It Really Happened. Yelich Gets Breaded Up

Never thought it was going to happen. No way, Yeli isn't going to sign an extension to stay in Milwaukee because he is too good. The Brewers will have to trade him the year before he hits free agency or half way through that season. Then he will hit free agency to cash in a huge payday ala Harper, Machado, Cole and what Betts figures to get next offseason. But then the Ken Rosenthal tweet came at 3:14pm on Tuesday March 3rd. It will become a "where were you when the news broke of the Yelich extension?"

BREAKING: Yelich, #Brewers close on $200M-plus deal, sources tell The Athletic. Story: https://t.co/wCK3eSMkt8

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 3, 2020

I had just gotten back to the office after a meeting with a customer, got myself my customary afternoon cup of coffee sat down at my desk, and boom there it was. I had to do a double take and make sure it had the blue check mark and that I wasn't getting duped by a fake Rosenthal account. It was pure excitement and joy. Christian Yelich is really going to sign a long term extension with the Brewers to stay in Milwaukee for essentially the rest of his career. A nine year contract through 2028 worth $215 mill with a mutual option for 2029 became official on Friday March 6th at a presser with Yelich, Stearns and Attanasio. Get ready to book a vacation in Cooperstown sometime in July roughly between the years 2034-2038 for the induction ceremony.

You know the resume by now, but let's just go through it because it's so awesome. 2018 NL MVP (should have been 2019 as well, was robbed), two NL Batting Titles, two NL All-Star games, three NL OF Silver Sluggers, NL Gold Glove, All-MLB First Team (19'). Career slash line of .301/.383/.492 w/ 139 HR, 124 SB, 137 OPS+, 33.6 WAR. When the Brewers traded for Yeli in January 2018 we all knew we were getting a really good player, with a ton of potential to be even better. And he has tapped into every bit of that potential his first two years in Milwaukee becoming the best player in the NL and pretty much the second best player in all of baseball only behind Mike Trout.

He loves Milwaukee, he has said that in countless interviews and wrote that tremendous piece in the Players Tribune before the 2018 playoff run. He wanted to be here and we now get to enjoy the ride as we watch a future Hall of Famer day in and day for many summers to come. He's a special player and a special person. I have all the faith in David Stearns, the entire front office and Craig Counsell that they will all do whatever they can to put a good team around him every season so that at some point during this contract they bring a World Series Championship to the state of Wisconsin. It is going to be a great nine plus years, so excited to go on this journey.

Episode 54 "David Riske Edition"

Breakdown of The Show:

Wild Card Mania Running Wild! 0:00-38:00
Break
NL MVP Race (Braun, Cutch, Posey) 38:00-58:00
Break
Preview/Chalet Award Winner 58:00-1:01:00

Stand By Your Man

I will never forget my close friend Aaron's 30th birthday party. Not just because it was landmark birthday for a dear friend of 10 years but because it was the night I felt like a kid again, when I learned their was no Santa Claus. That was my initial feeling and thought when a little before 7pm I seen the crawl at the bottom of ESPN on the muted TV flashed the breaking news. "Ryan Braun tested positive for PED's (of course ESPN called it PED's when in fact it was synthetic testosterone which is just a prohibited substance) in October and faces a 50 game suspension under the MLB drug testing policy." As people at the party were chatting and enjoying drinks and various hors d'oeuvres we quickly un-muted the TV to hear the horrible news. We were all in shock to say the least.

It wasn't long after that when the text messages and calls starting rolling in on my phone. Like I said, I was in shock, I felt like I just found out an awful secret that I never wanted to know. I felt, angry, mad, sad and almost betrayed all at once. But then I took a step back and thought about it. No way in hell Ryan Braun would do this. It's not possible. He is too smart, too good a guy and he would never let his family, friends, fans or the Milwaukee Brewers down like this. And I don't believe he did. Because something just is not right about this entire situation. And I plan to stand by Braun and feel he is innocent. I am fully in the #FreeRyanBraun movement that Vince at Miller Park Drunk has started. Even bought the shirt to prove it!

While Braun has not had a chance to speak publicly in a press conference yet because of the ongoing appeal, he has told people through text messages that it is "BS and he is 100% innocent." Various handlers of Braun have said the same. Saying things like "there has never been a case like this" and his positive test had very "unusual circumstances."

Another thing fishy about the test is that it found an insanely high level of testosterone, like too much for any human to have in their system. So it seems to be the entire situation is just not right. He did test positive, but the positive test seems to have a lot of oddness around it. And as soon as Braun was notified of the positive test, he asked for a retest. Sources close to Braun said the retest came back negative. However it is not clear if the retest was of the "B" sample of the original or a new sample that Braun gave at a later date. This is why people should not be jumping to conclusions that Braun is guilty. There is way to much stuff out there that points to his innocence and all the facts do not seem to be in yet. Not to mention the fact that Braun has undergone testing since he was drafted in 2005 and never once had a positive test. And that includes at least two tests during the 2011 regular season. So if you are one of the people calling for Braun to be stripped of his NL MVP award, just knock it off and come down from Mt. Pius. That is not happening nor should it.

