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| Ryan Braun |
Ryan Braun got a reality check on Sunday as hecklers razzed the Brewers outfielder during his first trip to home plate in Maryvale. A relatively small Giants crowed quickly drowned out Milwaukee supporters as Braun took his first at-bat of the 2012 season. The hecklers were making comments related to the urine test. One angry fan went so far as to call Braun a cheater, others tried to get a change going with the words “Urine sample!” A larger portion of the 6,000 in attendance were Brewers supporters, happily greeting Braun with a standing ovation during his first at-bat. Brewers tickets for Maryvale, Miller Park and on the road are available now.
The charges of using a banned substance were ultimately dropped by an appeals court, but it seems that the foundation is already set for a year of mockery. A cloud of doubt looms above the case, with critics pointing out that Braun was never formally cleared of actually ingesting any banned substance. Instead, the panel found that he couldn't be held accountable, even if he had knowingly taken performance enhancing drugs, because of the mishandling of the test sample.
Braun Strikes Out
Braun could have sent the ill behaved fans home without satisfaction, but the jeers clearly had an impact on his performance. A pair of strike outs was all that the slugger could manage in his two at-bats. He was replaced by Norichicka Aoki, who made his debut in a Brewers uniform, in the outfield. Aoki fared no better than Braun at the plate, also going 0-2 on the night.
The worst news for Braun is that this is just the beginning. Come the regular season, tens-of-thousands of angry fans will pack opposing parks. They hope to get into the head the 2011 league MVP. Breaking free of that mental block will be one of Braun's most crucial goals of the preseason.
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