As the same-name theory goes ...

How exactly did Ryan Braun establish himself as the greatest hitter ever in such a short period of time?

MLB.com's resident seer and same-name theorist, Dave Feldman, got to the bottom of Braun's Brauniness and unlocked the origin of Braundom in a very Braunian edition of Unusual Suspects last September 5.

According to Feldman, "On May 26, a single day after Ryan Braun the hitter made his debut, Ryan Braun the pitcher imploded by allowing five earned runs in two short innings as his ERA skyrocketed to 7.94 in what was easily his worst outing of the season. In fact, during the Braunian Era, the Royals reliever's ERA sits at a paltry 7.15, compared to the 4.82 mark he posted before his hot-shot namesake got the call."

True to the prophecy, things continued to spiral out of control for Ryan Braun the pitcher, whose After Braun earned run average (ABERA) climbed to 7.20 by the end of 2007. Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, he was optioned to Triple-A during Spring Training and may never see a big league mound again.

Which, as the theory goes, virtually guarantees the continued ascent of Ryan Braun the hitter.

Braunspeed,

Dean