Ryan Braun Responds to Boos with 3-Homer Day at Citizens Bank Park

In a very Barry Bonds-esque performance at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday, Ryan Braun was booed and then booed some more. His response? Three home runs.

In the video below, Philadelphia Phillies fans can be heard calling him a cheater from the stands, unwilling to forgive or forget his purchase of PEDs from Biogenesis, denial of said purchase, and the slap on the wrist that followed.

After only three hits in 20 at bats this season, the Milwaukee Brewers right fielder knocked in a career-high seven runs to tie a franchise record in his team's 10-4 victory. He had not gone yard in 98 plate appearances -- the longest drought of his career -- dating back to last summer. However, it was no surprise he ended his homer slump in Philly, where he has 10 longballs in 21 career games.

Brewers Fans Welcome Back Ryan Braun in Opening Day Victory

While most avid baseball fans have a general hatred for players who cheat, get caught, lie about cheating, then get caught again, it seems Milwaukee Brewers fans have found it rather easy to forgive Ryan Braun.

The fired up, sellout crowd at Miller Park on Opening Day gave their right fielder a standing ovation as he entered the batter's box. Braun went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in Milwaukee's 2-0 win over the Atlanta Braves, with his base hit and steal nicely setting up a two-run double by Aramis Ramirez in the fourth.

He was involved in one of the first calls to be overturned under MLB's new replay system as well, when his infield single to lead off the sixth was overturned to an out after the call was challenged by Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. Thankfully, the review took only 58 seconds.

Ryan Braun: The Cheese to Our Macaroni

In light of Ryan Braun's successful appeal and avoidance of a pesky 50-game suspension for a failed drug test, we'd like to present to you Part Four of Nine More Outs' Stadium Shmadium Tour. This time they've headed to Milwaukee to see what it's really like to be a Brewers fan. Enjoy!

[Nine More Outs]

Season Previews: Milwaukee Brewers

It's about time to kick off one of our favorite things in all the world: Season Previews. Five years ago, they began as a semi-serious analysis and ended up as half-assed haiku. We're just gonna go with what we know. Moving right along with our preview of the National League Central, here is a look at the 2012 Milwaukee Brewers.

We hope Ryan Braun
Didn't cheat or have herpes
Either would be gross

Bu-bye Prince Fielder
Mat Gamel will play first now
He's not as chubby

Oh Nyjer Morgan
You are so entertaining
An easy target

Zack Greinke is good
Yovani Gallarado and
Racing sausages

John Axfrod's mustache
K-Rod needs no facial hair
Maybe it won't grow

LuCroy at backstop
George Kottaras backs him up
Weeks at second base

Holy Crap Prince Fielder Got a Nine-Year Deal from the Detroit Tigers

First and foremost, we are not happy to be back in Minnesota after a long vacation in Florida. It's disgusting here. But we missed you.

Second, we'd like to ponder why on earth the Detroit Tigers would give a fatass like Prince Fielder a nine-year deal worth $214 million. Just kidding... kind of.

The Tigers agreed to sign the free agent first baseman on Tuesday out of nowhere, adding some more pop to the middle of their lineup with the already hard-hitting Miguel Cabrera in there. This, just days after announcing designated hitter Victor Martinez would miss a bunch of the 2012 season with an ACL tear he endured during offseason conditioning.

Fielder, who batted .282 with 230 home runs and 656 RBI over seven seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, now owns just the fourth $200+ million deal in baseball history with his $23.78 million a season beaten only by Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee, and Albert Pujols, among active players.

While several teams, such as the Texas Rangers and Washington Nationals, had thrown their hats into the Fielder bidding ring this winter, Detroit was no where to be found. General Manager Dave Dombrowski and owner Mike Ilitch even denied having any interest in signing him whatsoever. Liars. But having Prince in the lineup makes them even more of a favorite to repeat the AL Central title this season and possibly win their first World Series since 1984. They made a run at it last season after winning their division by 15 games, but ended up losing to the Rangers in the ALDS.

This move also keeps the Fielder name in the Tigers organization, which is pretty neat. His father, Cecil, nailed 51 longballs with Detroit back in 1990 after playing 15 years of Japanese ball. Senior played with the Tigers into the 1996 season while his young son hit bombs during batting practice. More importantly, Fielder finally leaving the National League to become the DH he was always meant to be.

