Rodgers Continues Support of Braun

When Ryan Braun's suspension was handed out back in Decemeber, Green Bay Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers was quick to defend his close friend (and fellow MVP).

"Ryan and I are good buddies, probably my best athlete friend and we keep in touch obviously throughout the year. 


I would say I 100 percent support Ryan and believe in him and it’s not going to affect our friendship in the least. I’m 100 percent supporting him and behind him and believe in everything that he says."

Yesterday, when Braun officially won his appeal of the 50 game suspension imposed for a positive drug test, Rodgers quickly congratulated his friend via Twitter, with extensive use of the hashtag "exonerated."

Rodgers let loose a string of five or six tweets, all in support of Braun, closing with the following:

Braun is expected to speak today when he reports to Brewer training camp.

Ryan Braun Wins Appeal

Ryan Braun, the reigning National League MVP won his appeal of a 50 game suspension as a result of a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs.


Braun had tested positive for synthetic testosterone during last season's playoffs, and challenged his suspension in January. After 35 days of arbitration, a neutral third party voted in 2-1 decision to clear Braun.

Said Braun on Thursday:

"I am very pleased and relieved by today's decision. It is the first step in restoring my good name and reputation. We were able to get through this because I am innocent and the truth is on our side. We provided complete cooperation throughout, despite the highly unusual circumstances."

Braun will address the media again on Friday.


The MLB is less than enthusiastic with the outcome brought forth by the neutral third party and arbitrator Shyam Das. Rob Manfred, MLB's vice president for labor relations, said:

"Major League Baseball considers the obligations of the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program essential to the integrity of our game, our Clubs and all of the players who take the field. It has always been Major League Baseball's position that no matter who tests positive, we will exhaust all avenues in pursuit of the appropriate discipline. We have been true to that position in every instance, because baseball fans deserve nothing less.

"As a part of our drug testing program, the Commissioner's Office and the Players Association agreed to a neutral third party review for instances that are under dispute. While we have always respected that process, Major League Baseball vehemently disagrees with the decision rendered today by arbitrator Shyam Das."

Regardless of the MLB's opinions, Braun is back, and will report to training camp on Friday.

Huge Weekend for Wisconsin Sports

This past weekend was huge for Wisconsin sports. The Brewers, Badgers and Packers all had big wins on their way to an undefeated weekend.

Brewers


Friday night the Brewers began a three game series against the Florida Marlins. Going into the game the Brewers had a magic number of two to clinch the National League Central division, meaning they needed to win two games, or the second-place St. Louis Cardinals needed to lose two games, or some combination of the two.

The Brewers got on the board early on a solo home run by Prince Fielder in the second inning. The Marlins tied the game in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Bryan Peterson.

In the eighth inning Corey Hart doubled and Nyjer Morgan walked, bringing Ryan Braun to bat with two men on base. Braun worked Marlins pitcher Clay Hensley into a 3-1 count and sent the following pitch 431 feet into center field, putting the Brewers up 4-1.

"I think for me honestly, I live for that moment. You play the game to have the opportunity to play meaningful games down the stretch in September," Braun said after the game. "I truly expected to come through in that situation."

John Axford claimed his 44th save in the ninth inning to give the Brewers the victory.



With the Brewers' magic number reduced to just one, the Crew now looked to the Cubs/Cardinals matchup that was, at the time, in the eighth inning. 20 minutes later, the Cubs beat the Cardinals 5-1, ironically giving the Brewers their first NL Central division title since 1982.

The Brewers went on to beat the Marlins again on Saturday (6-4) and Sunday (9-5) to improve to 94-65 on the season. The Brewers' victory on Sunday gave the crew 55 wins at home in the 2011 season, a team record. The Brewers will also attempt to pick up their 95th win of the season on Monday night, which would tie the team record for most wins in a season.

Badgers

On Saturday the 7th ranked Wisconsin Badgers (4-0) faced off against the South Dakota Coyotes (2-2) at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.

After struggling in the first quarter, the Badgers exploded to end the first half and went on to steamroll the Coyotes 59-10.

Russell Wilson continued his dominance for the Badgers, completing 19 of 25 passes for 345 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Wilson found wide receiver Nick Toon seven times for a career-high 155 reception yards and two touchdowns. Jared Abbrederis also caught five passes for 101 yards and a touchdown.

Montee Ball amassed 15 carries for 88 yards and two touchdowns, and James White carried the ball 9 times for 95 yards and a score. As a team the Badgers collected 267 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.



The Badgers finished out the non-conference schedule with their fourth straight win. They have outscored their non-conference opponents 194-34.

Wisconsin opens their Big Ten schedule next Saturday against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. ESPN College Gameday will come to Madison for the night game as the #7 and #8 teams face off.

Packers

The Packers traveled to Soldier Field on Sunday for a rematch of the 2010 NFC Championship Game against the Chicago Bears.

Green Bay opened the scoring in the first quarter when Aaron Rodgers found tight end Jermichael Finley for a  six yard touchdown pass. Rodgers found Finley again in the second quarter on a seven yard score to put the Packers up 14-0.

