Two final (for now) thoughts on Ryan Braun

The past few days have been miserable times for Brewers Nation. Dropping 3 of 4 to the Padres did not help, but most of the misery can be pinned on Ryan Braun. There is not much more to be said until he tells his story, so until then I have two final thoughts on the matter.

1) Prediction: Ryan Braun will win back Milwaukee

Braun's victory speech has evolved from a triumphant display of innocence to a severe indictment of character. However, what hasn't changed is the quality of the speech. He was passionate, eloquent, and convincing. I, along with many others, believed every word he said even though in retrospect there was strong evidence to the contrary. He may have lost the public's trust, but his public speaking skills are still present. I expect him to give a sincere and detailed press conference before the 2014 season that will reclaim a significant portion of the goodwill he completely lost. I also expect him to rake and help the Brewers win games, which won't hurt.

2) Let us never boo again

Both statements about John Axford are true: 1) He's one of my all-time favorite Brewers, and 2) He was a primary culprit in the Brewers missing the 2012 playoffs.

Regarding (2), his epic mid-season meltdown was horrifically painful to watch. It eventually led to boos, embarrassing Twitter spats, and excessive frustration towards someone trying his best. I'm aware players do not get trophies in MLB for playing hard and being generally cool dudes, but they should receive a basic level of courtesy provided they're otherwise ethical people. While Ryan Braun earned the boos he'll hear for the rest of his career, Axford did not. If there's a silver lining to the Braun saga it's that in the grand scheme of things, blowing saves (or otherwise slumping) is not that bad. As fans we're better off remembering this important fact and supporting players when the need it most.

Regarding (1), Axford has a 1.69 ERA since May 1. His recovery from a checkered 2012 and dreadful April has been awesome to watch. I'm thrilled to see him earn his contract and I hope to have him back for 2014. I like focusing on cool stuff like this, and that's what I'm going to do starting at the end of this sentence. Period.