[Detroit Free Press]

Prince Fielder and Scott Boras May Have Overplayed their Hands

Milwaukee Brewers All-Star first baseman Prince Fielder remains unsigned with spring training set to start in less than 2 months and it appears as if he may be forced to return to the Milwaukee Brewers for the 2012 season. While Fielder’s return would make the Brewers one of the favorites in MLB betting lines to win the National League pennant in 2012, the question does remain open as to whether or not he would have sufficient motivation after expecting the Brinks truck to arrive after his best season ever in 2011 in which the Brewers won their first division title since 1982.

Fielder’s agent is known stick up man Scott Boras, who is hated by MLB owners and loved by players for his ability to command top dollar for his clients, even if it is not always accomplished with polish and good manners.

Fielder’s predicament is also part of the worst possible timing. American League teams such as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, who would figure to love having the poor fielding Prince as their designated hitter, do not have any need or room on their already power packed rosters for yet another high priced slugger. The one team that did have such a need, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, signed Fielder’s main competitor for superstar first baseman status in Albert Pujols, who led the St. Louis Cardinals to a National League Championship Series win over Fielder’s Brewers and on to a World Series championship against the Texas Rangers. Despite Pujols having a slight drop in overall production compared to his past years with the Cardinals, and despite his being 4 years older than Fielder, he was able to command the riches that Fielder had expected for himself.

Prince Fielder Still a Homeless Free Agent, Where Will He Play in 2012 and Beyond?

It's a little odd that Prince Fielder is still out there on the free agent market. We thought for sure he'd be signed some time during the winter meetings, either before or after the Albert Pujols hoopla. When that didn't happen, we figured he was just being choosy.

A few different teams have been named in the rumor mill, which is full of speculation and lies. We love it.

The Texas Rangers, who clearly have the money to spend after flaunting $51.7 million for rights to negotiates with Yu Darvish and his Nippon Ham Fighters, might be a good fit for the free agent first baseman. First off, The Ballpark in Arlington is a hitter's paradise and Fielder has a huge baseball bat. Second, Mitch Moreland is not Prince Fielder.

Testosterone Medication Allegedly to Blame for Ryan Braun's Failed Drug Test

We've been waiting a while to weigh in on the whole Ryan Braun deal lately, mostly because we couldn't find a credible source with any real information to cite. Now that a few semi-major news outlets have suggested the Milwaukee Brewers left fielder may have been prescribed a medication containing testosterone which made him fail one random test and then pass the second, we're gonna throw in our two or three cents.

Not that it's any of our business, but I'm sure you're wondering just like us, what possible secret ailments could Braun have that require synthetic testosterone for treatment?

The obvious conclusion for some asinine sports blogs out there is that he has herpes. Of course. First of all, page views and hits will never be so important to us that we would create a rumor that a player has a sexually transmitted disease in the hopes people will visit our site and spread the rumor... kind of like herpes. That would be stupid and irresponsible... kind of like having unprotected sex.

There are many illnesses and issues in which testosterone is used as a treatment and/or cure. Since we're too lazy to speculate, we'll just sit back and wait to see if Braun decides to share the news with the public after his appeal, if this is indeed the case. Either way, he'll most likely be suspended for 50 games to start off the 2012 season; it's still his responsibility to know exactly what he's putting into his body and to make sure it's within MLB regulations.

Herpes. How dumb.

[Big League Stew]

Aramis Ramirez Finalizes $36 Million Contract with Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers finalized their three-year, $36 million deal with Aramis Ramirez on Wednesday, giving their lineup some much-needed pop for the next few seasons. The contract also includes a mutual option for a fourth year, just in case Ramirez isn't actually in the twilight of his career as we suspect.

The 33-year-old third baseman spent the last eight seasons with the Chicago Cubs, his brand new division rival and mortal enemy. However, don't expect him to take out a full-page ad in the Tribune or Sun-Times, or for any Cubbies faithful to be seen burning his jersey on Youtube... he wasn't exactly a deity.

Ramirez was a big contributor to any wins the Cubs did have though, batting .306 with 26 home runs and 93 RBI in 2011. His power at the plate is a welcome sight for Milwaukee, considering the loss of big bats Prince Fielder to free agency (and possibly to the Cubs) and Ryan Braun to an imminent 50-game suspension for suspected cheating. We'll keep you posted on whether or not he wins his appeal, which by the way, will never happen.

