Braun brought up for his bat
Dessens placed on 15-day DL
By TOM HAUDRICOURT
thaudricourt@journalsentinel.com
Posted: May 24, 2007
San Diego - With third base turning into a black hole offensively in a lineup struggling to score runs, the Milwaukee Brewers could wait no longer to call up Ryan Braun.The Brewers announced late Thursday night that Braun, 23, their top everyday prospect in the minor leagues, was being summoned from Class AAA Nashville. Club officials waited until after Braun played in the Sounds' game against Memphis in Nashville because they wanted him to get additional at-bats after spending time recently on the disabled list.
To make room on their roster for Braun, the Brewers placed reliever Elmer Dessens on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right shoulder, retroactive to Saturday. Braun is expected to be in the lineup tonight for the game against San Diego.
Contacted at Nashville's Greer Stadium after getting the news, Braun said his manager, Frank Kremblas, called him into his office and merely gave him the flight itinerary to San Diego.
"He didn't say anything," Braun said. "It took me a second to figure it out. I couldn't believe it. It's absolutely incredible. It's great to get the opportunity and I'm looking forward to the challenge."
The decision to summon Braun was made because the third-base platoon of veteran infielders Craig Counsell and Tony Graffanino has generated virtually no offense. The Brewers rank 28th among the 30 major-league clubs at that 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.
The Brewers are looking to add some punch to an attack that has slipped badly during a 4-9 stretch that began with the previous trip to New York and Philadelphia. Over that 13-game slide, they scored three or fewer runs eight times.
"We're struggling right now offensively and we thought we'd give Ryan an opportunity to see if he can make an impact on the ballclub," said Brewers general manager Doug Melvin, reached in Florida, where he was watching Class A Brevard County.
"But this is not a case where we expect one guy to come up and carry the ballclub. We've got to perform better as a team offensively. Ryan has performed very well offensively down there and we think he's got a chance to be a good big-league player. We'll see what he can do."
Braun, a confident player, said he didn't consider himself a cure-all for the Brewers' offense but expected to be successful.
"I'm extremely confident and I have a belief in my ability," he said. "I think I can contribute right away. I don't look at it like I'm coming up to save the club. I'm just looking forward to contributing and helping the team win a pennant."
Selected in the first round of the 2005 draft out of the University of Miami, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Braun put on a hitting display in the Brewers' training camp this spring, beginning with a two-homer, seven-RBI performance in the first exhibition game. He batted .353 with five homers and 15 RBI in 11 games, missing more than a week with a sore elbow.
But the Brewers didn't think Braun's defense was ready for the major leagues. A former shortstop who converted to third base in his final year at Miami, he had particular difficulty making accurate throws across the diamond, committing four errors in exhibition play.
The Brewers sent Braun to Nashville to work on his defense, admitting that his bat probably was good enough for the majors. He committed only three errors in Nashville.
"The staff there told me he's playing much better defensively," said Melvin, who saw Braun handle only two grounders earlier in the week while in Nashville to watch three games. "They feel it hasn't been an issue. They're not that concerned with it."
Counsell and Graffanino did the defensive job at third for the Brewers, with Graffanino committing the only two errors between them. But they weren't getting it done on offense. Counsell is hitting .231 with no homers and eight RBI, and Graffanino - who also has started eight games at second base - has seen his average dip to .187 with one homer and eight RBI.
"There are a couple of other positions that need to be more productive, too," Melvin said.
Counsell and Graffanino originally were signed as free agents over the off-season to provide backups for middle infielders J.J. Hardy and Rickie Weeks. The Brewers hoped third baseman Corey Koskie would return from the post-concussion syndrome that sidelined him for the second half of the 2006 season but Koskie remains sidelined with continuing symptoms and might not play this year.
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