The Bears scored on a pass from Jay Cutler to Dane Sanzenbacher to make the score 14-7. Both teams added field goals near the end of the second quarter to make the score 17-10 at the half.

The Packers added another field goal in the third quarter, before going up 27-10 in the fourth on a third Rodgers/Finley connection, this time from from ten yards out.

The Bears scored again late in the fourth on a 32 yard pass to Kellen Davis to make the score 27-17. After a late-game punt return touchdown was called back on a penalty, the Bears were unable to mount a comeback and the Packers walked away with the victory.



Aaron Rodgers completed 28 of 38 attempts for 297 yards and 3 touchdowns, all to Jermichael Finley. Greg Jennings led all receivers with 9 receptions for 119 yards.

The packer defense held Chicago running back Matt Forte to just two yards on nine carries, and Morgan Burnett intercepted Jay Cutler twice.

The Packers return home next Sunday against the Denver Broncos (1-2).

Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun Win NL Player of the Week Awards in April

Although the Brewers have struggled somewhat as a team so far this season, Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun have been off to a red-hot April.


Check out the rest of the article here on the Bleacher Report

Braun Homers, Brewers Win Series

The Brewers beat the Braves for the 3rd straight time to win the home series and improve their season record to 3-4.

Ryan Braun got the scoring started with a 2-run homer in the first inning. After the Braves tied the game, Nyjer Morgan ran over Brave catcher Brian McCann, jarring the bar loose and scoring the go-ahead run. The Brewers added a run in the 8th on a Prince Fielder RBI.

Shaun Marcum pitched well, giving up 2 runs in 6 innings of working. He also recorded 4 strikeouts and walked just 2 batters. The Brewer relievers held on to the lead, and John Axford tallied his 2nd save of the season.

The Brewers welcome in the rival Cubs for a 3 game series starting tomorrow. Randy Wolf will face off against Carlos Zambrano.

Roy Halladay, Ubaldo Jimenez, and the Brewers

,On Saturday, Roy Halladay threw the 20th perfect game in Major League history, and the second this season (Oakland's Dallas Braden was the first). Halladay was absolutely nasty, making the right pitches at the perfect time and striking out 11 Marlins. This is just another great accomplishment for Halladay, who already has a Cy Young award and 7 All Star Appearances. With a 1.99 ERA, you'd think he'd be the frontrunner for this year's NL Cy Young, but a certain Colorado pitcher is blowing away the competition...

Rockies righty Ubaldo Jimenez has been absolutely lights out this season. He is the first pitcher to 10 wins and only two months have passed in the season. His ERA is filthy; 0.78 in 80 innings pitched. That means that he has only given up 7 runs all season. He even beat 2-time reigning Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum yesterday. It is probably inevitable that his numbers will go up a little bit, but right now a Jimenez start essentially means a Rockies win. If he keeps up this pace, he is undoubtedly headed for an All-Star Game start, Cy Young award, and even in the running for NL MVP. We could be in for a historic season watching him.

Finally the Brewers. How disappointing this season has been. Already 9 games under .500, no one is fearing the beer right now. A couple thoughts:

• John Axford looks like a keeper in the Milwaukee bullpen. He throws super hard and has the potential, with fellow prospect Zach Braddock, to be in the back end of the Brewers pen for years to come. Plus he's trying to grow a handlebar mustache.
  
• I'm excited to see what Chris Capuano has to offer, as he is getting the start Thursday in Florida. I hope he does well, as he's come so far, but I don't think he could be as bad as Chris Narveson and Manny Parra have been.
• Corey Hart is on fire. Trade him while he still has value!
• How bad is the Brewers pitching? Besides having the third worst ERA in the majors (5.36), it is so bad that Brewers hitters lead the league in many of the major statistical categories and they still can't keep up. Ryan Braun is third in the NL with a .318 batting average, Casey McGehee is first in the NL with 41 RBIs and Corey Hart leads with 13 home runs. Alcides Escobar even leads the league with 5 triples. The old addage is that pitching wins championships and that is soooo true!
• Yes, everyone is saying this, but Jeff Suppan is horrible. Plain and simple. If the Brewers have better options than him, he shouldn't be on the team. I'm obviously not the person to determine that, but at this point money should not be a factor in deciding whether he stays or not.
• Bill Hall, still making roughly $8 million from the Brewers this season, threw a 1-2-3 inning for the Red Sox on Friday night.
  

Brewers Find Their Groove

The Brewers beat the Pirates 20 to 0 (yes 20) Thursday to complete the sweep against Pittsburgh. The win tied the Brewer record for largest margin of victory, and is a Brewer record for the largest shutout victory in team history. The Brewers also set a club record by leading by 8 runs in four straight games, going back to the final game of the Nationals series.

This three game series against the Pirates was an offensive explosion for the Brewers. In the series Milwaukee outscored Pittsburgh 36-1. The Crew amassed 46 hits, which included 25 extra-base hits (8 home runs).

