MILWAUKEE - This time, Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun is a year older and a year wiser.

Voted an All-Star Game starter for the second straight year, the 25-year-old Braun said he knows how to better manage his time for the three-day affair in St. Louis.

"Last year, it really was overwhelming," said Braun, one of three Brewers named to the National League team for the 80th All-Star Game, 7 p.m. today at Busch Stadium.

Last year, Braun and teammates Ben Sheets, a right-handed pitcher, and right fielder Corey Hart were front and center for the festivities commemorating the final year of historic Yankee Stadium at the 79th All-Star Game. A first-time All-Star, Braun competed in the Home Run Derby and nearly ran himself ragged taking part in more activities than he cares to remember.

"The whole experience is a little bit overwhelming," Braun said. "Everything was new. I was all over the place. I had a lot of family with me, a lot of friends with me. I didn't know when I was supposed to be where and how to figure out, I guess you could call it time management more than anything. Knowing what to expect this year, I'll be able to enjoy it a little more."

For the second straight year, Braun was one of three Brewers named to the NL All-Star team. First baseman Prince Fielder, among the league leaders in home runs and RBIs, earned his second All-Star honor (he was an All-Star in 2007) and relief pitcher Trevor Hoffman, baseball's all-time saves leader, earned his

seventh All-Star honor when he was chosen to the team Sunday as a replacement for injured Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Jonathan Broxton.

Braun, who is hitting .310 with 16 home runs and 58 RBIs in 86 games, received the most votes of any NL outfielder (4,138,559) and was third overall in the NL and sixth in the majors in the voting by fans.

Braun, who will play right field and bat fourth in NL manager Charlie Manuel's lineup, is the first Brewer since Hall of Famer Robin Yount (1982-83) to start in consecutive All-Star Games.

"It really is amazing," Braun said. "Robin's probably the greatest Brewer of all time, so whenever you accomplish something that he accomplished, that really puts in perspective how difficult it is to do that. So, that makes it that much more special."

Compared to last year at the break, Braun's power numbers are down slightly - he had 23 home runs and 66 RBIs at the break last year - but Braun's average is up (.286 last year) and he entered the break in a bit of a slump (he was 1-for-14 in the three-game series against the Dodgers).

Throw in the recent "tongue lashing" he got from Brewers general manager Doug Melvin for his comments on the Brewers' struggles two weeks ago and Braun was ready for a break.

"I'm definitely looking forward to having a little bit of down time, let my body recover a little bit and come out and have a great second half," Braun said.

For Fielder, whose 22 home runs are fifth in the NL, the focus was on the Home Run Derby. In the All-Star Game at AT&T Park in San Francisco in 2007, Fielder didn't make it past the first round, finishing with just three home runs.

But the low-key Fielder said he intended to take a simple approach this time.

"I'm just going to try to hit it far," Fielder said. "I'm going to go for distance. It's like BP (batting practice). I don't see a strategy."

It worked as Fielder won the derby, beating Texas Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz.

As far as Brewers manager Ken Macha is concerned, no one is more deserving of the All-Star honor than Fielder, the Brewers' undisputed offensive leader. Not only is Fielder hitting .315, he also has 78 RBIs, second only to St. Louis Cardinals All-Star first baseman Albert Pujols' 87 in the NL this season. And Fielder has a .442 on-base percentage (he's got a team-high 67 walks) and a .614 slugging percentage.

"He's been a model of consistency this season," Macha said.

Like Braun, Fielder said it was an honor to be selected to his second All-Star team at such a young age.

"It feels really good to know that the hard work and stuff is paying off," Fielder said. "Hopefully, as I get more experience, I'll keep getting better and better."

For the 41-year-old Hoffman, this year's All-Star Game marks the first time he's going to the Midsummer Classic as something other than a San Diego Padre. Hoffman spent all but one of his first 17 years in the major leagues with the Padres, setting the record for career saves with 554. He signed a $6 million, one-year contract with the Brewers in January.

"It's a big honor to represent not only the Brewers, but also the Brewers' bullpen and what they've accomplished in the first half," said Hoffman, who is 20-for-22 in save opportunities this season and is 1-1 with a 2.05 ERA in 26 games. "The guys that do a lot of the grunt work don't get recognized. The guy at the end, the closer, reaps a lot of the reward for the work that they've done.

"Again, I think I share this (honor) and I've shared it in the past with the other guys in the bullpen."