Yardbarker: Russell Branyan

The Drill: Braun hits 39 homers. . . . in 2010

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:00:48 -0500

Included in "The Bill James Handbook 2010" are projections for regular major-league hitters and pitchers next season. James freely admits that his system of predicting future performance, based on the age of the player and his past performances, is not fail-safe. For example, he says he was way off with his 2009 projection for Russell Branyan of Seattle, formerly of the Milwaukee Brewers. But he is spot on with others. For example, he projected Mike Cameron of the Brewers ...

Discussion: Russell Branyan

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:53:52 -0500

On December 3rd, new Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik made his first free agent signing: Russell Branyan on a one-year, $1.4MM deal with $350K in incentives. Zduriencik said at the time he was prepared to "give Russell as many at-bats as he's had in his career." That held true, as Branyan racked up 505 plate appearances in 2009. The playing time led to a .251/.347/.520 line with a career-best 31 home runs. However, perhaps due to a back injury, Branyan was only productive for the...

Russell Branyan's Missing Games

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:29:10 -0500

More photos » by Elaine Thompson - AP Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki, left, demonstrates a proper pimp slapping technique to Russell Branyan. Browse more photos » On August 29th, Russell Branyan went on the disabled list with a herniated disk in his back. That may be the last we hear of him in connection with the Mariners. I hope not, but he is now a free agent so the possibility is a strong one. I was sad th...

Bolstering the Astros Infield - Pt. 3: Shortstop of the Future

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:40:38 -0500

When I mentioned in my last FanPost that I wanted to talk about some unlikely ideas that Wade probably won't take to, I was thinking more about converted first basemen like Russell Branyan. A bit of news on MLB Trade Rumors caught my eye, though, and changed my mind. Let's talk about shortstops. Chances are, Tommy Manzella will be the Astros shortstop next season. But what if Ed Wade decides to focus on the offense and let the pitching staff stand as it is? ...

It's a trap !!! Russell Branyan

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:57:00 -0500

Russell Branyan is just the type of trap that the Mets seem to always fall for, a guy who had the prospect tag but never lived up to expectations, finally puts up solid numbers and the Mets choose to see him as a late bloomer instead just having a career year...In 1997 at AAA Branyan hit .272 with 39 HRs and 105 RBIs, was nicknamed "Russell the Muscle" and was compared to Mark McGuire. But he never lived up to that billing, in 12 seasons he's only played in 882 games and only th...

Free Agent Adjustments: Russell Branyan

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 07:45:00 -0500

(For the last few weeks, I've been profiling some of the best free agents on the market this winter. At the end of each piece, I made a prediction regarding the type of contract the player could be in line to see. Obviously, these predictions have to be fluid because the season is still in progress. So which players have seen thier value change over the past few weeks? Let's take a look at the impending free agency of Russell Branyan.)Initial Prediction: (2 years/$15 million)When I po...

Free Agent to be Russell Branyan: Out for the Year?

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:15:00 -0500

And it looks like Russell Branyan's magical 2009 season has unfortunately come to a close. Injuries suck:"Wakamatsu said there is a strong possibility that Russell Branyan will not be back this season. Branyan is on the DL with a herniated disc in his back. The team is targeting a mid-month return in hopes he responds to treatment.Branyan had an epidural Tuesday and supposedly feels better, but nobody can say for sure when he'll be back."I think with the bulging disc, there&...

Our Team is Weird

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:34:57 -0500

With the current injuries to Russell Branyan, Adrian Beltre, and Ichiro, we’ve been putting out some of the worst lineups I’ve ever seen. We’re incredibly lucky that the brunt of these injuries has come during a homestand featuring the A’s and the Royals. But, even though both of those teams (especially the Royals) are terrible, [...]

Russell Branyan Rankings

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:41:12 -0500

We all know that signing Russell Branyan was an absolute bargain for the Mariners. We signed him for $1.4 million, and based on WAR he’s been worth $11.4 million – and it’s not even September yet. So no matter where he ranks among AL first basemen we should still be extremely happy to have him, [...]

Russell Branyan is Strong

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:58:10 -0500

I just can’t help but marvel at how ridiculously powerful Russell Branyan is. Of his 28 home runs (before today), only 5 of them have been under 400 feet. Now I would compare this to Jose Lopez, but it’s been done a million times, so I’ll compare it to Johnny Damon. Damon has probably been helped [...]

Free Agent at the End of the Season: Russell Branyan

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:10:00 -0500

***Can you believe that it's almost that time again? Time to think about the upcoming free agent class! We'll be highlighting the pros and cons of signing each free agent and at the end of each piece, we'll make a prediction, albeit a very early prediction, about what each guy could command on the market. Of course, these predictions are subject to change***At the beginning of the season, if you would have told me that Russell Branyan was going to be the Mariners first baseman thr...

M’s Take 3 Of 4 From Tribe

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 19:41:25 -0500

I only got to see the last couple innings of this game (I don’t like waking up at 10 during the Summer), but I’ll do my best to recap. The Mariners got ahead early on a Russell Branyan two run bomb and a Franklin Gutierrez RBI single. It was nice to see Branyan hit one out, [...]

Branyan signs with M’s

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:40:31 -0500

Russell Branyan has signed a one year contract with the Seattle Mariners. Branyan spent last season with the Milwaukee Brewers hitting .250/.342/.583 with 12 home runs in 132 at-bats. Branyan, 32, has bounced around between 7 teams. After starting his career with the Cleveland Indians, he has since played for the Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, San [...]

Jack's First Signing

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:36:51 -0500

Jack Zduriencik's first big-league free agent signing is apparently Russell Branyan. Branyan, 33 this month, hit .250/.342/.583 in a platoon type role for Milwaukee last season, and is a strong bet to at least hit for power versus right-handed pitching.