Several Brewers saw huge production during this series. Ryan Braun went 7-11, hitting 2 home runs and collecting 8 RBI's. Prince Fielder ended a 15 at-bat streak without a hit and finally hit his first home run of the season. Alcides Escobar had arguably the best series of his young career, going 6-14 which included back-to-back triples.

Pitching was also big for the Brewers, as all three starters threw shutouts, the lone run coming from relief pitching. The Brewers starters (Dave Bush, Yovani Gallardo, and Randy Wolf) threw a combined 18 shutout innings. Currently the Brewers have gone 19 innings without surrendering a run.

This series sweep allowed the Brewers to go back above .500, improving their record to 8-7.

The momentum gained in Pittsburgh is vital as the Brewers return home for a series against the rival Cubs.

Brewers Lock Down Gallardo

Yovani Gallardo will be wearing a Brewer jersey for at least the next three seasons.

This morning he signed a five year contract extension that runs through 2014, with a no-trade clause over the first three season.

The new contract guarantees Gallardo $30.1 million, which could grow to $42.5 million depending on an interesting contract clause concerning the 2015 season.

This clause is based on a points system, where in Gallardo can earn points on his way to being a free agent for the 2015 season. For this to happen, Gallardo must earn 6 points. Points can be earned by winning the Cy Young Award (5 points), finishing second in the balloting (3 points), and finishing third in the balloting (1 point).

The no-trade clause of the contract exists until 2013, when Gallardo has the option to submit a 10-team list to the Brewers if he desires a trade.

Signing Gallardo is huge for the Crew. He is very young (24) and is coming off a huge 2009 season after sitting out most of 2008 with a torn ACL.

In 2009 Gallardo went 13-12 with a 3.73 ERA. During the season he also became the fourth Brewer in history to throw 200 strikeouts.

Gallardo was excited about the new contract, saying:

"It's a great feeling knowing I'm going to be here for the next five years. Growing up, me and my parents never dreamed of this amount. It hasn't really settled in yet. I try not to show too much emotion, but it's great."

"It sets up my son more than anything. It sets him up for college or whatever he wants to do. That's the No. 1 thing."

By signing Gallardo the Brewers have extended contracts for two young stars through at least 2014. (Last year the Crew signed Ryan Braun through 2015).

Braun was pleased as well with the new contract, saying:

"I'm excited. First and foremost, I'm excited for Yovani. He deserves it, and I know that the financial security is a great thing. That's something I can relate to. I'm excited to be with him for at least the next five years.

Braun and Fielder

ESPN recently released an article featuring Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. You can check it out here.

Fielder Extension Talk

There has been discussion lately on whether the Brewers will be able to sign Prince Fielder to a long-term extension past 2011. Brewers owner Mark Attanasio has publicly stated that the Brewers are prepared to offer Prince a very large contract in the near future, probably somewhat similar to CC Sabathia's 9-figure offer last offseason. A large issue with Fielder is that he's represented by Scott Boras who always tries to get every last penny out of his clients, which makes people believe Prince will either be wearing pinstripes or red sox in a couple years. ESPN's Buster Olney claims that Prince's best option may be taking the Brewers offer though, as the Yanks have Mark Teixeira and the Red Sox are going strong after Adrian Gonzalez of the Padres. I can't read the entire article since I don't have ESPN Insider, but I feel that Olney has left out the fact that both teams play in the American League and could very easily stick Prince at DH. I would love to see the Brewers sign him, as it would show a real commitment to winning for the organization. And just imagine Braun and Fielder hitting 3-4 for the next 5 years. That could turn out to be one of the most lethal combos in history (Plus I want to see more of their awesome boxer/trainer home run celebration).

Ryan Braun in Dick's Commerical

Brewers ST Preview 2010: Outfield

Left Field: Ryan Braun. Enough said.

Center Field: Carlos Gomez was acquired from the Twins for J.J. Hardy this offseason. He has struggled offensively with Minnesota but the Brewers hope a change of scenery, a chance to play every day, and maturity will help him develop into a solid ball player. He replaces Mike Cameron, who was deemed too expensive to resign, yet like Cameron, he plays spectacular defense. Jim Edmonds was signed as a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training to compete for a backup job. I hope Edmonds will make the team, as he would be a solid backup, not to mention a great mentor to Gomez. Lorenzo Cain or Logan Schafer could emerge here in a couple years.

Right Field: Corey Hart is coming off of a very disappointing season. He only hit .260 with 12 home runs and 48 RBIs and was out with an appendectomy for a month. He never seemed to hit his stride and many fans would like to see him replaced in right field. I’m torn on Hart. He is a very streaky player and when he’s on, he’s really good. Yet when he’s off, he’s downright horrible and has no plate discipline. This is a crucial year for him. If he doesn’t have a good year, the Brewers can’t justify paying him almost $5 million a year and will have to cut him. If he struggles, Jody Gerut will play more of role in right field.

Check back tomorrow for the Bench/Non-Roster Invitees

Check out my previous posts:

2nd Base and Shortstop

1st and 3rd Base

Pitchers and Catchers

Coaches