This seems like some kind of white flag by the Brewers, since their interest in Ramirez didn't peak (at least not publicly) until the whole Ryan Braun fiasco went down. The veteran might not exactly be a last resort, but he certainly wasn't in the middle of their radar up until last weekend. Is this a signing born in desperation, or will the Brew Crew be happy with their new hot corner?

[ National Post]

Ryan Braun Faces 50-Game Ban for Allegedly Cheating; We Might Take it All Back

We haven't been more disappointed in a ballplayer than we are with Ryan Braun tonight. Honestly, he was one of the last players we'd ever suspect of cheating.

The Milwaukee Brewers left fielder has tested positive for a banned substance and now faces a 50-game suspension. Of course he is disputing the results and referring to them as complete "bullshit." A spokesperson for Braun released this statement Saturday evening:

"There are highly unusual circumstances surrounding this case which will support Ryan's complete innocence and demonstrate there was absolutely no intentional violation of the program. While Ryan has impeccable character and no previous history, unfortunately, because of the process we have to maintain confidentiality and are not able to discuss it any further, but we are confident he will ultimately be exonerated."

On the heels of his first 30-30 season, a synthetic testosterone was found in his system in a recent random test. A second administered test was negative, so we're awfully confused by that. If the suspension is upheld, the Brewers are totally screwed early on in the season. Especially after losing the big bat of Prince Fielder to free agency.

Over his first five big league seasons, the reigning National League MVP has averaged 36 longballs, 118 RBI and a .563 slugging percentage. If he is indeed a cheater-pants, we take back everything nice we've ever said about him. If the positive test is just a bunch of BS, then we apologize for finding the douchiest picture possible of him to go with this post.

[Daily Pitch]

Watch Out Everyone, the Prince Fielder Sweepstakes Have Officially Begun

Poor Prince Fielder. After all of the hooting and hollering over Albert Pujols, Jose Reyes, and C.J. Wilson, we almost forgot about our chubby free agent first baseman. Let's turn our attention to him for a little bit.

The former Milwaukee Brewers slugger and his agent Scott Boras are open for negotiations now that all the other big fish have been reeled in. However, they seem to be searching for a suitor who's willing to spend $200 million over seven or eight years, which is going to be tough to find since most teams out there won't be into the idea of give Fielder more than a five year contract, even though he's apparently only 27.

It's speculated that either the Miami Marlins or St. Louis Cardinals could afford to sign him, considering the ridiculous contracts both teams offered Pujols. However, the Texas Rangers might want his services to help with the imminent battle against their division rival Angels, who are about to dominate the hell out of the American League West. Count on it.

Ryan Braun Wins National League MVP, Now a Million Times More Attractive

Ryan Braun became a little hotter back in September when he officially became a 30-30 player. Nothing turns us on more than an impressive stat line.

But now that he's won the National League's Most Valuable Player award, we can hardly contain ourselves.

After helping lead his Milwaukee Brewers to their first division title in nearly 30 years, the left fielder received 20 of the 32 possible first-place votes and 388 total points from the Baseball Writers Association of America. He beat out Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp, his teammate first baseman Prince Fielder, Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Justin Upton, and St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols. Not a lot of chumps, so Braun should feel proud.

Lance Berkman is Having an Emotional Affair with the Houston Astros

Lance Berkman is all up in the Houston Astros' business, a team he spent 11 seasons with before being traded to the Yankees in July of 2010. He headed back to the National League as a free agent last December to join the Astros' bitter rivals, where he won himself a big fat World Series ring. So, why does he care what happens in Houston?

Simple. He just can't stop loving them. He's like a married man having an emotional affair with his ex-girlfriend. Sure, he loves the cushy life of a World Series Champion, but he yearns for that special kind of love only a high school sweetheart can offer... but not enough to leave.

With the Brewers Offseason Officially Underway, What Will Prince Fielder Do?

Now that the Milwaukee Brewers offseason is officially underway, the biggest question surrounding the team this winter is what the hell is going to happen with Prince Fielder.

After a franchise-record 96 wins during the regular and the team's first League Championship appearance in nearly three decades, there's an unresolved issue now that the husky first baseman is a free agent. Don't think it will be taken care of anytime soon either, since these types of things aren't to be discussed during the World Series.

