Ryan Braun Demands That the Brewers Make a Trade

Don't get nervous, Brewers fans, Ryan Braun isn't asking out of Milwaukee. Quite the opposite, actually. He's asking that general manager Doug Melvin try to pull off something like he did a year ago Tuesday when the Brewers landed CC Sabathia in a deal that helped propel them to the postseason for the first time since 1982.

The timing of Braun's request is understandable. The Brewers just dropped three of four games at Wrigley Field to the recently revived Cubs, and two of those games featured poor starts from Mike Burns and Seth McClung. Those aren't names you'll find starting games for too many playoff teams, something Braun would like the Brewers to be this season.

Braun pointed out the advantage the Cubs hold in starting pitching, and then made his plea to Melvin for help from outside the organization.

"I wish I got to make decisions like that," Braun said with a smile. "I wish I was in those conversations. I know he's trying to make our ball club better. I know he recognizes the importance of making a move and making it soon. ... To show everybody we're for real, we can go out there and make a move and improve our ball club. We want to head in the right direction, not the wrong direction."

You could moan about Braun throwing his teammates under the bus by slagging on the pitching and then talking trade with the media, but he's only being honest. The Brewers need help for a pitching staff that isn't getting the job done, and waiting too long to do something about it will sink their season.

Braun can't possibly think that there's a Sabathia-sized addition walking through the door again this season, but the Brewers actually need a replacement for the other starter who left after 2008. Yovani Gallardo has the ace job nailed down, which leaves an opening for a sidekick to do what Ben Sheets did for Sabathia last season. That's where the Brewers have suffered the greatest dropoff, and why they'll be kicking themselves if this season ends at Game 162.