Notes: Assessing Ryan Braun's up-and-down season, including maladies, has not been easy
Tom Haudricourt
PHOENIX – How do you assess the first quarter of the season for Ryan Braun?
The Milwaukee Brewers leftfielder is having one of the more unusual beginnings to a season of his career. He has produced some big hits, including a pair of game-winning home runs in the ninth inning.
But, overall, Braun has struggled far more than usual at the plate. In 37 games, he is batting a mere .222 with a .368 on-base percentage and .413 slugging percentage. He has five home runs and 20 runs batted in, which rank second on the club, but has struggled through a horrible month of May, batting .121 with no home runs and a .167 OBP.
Yet, in the clutch, Braun has been one of the Brewers’ best hitters, batting .321 with runners in scoring position, with four homers, 19 RBI and 1.155 OPS. And, at times, he has hit in tough luck.
THE GAME: 5 Takeaways | Box score
RELATED: Short-handed Brewers were done in by leadoff walk in the eighth
RELATED: Gilbert Lara has grown up in the Brewers' minor-league system
RELATED: Brewers can dream of Maryvale finished product after Tuesday tour
MLB: Live scoreboard, box scores, standings, statistics
As in recent seasons, Braun has been plagued by physical maladies, including a slight calf strain and mid-back tightness that kept him out of action for the second consecutive game Tuesday night against Arizona. Braun’s back began bothering him during the game Sunday in Colorado, when he went 0 for 5 and struck out four times.
“It’s not my lower back,” said Braun, who has had problems in that area since undergoing surgery to repair a herniated disc two years ago. “It’s more the mid back, and kind of to the side. I’ve dealt with this before.
“It’s not going to completely go away while I’m playing. You just have to try to manage it. I’m going to do everything in the pre-game today and see how it feels. Hopefully, I can get back in there for soon.”
Braun, who turned 34 in November, has talked often about the challenges of playing a game daily while in his 30s. As manager Craig Counsell put it Tuesday, “Age is undefeated. We know that.”
The Brewers covered themselves for any physical issues Braun might have going forward with the acquisitions of outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich over the off-season. But there’s no question that the most potent offense likely includes all three, if Braun is healthy.
“It’s always tough when you have an active member of your roster who’s unavailable, because you’re playing down a player,” said Counsell, who wouldn’t rule out a possible DL move with Braun.
“That makes it difficult. If you’re available to hit or play the field, you have a little more flexibility and can get through things. Active, unavailable position players put you in a little bit of a pinch.”
As for the difficulty in assessing Braun’s season to this point, Counsell said, “I don’t think the physical stuff has played into that. He’s had some huge hits, huge late-inning hits that have won games.
“Overall, he’s not off to the kind of start that we’re used to. But he has won us some games; he’s won three or four games with big hits. You hope he kind of picks it up a little bit, and I think he will.”
Only time will tell if Braun merely is off to a difficult start or if age and maladies are starting to take a toll.
“I don’t have an answer for you there,” Counsell said. “It’s hard to say. Is he just in a down stretch of the season? Is it age? I still think he’s at an age where he can still have some very productive seasons.”
Vogt surgery confirmed: As expected, catcher Stephen Vogt’s visit with specialist Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles on Tuesday confirmed that he will need surgery that not only will be season-ending but career threatening. Vogt will have that surgery later in the week, mlb.com reported.
Vogt, 33, went through the formality of the second opinion but knew it would be bad news. An MRI of the shoulder in Milwaukee revealed damage to the labrum, rotator cuff and capsule, an extensive injury not unlike the one from which Brewers right-hander Jimmy Nelson is currently rehabbing.
Having suffered a strained shoulder during spring training, Vogt was on minor-league rehab with Class AA Biloxi when he suffered the more extensive injury making a throw to third base. Acquired on waivers last season from Oakland, he re-signed with the Brewers over the winter for $3.065 million.