Ryan Braun has no animosity toward Cubs

Jul/16/08 08:31 PM Filed in: Ryan Braun
RyanBraun
NEW YORK - Milwaukee outfielder Ryan Braun found his locker located in a corner of the visitors' clubhouse at Yankee Stadium, surrounded by a group of Cubs.

"Yeah, it turns out the Cubs are nice guys," Braun said. "That's unfortunate."

While he's more than ready to fight the Cubs for the Central Division lead in a big showdown at Miller Park in a couple of weeks, Braun is glad he got a chance to get to know some of them.

"To hate 'em, it'd be real easy," he said. "But they're a bunch of great guys, great players and we really enjoy the rivalry and the atmosphere."

After coming back to beat the Cubs on May 1 at Wrigley Field, Braun and his fellow Brewer outfielders Mike Cameron and Corey Hart got together in the outfield and jumped into each other in midair. It was seen by some as a shot at the Cubs' outfielders, who have been doing the same thing since early 2007.

But Braun insists the Brewers didn't steal the idea from the Cubs, who never patented the "jump" anyway.

"Nah, that was just kind of our thing," Braun said. "Our newest thing is we all untuck our jerseys when we get the third out [in a victory]. We still do that, and do the jump/high-five. But it's based on whether we're winning or losing games. If something works, we stick with it. It had nothing to do with the Cubs."

(chicagotribune.com)