Ryan Braun Wins Appeal

[MerrittsMustache]

Bad example.  Miranda rights implies due process. In drug testing, there is no due process.

IOW, if you robbed the bank, it's not considered a "technicality" if the prosecutor can't identify who to charge.

Fair enough. My point is that if I commit a crime but go free because of a technicality, that doesn't mean I didn't commit the crime.

[GGGG]

Merritt's, as a Brewer fan, I think that is a pretty fair assessment of what might have occurred.  However I do think that numerous players do, and have done, the same thing.  Now that is not meant as an excuse to say "well everyone does it so therefore he shouldn't get in trouble."  But I do think that it is unfair to "forever be considered a cheater," based upon what you think is "one lapse in judgement."  IMO there is a difference between chronic use and a one-time lapse...if that is indeed what happened here.  Only time will tell.

[Benny B]

Merritt's, as a Brewer fan, I think that is a pretty fair assessment of what might have occurred.  However I do think that numerous players do, and have done, the same thing.  Now that is not meant as an excuse to say "well everyone does it so therefore he shouldn't get in trouble."  But I do think that it is unfair to "forever be considered a cheater," based upon what you think is "one lapse in judgement."  IMO there is a difference between chronic use and a one-time lapse...if that is indeed what happened here.  Only time will tell.

I still find it highly ironic - perhaps somewhat questionable - that MLB was actually advertising prescription testosterone during the postseason last year.  That says all you need to know about the hypocrisy of MLB's "drugs are bad" stance.

It's unfortunate that - regardless of whether Braun did or didn't - Sultan's intuition is not unique in baseball... far from it, in fact.  Take synthetic testosterone as an example -- evidently, the stuff can clear out of your system within a matter of days, maybe a week?  Here MLB has a drug testing policy where a player - who hasn't tested positive previously - might only be tested twice a season.  So over a span of 240 days (spring training through postseason) if you take ST once to help with recovery from an injury, you have a window of 3 or so days where you'd test positive, and if you're tested twice a year at random, you have only a 1 in 40 chance of being tested within your "window."  Those are pretty decent odds for guys with millions of dollars on the line.

Of course, this is one grossly oversimplified, arbitrary example... nevertheless, in the new "PED-free" era, we're not seeing the power like we did a few years ago, but we are seeing amazingly-fast recoveries and players returning from injuries much sooner than they normally would/should -- Albert Pujols' injury last year is one that sticks out in particular.  Does one positive test then make Braun a cheater?  Technically, yes.  Relatively speaking, probably not.

You can dislike Braun for whatever reason you want... you can be a Matt Kemp fan, maybe you're a Cub fan, perhaps you're just feeling anti-Semetic today; but if you're going to call Braun a cheater, then you better be prepared to call half of your own players cheaters, too, because if Braun is indeed guilty, then I would be willing to bet that at least 50% of active players have used a banned substance since MLB's current policy went into effect a few years back.

[MerrittsMustache]

I still find it highly ironic - perhaps somewhat questionable - that MLB was actually advertising prescription testosterone during the postseason last year.  That says all you need to know about the hypocrisy of MLB's "drugs are bad" stance.

It's unfortunate that - regardless of whether Braun did or didn't - Sultan's intuition is not unique in baseball... far from it, in fact.  Take synthetic testosterone as an example -- evidently, the stuff can clear out of your system within a matter of days, maybe a week?  Here MLB has a drug testing policy where a player - who hasn't tested positive previously - might only be tested twice a season.  So over a span of 240 days (spring training through postseason) if you take ST once to help with recovery from an injury, you have a window of 3 or so days where you'd test positive, and if you're tested twice a year at random, you have only a 1 in 40 chance of being tested within your "window."  Those are pretty decent odds for guys with millions of dollars on the line.

Of course, this is one grossly oversimplified, arbitrary example... nevertheless, in the new "PED-free" era, we're not seeing the power like we did a few years ago, but we are seeing amazingly-fast recoveries and players returning from injuries much sooner than they normally would/should -- Albert Pujols' injury last year is one that sticks out in particular.  Does one positive test then make Braun a cheater?  Technically, yes.  Relatively speaking, probably not.