Fielder batted .299 with 38 homers and 120 RBI this season, even stealing a base on time. Throughout the postseason, the lefty hit three bombs and two doubles to help keep the Brewers alive until the St. Louis Cardinals took them out.

Of course, the first question asked by the media after Milwaukee's Game 6 defeat was whether or not he was going to stick around. While Fielder didn't care to respond, principal owner Mark Attanasio has made it clear the team will make a sizable offer in order for him to return to the only organization he’s been with since being drafted back in 2002. Hopefully they can afford him.

After signing a record solo-year deal for an arbitration-eligible player in January, Fielder made $15.55 million this season, including a $50,000 bonus for starting in the All-Star game. The organization has locked up their other young stars, including Ryan Braun through 2020, Rickie Weeks and Yovani Gallardo through at least 2014, and Corey Hart through 2013.

There's Always Next Year, Brewers Fans

The St. Louis Cardinals won Game 6 of the National League Championship Series Sunday night to bring their 18th pennant home and punch their ticket to their World Series for the first time since 2006 when they won it all.

After rallying from a 10 1/2-game deficit at the end of August, the Cards played their asses off to earn the Wild Card before defying the odds and beating the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS. It took them six exciting games, but they tossed the Milwaukee Brewers out of the postseason to make it to the Fall Classic and take on the American League Champion Texas Rangers.

Meanwhile, Tony Hush, Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, and the rest of the Brewers will disperse to their offseason homes. Where the free agent Fielder will go, no one is quite sure. Speaking of sad things, here is the Brew Crew's farewell to a fantastic season. In unfortunate photo montage...

Randy Wolf Pitches Brewers Past Cardinals in Game 4 to Tie Up NLDS

Randy Wolf did a hell of a job Thursday evening keeping his Milwaukee Brewers in the game, helping to tie up the series and force the National League pennant to eventually be decided at Miller Park.

The 35-year-old lefty went seven solid innings in Game 4, surrendering just two runs on seven hits with a walk and six strikeouts in his team's 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Pretty sure Wolf, who also nailed a double in the third, was excited to end his embarrassing drought of 342 starts without a playoff victory, which was the most among active pitchers. It's a good thing too, because he didn't take his last loss very well:

“You know, I’ll be honest with you, the day after the Diamondbacks start I didn’t eat or shower. I don’t know if they call that depression, but it was tough to swallow."

Now losing St. Louis pitcher Kyle Lohse moves to second on that crappy list with 298 starts, trailing only Ted Lilly’s 318. Speaking of skids, Game 4 marks the Brewers' first road win of the playoffs and their first postseason victory since Game 1 of the 1982 World Series, also in St. Louis... Some of you weren't even born yet.

Matt Holliday gave the Cardinals an early 1-0 lead with a solo shot in the second before Allen Craig added a homer the following inning. The Brewers answered with a two-run fourth to knot it back up when Prince Fielder scored on Jerry Hairston, Jr.'s RBI double and Yuniesky Betancourt drove him home with a shallow base hit to center. Ryan Braun, who now owns a .471 batting average after going 16-for-34 this postseason, brought Nyjer Morgan in on a blooper to left in the fifth before Rickie Weeks scored on a fielding error by Ryan Theriot to complete the scoring.

Wolf tossed 107 pitches before Francisco Rodriguez pitched the scoreless eighth and closer John Axford came in for the save to bring the best-of-seven series even at 2-2.

The two sides will play one more game at Busch Stadium (where the families of Brewers players will be seated God knows where) at 8:05pm ET Friday night on TBS before the series moves back to Milwaukee. Jaime Garcia will face Zack Greinke for the second time this series, the last being Game 1 in which Greinke managed to get the 9-6 win even though he didn't pitch all that well.

[Brew Crew Ball]

Nyjer Morgan Calls Family Seating Incident in St. Louis "Bush League"

As the NLCS Turns...

Just when we thought that perhaps the bitter rivalry between the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers was simmering down a little bit, we get the news of the unfortunate FAMILY SEATING INCIDENT.

The Brewers were super pissed when they showed up at Busch Stadium on Wednesday to discover that the 350 tickets allotted to their family members for the three NLCS games in St. Louis were not exactly where they supposed to be.

