http://m.jsonline.com/brewers#/articles/271541741
Out of character for haudricourt to write something like this. While th didn't mention it, with yo's contract up soon and wily around the corner moving Braun certainly is something to think about. That and Melvin went out and acquired a gold glove corner outfielder.
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Braun is still a positive WAR guy, but that is a low bar for cash (at least production hasn't completely gone away). I'm pretty happy with his play in the field, so it isn't like we have Adam Dunn here or something. But a 6 million dollar man making 20 million is a real burden on your payroll when you are Milwaukee.
If the thumb injury can't get fixed, we'll never see the power numbers again. One could speculate that through those hot streaks where the ball is crushed off his bat might be times the thumb feels great, he certainly looks like a different hitter those days. I've been calling for him to have days off when he looks like **** out there, a little shocked Ron isn't pulling the trigger (Same with Jean, dude is a black hole on offense this year). His walk rate is down, which probably isn't related to the thumb at all (except teams might be more aggressive with Brauny than they ever were before). RBI's are not a good measure of a man, so I'm not going to pay much attention to leading the team (he does get to bat third in a really good hitting lineup).
I can't imagine gripping a bat with no feeling in my thumb, but is it worse than gripping a bat with it hurting?
The problem is his contract. A team like Milwaukee can't afford to pay $20MM per year for a guy that's a solid player. That kind of money is reserved for top tier hitters and right now I'm not sure I'd put Braun in that category.
What's clear to me is that the combo of the thumb problems and the lack of PEDs has really impacted his performance.
