Thursday, May 24, 2007

Are curveballs tougher in the bigs?

I know that he is playing his balls off at AAA. But look at some of the guys who have been good at AAA and not at the MLB level. This however does make it a simple decision.


The decision to summon Braun was made because the third-base platoon of veteran infielders Craig Counsell and Tony Graffanino was generating virtually no offense. The Brewers ranked 28th among the 30 major league clubs at the position in slugging percentage (.273), 27th in batting average (.214), tied for 26th in home runs (one) and runs scored (16), and 25th in runs batted in (14). Braun, on the other hand, took a .726 slugging percentage and 1.152 OPS (on-base plus slugging) into Nashville's game against Memphis, both figures tops in the Pacific Coast League. Twenty-two of his 39 hits were for extra bases, and he led the Sounds with 10 home runs. After going 0 for 4 with a walk in Nashville's 9-5 victory, Braun was batting .342 with 22 RBI in 34 games.


Now take it easy....Lets see how he does against Mad Dog or any other true big league pitcher first before judgment is passed. Granted, Counselino did nothing with the bat, but that is a lot of money to throw away on utility players. But what do I know? Good luck kid, we are all counting on you to light the spark again this season.....

UPDATE 5/25: Here is a good look, and so is here as well as here....