The entire bunch were supposed to be seated in an awesome party suite, but only 200 tickets were designated for that area with the other 150 scattered throughout the ballpark. This, just a day after Tony La Russa in his perpetual bitch mode filed an official complaint regarding Miller Park's scoreboard. We're not even going to get into that whole ordeal, because it's dumb as hell, but you can read more about it here.

Nyjer Morgan, the main instigator of this particular rivalry, had this to say:

"You know I think it's bush [league]. Our families, they've got to be secured. It's kind of garbage. We put their [families] in a secure section and then they want to spread ours out. I don't know why they play the mental games, but that right there, they shouldn't play the games right there because that's our family and our family has got to be secure. But that's just them, that's how they operate right there I guess."

Bush league... like plowing into catchers at the plate when there's clearly no play being made? Or charging the mound after you lose your temper? Or talking shit just because you struck out? We all know what they say about opinions.

We do think it's worth noting, however, that the families of St. Louis players were all seated behind home plate within the safety of the net while in Milwaukee, and the family members of the Philadelphia Phillies players were given the same courtesy at Busch Stadium during the NLDS...

Game 4 is all set for 8:05pm ET on TBS. Enjoy.

[ESPN]

Mark Kotsay Face-Plants, Cardinals Beat Brewers in NLCS Game 3

Chris Carpenter was far from his best Wednesday night, lasting just five innings in his St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3 of their National League Division Series at Busch Stadium.

While Carpenter surrendered all three Milwaukee runs on six hits and three walks, the relief corps came up big. Fernando Salas, Game 2-winning rookie Lance Lynn, Marc Rzepczynski and closer Jason Motte, who struck out three of the four batters he faced for the save, combined to bail out the Cardinals and retire the final 12 Brewers in order. Sadly, none of their jerseys were torn off and shredded to pieces by Nick Punto.

Albert Pujols, Cardinals Tie up NLCS in 12-3 Rout of Brewers

“Sometimes, you’re going to get spanked a little bit.” - Nyjer Morgan

Thanks to five RBI by Albert Pujols and some additional run support from guys like David Freese and Nick Punto, the St. Louis Cardinals evened up the National League Championship Series at a game a-piece with a 12-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers Monday night.

After producing just one run in his team's first six postseason games this year, Pujols went 4-for-5 with a home run and three doubles to power St. Louis past Milwaukee. That must have felt pretty good after screwing up royally during Game 1 when he hit into a broken-bat double play representing the tying run in the seventh.

Rickie Weeks nailed a two-run shot in the fourth and Ryan Braun went 2-for-4, but failed to drive in any runs. Prince Fielder did his part with a solo shot in the bottom of the eighth, but unfortunately for the Brew Crew, it was too little, too late. Nyjer Morgan and all of his trash-talk is 0-for-4 against the Cards so far this round.

Both bullpens got a lot of work in after both starters were chased in the fourth inning. Milwaukee’s Shaun Marcum looked just plain ugly out there, coughing up five runs on seven hits and taking the loss. St. Louis starter Edwin Jackson surrendered the Weeks homer along with seven hits and a walk before his exit in the fourth.

The Cards are headed home for Game 3 Wednesday evening with ace Chris Carpenter on the hill against Yovani Gallardo at 8:05pm ET on TBS.

[USA Today]

Brewers Sport their Rally Caps, Beat Cardinals in NLCS Opener

It's pretty amazing the way Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder can turn a game around.

The Milwaukee Brewers rallied in the fifth inning of NLCS Game 1 against their bitter division rivals with huge back-to-back hits by Braun and Fielder to come away with a 9-6 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Braun launched a 463-foot, two-run bomb in the first inning before adding a two-run double during the huge six-run fifth. Fielder followed up with a homer worth two runs before Yuniesky Betancourt capped the comeback with a two-run shot of his own.

While we were honestly hoping for a few plunkings, maybe a bench-clearing brawl, and definitely some more smack-talk from the two sides, all we got was a small stir-up and an umpire's warning to Tony La Russa after Jaime Garcia hit Fielder immediately after Braun's first inning longball.

Brewers ace Zack Greinke, who made some awkward comments regarding Chris Carpenter and his "phony attitude" on Saturday, hinted that there may have been some heckling coming from the opposing dugout on Sunday: