Spring Training, and I suppose we just all collectively hoped that Brooks Conrad and some extra farm hands would turn the tide and pan out to be Major League Players. When that is what you’re banking on for a team’s season, you have some serious problems.

The Bullpen

What can we say about this year’s bullpen that hasn’t already been said about a nuclear test site? It was bombed out, completely depleted, and should serve forever as a warning to future generations. To put it more succinctly, it was a colossal failure. The Brewer bullpen chalked up 33 losses in 2012, with 18 of those defeats coming while the back end – Jim Henderson, John Axford, and Francisco Rodriguez – were on the bump. Though Axford had turned himself around rather well in the end of the season and still managed to collect 35 saves on the year, the damage was done and the casualties of 2012 were well counted before he got on track. K-Rod simply imploded. Kameron Loe performed admirably and appeared in 75 games all told. Jose Veras turned out to be a terrible pick-up and seemed to find locating his curveball an insurmountable task.

It may appear that I’m being unnecessarily harsh on the bullpen, but for nearly the entire season they failed to hold up their end of the bargain, especially in the first half of the season. It’s the main reason that Milwaukee’s bullpen coach was fired, and why the Brewers were 24-32 in one-run games and 7-11 in extra-inning affairs. In short, if the bullpen had been even a fraction better earlier in the season, I might be writing this review a few weeks later

Looking ahead to 2013

For the remainder of the winter, the questions surrounding Milwaukee aren’t as pressing as they were in years prior. Francisco Rodriguez and Shaun Marcum are Milwaukee’s only Free Agents, and there’s little evidence from their seasons that the team will make any considerable effort to keep them. There is a laundry list of players on arbitration, chief among them being John Axford who failed to negotiate an extension this season. The team would likely benefit in the long-run by giving him a multi-year deal, despite his struggles, considering the depth of available talent in the closer market. He’s more than effective enough, and definitely affordable if a cooperative long-term deal can be reached.

There still may be some work to be done in free agency, as the outfield needs a solid back-up to Carlos Gomez to pick up the slack from Nyjer Morgan. Everything that went right for Tony Plush last year seemed to go wrong this year, and he left a hole in the lineup. The team may also be on the lookout for another veteran starter, with the (presumably) impending departure of Marcum. While Fiers, Estrada, and Gallardo seem to be staples going forward, there are obvious questions surrounding the return of Chris Narveson from a season-ending injury and whether the young guns in Tyler Thornburg and Wily Peralta can maintain success throughout the season.

Beyond that, the problems with Milwaukee lie mainly – like this past season – in filling in the holes behind the starters. Mat Gamel‘s return from injury, depending on how he can play after tearing his ACL, solve some of that. Gamel can play first, third, and even fill in spots in the outfield. His bat certainly helps with the extended Interleague schedule as well. Segura will still need help at shortstop, and it is unclear what the team’s position on Alex Gonzalez, the team’s starting shortstop going into 2012, will be since he failed to reach his vesting option for plate appearances due to a (you guessed it) season-ending injury. He might not be the answer specifically, but look for the team to search for dependable veteran help while the young guys get their feet wet.

Like every season, the Brewers in 2012 were made up of hundreds of small moments and opportunities, many of which went the other way. When things happen that way, it takes patience and faith in order to see it through to success. Luckily for the fan base in Milwaukee – they have faith in spades.

Colin Bennett has lived in Wisconsin for most of life, and has been a Brewers fan since childhood. He has been writing about baseball (among other things) since 2009. Find him at Reviewing the Brew, on Twitter (@ReviewngTheBrew) or just look for the lone person complaining that he can’t watch the MLB playoffs at any bar in the heart of Packer Country.

Somehow Ryan Braun became the first Major League player to wiggle out of  a drug policy violation accusation shortly after he won the 2011 National League Most Valuable Player award. He won his case on appeal, which had never happened before, and resumed his slugging ways for the Milwaukee Brewers this season.

And Braun has been slugging the ball again, playing phenomenal ball. After 138 games Braun has a league-leading 40 home runs, 103 RBIs, and is batting .312. His on-base percentage is .387 and his slugging percentage, which also leads the league, is .602. No one can say that Braun was distracted by his problem with MLB enough that it bothered him in the batter’s box. He is 28 years old, in his prime, making millions of dollars, and providing good return on the investment. Last season, by comparison, Braun hit 33 homers, drove in 111, and batted .332. He stole 33 bases in 2011 and has 24 steals this year. Pretty close all-around.

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Would voters choose Braun again? Mandatory Credit: David Banks-US PRESSWIRE

For all the ups and downs, there just hasn’t been a lot of talk about Braun as a possible front-runner for the 2012 NL MVP award, an honor that would make Braun the first consecutive winner since Albert Pujols in 2008-2009 and the extremely controversial Barry Bonds like a thousand times in a row earlier in the new millennium. Maybe the lack of hype around Braun has something to do with the fact that he’s sort of already established this level of production. Sure, he’s hitting .311/.389/.610 with a league-leading 36 homers, 21 steals, and a .420 wOBA. And yeah, FanGraphs has him at a NL-leading 6.9 WAR after factoring in his improving defense and continually good base running. This is all impressive, but it seems like there’s just a general sense of, “okay, we’ve see this before.”

Media attention and general chatter are always more likely to rise from players finding new levels to their game or doing something they weren’t expected to do. Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen is having an incredible year, the kind of season that will elevate his status to that of star player in just about everyone’s eyes. He’s hit .344/.409/.566 with 24 homers and a .407 wOBA, he’s been worth 6.2 WAR according to FanGraphs, and he’s chipped in 15 steals for fun. As great as McCutchen’s season has been, a recent and prolonged slump has him looking less qualified than Braun going into September.

There are plenty of other seasons rightfully getting a lot of attention in the National League. Buster Posey is bashing every baseball that comes his way while being given the undesirable duty of playing the hardest position on the field. David Wright has rediscovered his power (mostly of the gap variety) while posting the highest walk rate of his career. Michael Bourn and Jason Heyward have done a lot of things right at once, while Yadier Molina brings a new offensive approach to go with the best backstop defense in the game. As exciting as the seasons all of these players are having happen to be, I think it’s still Braun who deserves mentioning most.

Even if we all end up agreeing that Braun’s 2012 stands a bit above the rest of the field when all is said and done, will it matter? While Braun was able to avoid a PED suspension based largely on details, there are surely still voters who will deny him anything and everything based on their supposition that he’s a cheater. Maybe I’m wrong, and I hope I am, but there are always seem to be members of the sports media planted firmly on the highest of horses, gazing down at tremendously successful athletes with a startling amount of contempt.

Braun’s success as a hitter has almost certainly never had anything to do with any substance. He’s been raking since day one, and he’s having as good a season as he’s ever had right now when there is just no way he’s on anything. It’s also worth commending how much work Braun has put into playing his position. After a horrendous stint at third base, the team shifted him to left field where he struggled initially. Braun has since turned into a plus fielder according to UZR, a testament to his desire to become a better all-around player. In 2012, I’m pretty sure he’s the best player in the National League. Again.

If Brian’s writing strikes your fancy, read his work at StanGraphs and follow him on Twitter at @vaughanbasepct.

Melky, Melky, Melky, you can’t even say it isn’t so. You have been voted off the island, for 50 games, and maybe after the charade you pulled to chemically enhance your statistics, you’ll be voted off the Major League baseball island after the season, which pretty much ends for you today. It was only a few days ago that I was singing your praises because you were leading the National League in hits and were batting almost .350. I thought I was overdue to give you credit, especially after becoming the MVP of the All-Star game in July. Turns out I was premature to offer any.

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The 6-foot-1, 200-pound slugging outfielder is in his prime at 28 and his 2012 statistics are marvelous. For the fifth time Braun became an All-Star and he deserved it. Some 83 games into this season he had a National League-leading 26 homers on the board, with 64 RBIs, accompanied by a .312 average.

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