Ryan Braun

By Derek of The Sportmeisters

Another week of baseball in the books means another Winners, Losers, and Waiver Wire Wonders blog from the fantasy guru. Keep in mind, the stats I show are the players stats for the week, not on the season. Let’s go!

Before the 2009 season started, there were three teams that were widely viewed as possible contenders for the National League Central crown: the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, and the Cincinnati Reds.

The Cubs were the defending NL Central champs, had the best record in the National League in 2008, and were easily the most talented team in the division.

The Cardinals had the best player in baseball, Albert Pujols, several talented role players, and expected to see a return to dominance of Chris Carpenter.

Ryan Braun is quietly having a great season. In 43 games played, he is batting .325 with eight homers and 31 RBI. 

But, those aren't the numbers that impress me. Through Braun's first 300 games as a big leaguer, he has earned a reputation of a free swinger. In each of his first two seasons, he had over 110 strikeouts without drawing more than 42 walks in a season. 

Alright everyone, get your payroll jokes and your “Where’s your World Series Championship trophy?” jokes out of your system before you start reading.

Yes, since the Milwaukee Brewers came to be in 1969, they have not won a World Series and have won just a single pennant in that span. And, of course, living north of Chicago, we all know the Cubs are the greatest thing since sliced bread.

The first thing the Milwaukee Brewers general manager said to the media about Ryan Braun upon his call-up in 2007 was, "he is a very confident young man."

In the two years since, no one is disputing that claim by Melvin.

Ryan Braun won the NL Rookie of the Year in 2007, despite missing the first six weeks of the season while still in Triple-A Nashville. He followed that up last season with MVP-type numbers and led the Brewers to their first playoff appearance since 1982.

Certainly, it’s impossible to ignore the great start Mike Cameron has provided the Brewers in April and the early days of May during this season.

We shouldn’t ignore, however, the starts of three other Brewer hitters in the top third of qualified (3.1 PA/team game) NL position players by Value Wins this season.

Unsurprisingly to all Brewer fans, Ryan Braun is one of these three players.

In the MLB you need starting pitchers to go deep into the game so you don't have to use the bullpen that much. Also you need a good offensive attack. Well the Brewers have the offense, just not the starting pitching.

If you look at last year's pitching we had Ben Sheets and a late trade to acquire stud CC Sabathia. 

2009 marks the 40th Anniversary of the Milwaukee Brewers in the MLB, as they moved from Seattle to the Brew City in prior to the 1970 season.

So I thought that I would share what I consider the top 10 moments in Brewers' history.

Now, I haven't been around since 1970, so I haven't seen (but I know about) every single thing about Brewers baseball, but I think all fans remember these moments vividly.

Here's to the 40 years of Brewers baseball, and hopefully 40 more.