Milwaukee's Braun Will Skip Team's Fan Festival The Milwaukee Brewers said Ryan Braun, the 2011 National League most valuable player, would not attend the team's fan festival this Sunday because it was too "sensitive" a period for him. He awaits a decision of his appeal of a 50-game suspension under baseball's drug policy. The Brewers chairman and principal owner, Mark Attanasio, said in a statement Wednesday that Braun and the team "came to the conclusion that this is too sensitive of a time in the confidential process for him to attend this year." Braun's appeal was heard in New York last week. He stayed in the city to accept the M.V.P. award at a dinner Saturday but during his speech he referred to the possible suspension only in passing. LA RUSSA'S ALL-STAR HONOR Tony La Russa will become the second retired manager to lead an All-Star team next summer, joining the Hall of Famer John McGraw. La Russa concluded a 16-season run in St. Louis last October with the team's second World Series title in five years, stepping down after 33 seasons over all. Commissioner Bud Selig announced Tuesday that La Russa, 67, would manage the National League in this year's game July 10 in Kansas City. "Tony earned this opportunity with the remarkable run the Cardinals completed last October, and I am delighted that he shared my enthusiasm about staying in this role," Selig said in a statement. McGraw retired after the 1932 season and managed the National League in the first All-Star Game the next year. Danny Murtaugh managed the National League All-Star team in 1972 after stepping down following Pittsburgh's 1971 World Series title, but Major League Baseball does not consider him retired for that appearance because he managed the Pirates again from 1973 to 1976. This will be La Russa's sixth time managing an All-Star team, three in each league. CESPEDES CAN NEGOTIATE Major League Baseball has told teams that the Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes is eligible to negotiate with big-league teams. The commissioner's office notified clubs Wednesday, a day after Cespedes established legal residency in the Dominican Republic. Because he is a Cuban national who has established residency in another country, Cespedes cannot complete a contract until he obtains an unblocking license from the federal Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control,