You can dislike Braun for whatever reason you want... you can be a Matt Kemp fan, maybe you're a Cub fan, perhaps you're just feeling anti-Semetic today; but if you're going to call Braun a cheater, then you better be prepared to call half of your own players cheaters, too, because if Braun is indeed guilty, then I would be willing to bet that at least 50% of active players have used a banned substance since MLB's current policy went into effect a few years back.

If Pujols tested positive for a banned substance, I wouldn't be surprised. If Kerry Wood, one of my all-time favorite Cubs, admitted to taking a banned substance to help recover from his injuries, I wouldn't be surprised. Honestly, I can't think of anyone who would surprise me if he got caught or admitted using. The fact of the matter is that an overwhelming majority of PED users never got caught or will never get caught so for those players all we have are educated guesses and skepticism. Braun got caught which removes all doubt. He cheated. Do I think he cheated as often or as blatantly as some other players? No. But he still cheated, which makes him a cheater.

[Chicago_inferiority_complexes]

Merritt, if you say it enough times hopefully it will become true.

[MUBurrow]

I dont understand the people trying to invalidate MM's position. A year ago this time, most Braun supporters would have agreed with him.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Just to be clear: If Ryan Braun hits 40 homers this year, it means he didn't test positive?

I'm not sure I see it.

By that logic, if Braun goes on the DL with a nagging injury, does that mean he was using something last year?

[Benny B]

I dont understand the people trying to invalidate MM's position. A year ago this time, most Braun supporters would have agreed with him.

Again - irrespective of whether Braun did or didn't - my point was that MLB is full of cheaters.  There are plenty of guys in the HOF who are known cheaters... there will be more.  It doesn't matter whether you steal signs, tar your glove, use PED's, stand outside the coach's box, get a bogus ADHD diagnosis from a physician, slide spikes up, or have a "momentary lapse in judgement," you're still violating the game.  Cheating may have evolved over time, but it's always been a part of the game... baseball "historians" even tried to cheat Alexander Cartwright out of his legacy.  It's just baseball's thing.

To expand on Sultan's point, whether Braun is a chronic cheater or a one-time moron remains to be seen, but that is what should define his legacy.  I simply expanded on the point by implying that there's nothing pejorative about calling a player a cheater.  I don't disagree with MM's underlying sentiment; however, if I'm attempting to invalidate anything, it's the connotation of the word "cheater" in the context which MM's is using.

[GGGG]

Gaylord Perry was ejected, and suspended, for doctoring a ball in 1982.  He is a "known cheater."  However, despite this, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1991.  (Many people dispute that he should have been elected, but that is based on his on-field performance, not the fact that he cheated.)  Now if Perry had been repeatedly been suspended for doctoring a ball, he would have been viewed as a chronic cheater and likely would not have made the Hall of Fame. 

If Braun stays clean the rest of his career, and he continues on the same arc he is now, this incident will likely be a footnote to what is a great career.  If there are other incidents, he will likely have a big black mark that will be hard to shake.  Only time will tell.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Gaylord Perry was ejected, and suspended, for doctoring a ball in 1982.  He is a "known cheater."  However, despite this, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1991.  (Many people dispute that he should have been elected, but that is based on his on-field performance, not the fact that he cheated.)  Now if Perry had been repeatedly been suspended for doctoring a ball, he would have been viewed as a chronic cheater and likely would not have made the Hall of Fame. 

If Braun stays clean the rest of his career, and he continues on the same arc he is now, this incident will likely be a footnote to what is a great career.  If there are other incidents, he will likely have a big black mark that will be hard to shake.  Only time will tell.

It's more than a black mark. It's a screaming red flag.

Pretending you got hit by a pitch, acting safe when you were out, running out a dropped third strike that the catcher actually caught, Gaylord Perry doctoring the ball....flopping in basketball...are examples of deceit. Injecting yourself with PEDs is cheating. Big difference.

Only fans in Milwaukee think Braun is clean. Players know differently.

[GGGG]

It's more than a black mark. It's a screaming red flag.

Pretending you got hit by a pitch, acting safe when you were out, running out a dropped third strike that the catcher actually caught, Gaylord Perry doctoring the ball....flopping in basketball...are examples of deceit. Injecting yourself with PEDs is cheating. Big difference.

Only fans in Milwaukee think Braun is clean. Players know differently.

I never said I thought Braun was clean.  I think I made that point pretty clear earlier.  I was pointing out an relevant, non PED example.  Doctoring a baseball isn't simple deceit....it is cheating, and something he was ejected and suspended for.