Look, I might just be ignorant to the entire thing and I sure am a little biased. But I am going to stand by Ryan Braun through this ordeal and I do believe he is 100% innocent. Nothing he has done or said in his entire career point to him doing something like this. It's just not him. Everything he does he thinks about before he does it and is as smart and savvy as any athlete I have ever seen. So why would he take anything illegal or banned by MLB? And come on, Ryan even said it himself a few years back. If he took any PED's or steroids, he would hit 60 or 70 HR's. Last time I checked he never hit more than 37 in a season. Oh and one more thing, when Ryan is found innocent, I want those hacks at ESPN to issue public apologies and kiss Braun's ass. Fact is, none of us should know about this right now. Privacy was breached before this whole ordeal was wrapped up. It's bullshit. And expect Braun to play with a MASSIVE chip on his shoulder in 2012, monster year coming up and another division title for the Crew.

-Jason

VFBC Podcast Episode 34 "Rollie Fingers Edition"

Breakdown of The Show:

Ryan Braun, NL MVP! :00-18:59
Break
SS Search Update 19:54-37:19
Break
Greinke & Marcum Extension Talk 38:11-56:13
Break
News & Notes (40 Man Roster, Sveum, Melvin, Kotsay) 57:15-1:16:51

VFBC Staff 2011 NL Award Ballots

Jason

NL MVP:
1. Ryan Braun
2. Matt Kemp
3. Justin Upton
4. Prince Fielder
5. Joey Votto
6. Troy Tulowitzki
7. Clayton Kershaw
8. Albert Pujols
9. Roy Halladay
10. Jose Reyes

NL Cy Coung:
1. Clayton Kershaw
2. Roy Halladay
3. Cliff Lee
4. Cole Hamels
5. John Axford

NL ROY:
1. Craig Kimbrel
2. Freddie Freeman
3. Wilson Ramos

Alex

NL MVP:
1. Ryan Braun
2. Matt Kemp
3. Prince Fielder
4. Clayon Kershaw
5. Albert Pujols
6. Roy Halladay
7. Joey Votto
8. Cliff Lee
9. Justin Upton
10. Craig Kimbrel

NL Cy Young:
1. Clayton Kershaw
2. Roy Halladay
3. Cliff Lee
4. Ian Kennedy
5. Cole Hamels

NL ROY:
1. Craig Kimbrel
2. Freddie Freeman
3. Brandon Beachy

Brad

NL MVP:

1. Ryan Braun

2. Matt Kemp

3. Prince Fielder

4. Lance Berkman

5. Troy Tulowitzki

6. Albert Pujols

7. Justin Upton

8. Joey Votto

9. Shane Victorino

10. Clayton Kershaw

NL Cy Young:

1. Clayton Kershaw

2. Roy Halladay

3. Cliff Lee

4. Ian Kennedy

5. John Axford

NL ROY:

1. Craig Kimbrel

2. Freddie Freeman

3. Vance Worley

VFBC Podcast Episode 29 "Chris Bosio Edition"

Breakdown of The Show:

Braun joins 30/30 Club, Batting Title/MVP Ahead? :00-16:17
Break
Lining Up Playoff Rotation 17:32-31:46
Break
Minor League Wrap 32:33-49:40
Break
Preview/Around NL Central/Chalet Award Winner 50:39-1:03:33

VFBC Podcast Episode 15

Breakdown of The Show:

8-1 Homestand! :00-18:49
Break
Ryan Braun MVP Candidate 19:53-32:44
Break
Gallardo's Turnaround 33:49-46:42
Break
Preview Week Ahead/Around NL Central/Brewer of The Week 48:08-57:31

First Ever Reader Poll Results And NL MVP Voting

In View From Bernie's Chalet's first ever reader poll we asked, who would you most want to see a bobblehead of in 2009. Here were the results:

Yovani Gallardo: 43% (7 votes)
Doug Melvin: 25% (4 votes)
Jason Kendall: 25% (4 votes)
Mark Attanasio: 6% (1 vote)
Mike Cameron: 0% (0 votes)

No real surprise, I figured most would want to see a Gallardo bobblehead. I know that would have been my vote. Although I would be torn for second between Melvin and Attanasio. Both of those would be solid choices. Attanasio already has one, but it was very limited and only given to Brewers employees. They usually go for over $100 more often in the $200 range. Go ahead and vote for our second reader poll which is up now.

A couple of Brewers were finalists for the MVP award in the NL. Ryan Braun got 3rd place and CC Sabathia came in 6th. Both were very deserving of getting votes, no doubt about that. CC very well could have been the most valuable player to any team in either league. What he did down the stretch pitching on 3 days rest 3 times was nuts and without him they may not have won the Wild Card. Braun also was deserving, and I honestly think had he not gotten hurt and continued to put up the numbers he was on pace to put up he may have beaten out the Cardinals Albert Pooh-Holes who took the award for the 2nd time in his career. Personally I hate Pooh-Holes, especially after that fiasco in St. Louis with him thinking he is the baseball ethics police now. But man he had an outstanding year and he was fantastic for my fantasy team. Somehow I was able to draft him 12th overall in the 1st round in my draft. I don't know how 11 people passed on him, maybe is was the concern for his injured elbow. I doubt he lasts that long in my fantasy draft for 2009.