Braun's Comments

By now, I’m sure you’ve all read them, but here’s a recap of some of what Braun said today after the game (cut out of the JSOnline article and the Brewers.com article):

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“We’re at the point right now where it would be important for us to go out there and acquire somebody.”

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“I know (Melvin) is trying to make our ballclub 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.”

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“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.”

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“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 ballclub. We want to be headed in the right direction, not the wrong direction to go out and do that.”

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“(The Cubs) threw the ball a lot better than our starters did. They certainly swung the bats better than we did as well. Clearly, they were the better team.”

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“Their starting pitching was clearly a lot better than ours in this series. All four guys we saw in this series are No. 1, worst-case, No. 2-type starters. They make big pitches in big situations. You’re not always going to get hits in those situations.”

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“We need to find a way to throw the ball a little better to have success. When you’re constantly behind in games, it’s not easy. It’s not fun. Their starting pitching was clearly a lot better than ours this series.”

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Personally, I don’t have a problem with anything Braun said. I don’t think his comments will make him any tighter with Seth McClung or Mike Burns, the players he seems to be calling out, but McClung seems like the kind of fiery guy that will react positively to comments like this (although he’s likely ticketed for a return to the bullpen) and Burns, well, he’s really just a warm body they can throw on the mound right now anyway…

Melvin probably isn’t too keen on being called out by his own players, but I’m sure he respects Braun’s intensity. Afterall, they both are after the same thing — winning.

What I think has been lost a bit in the comments is that they should work to rally the team too. Braun has done this before. Remember the Red Sox series at Fenway last year and the “I almost felt like this series, we didn’t expect to win” comments?

The Brewers aren’t nearly as bad off now as they were then, but Braun’s comments can serve the same purpose: to unite the team, refocus them a bit and get them fighting together again. The Brewers turned things around after Braun called his teammates out last year. Why not this year too?

Dave Bush and Manny Parra should return in the coming weeks and that will help. Plus I think we all believe Melvin will do something before the trade deadline, and whatever players he does acquire will serve as an additional boost to the team.

The Brewers are a game out of first place and have the first place team coming to town. It’s time to rally, not panic. Braun’s comments could help push the Brewers to a strong finish to the first half of the season and give them some momentum before they get to the stretch run.