2015 MLB Season Thread

[GGGG]

Fair enough.  Didn't see that.  I guess my point is if this surgery was such a "huge difference" (it says it right in the title of the article) shouldn't Brauny be back to the .310 career hitter he was and not be needing to take 4 days off monhtly or bi-monthly?  He's at .258(?) right now and heading downward.  Every time he starts to struggle are we going to see another surgical procedure to cure the thumb where he has to sit out a week?

Thank god we chose to give him 1/5 of the organization's payroll.

Look we know you don't like the guy.  No reason to go further than that.

[NavinRJohnson]

God I love Braun.  Gets hot, everything feels great, the procedure worked, he's healed and good to go...cools down, all of a sudden the procedure has a "shelf life," the thumb is a problem again, time for another procedure.  This is awesome.  Going to be fun seeing him out of the lineup a week at a time every month (aka, every time he gets cold).

Happened to be looking at the Brewers stats today (God help me.), and got to thinking about the stupid, nonsensical argument above. The guy who takes himself out of the lineup every time he gets cold, leads the Brewers in games played, games started, innings played, and Plate appearances (those numbers also put him in the top 5-10% among all NL players). The massive two game layoff that prompted your odd little rant (and was planned), was preceded by playing in 34 consecutive games, yet he is hitting a whopping .261 on the season, so apparently your definition of getting cold, and his must differ significantly, because he's been cold more than he's been hot, yet there he is in the lineup every day.

You don't like the guy, we get it, but why choose to completely make up some mythical, non-existent reason to criticize him? The only person you make look bad is yourself.

[wadesworld]

Happened to be looking at the Brewers stats today (God help me.), and got to thinking about the stupid, nonsensical argument above. The guy who takes himself out of the lineup every time he gets cold, leads the Brewers in games played, games started, innings played, and Plate appearances (those numbers also put him in the top 5-10% among all NL players). The massive two game layoff that prompted your odd little rant (and was planned), was preceded by playing in 34 consecutive games, yet he is hitting a whopping .261 on the season, so apparently your definition of getting cold, and his must differ significantly, because he's been cold more than he's been hot, yet there he is in the lineup every day.

You don't like the guy, we get it, but why choose to completely make up some mythical, non-existent reason to criticize him? The only person you make look bad is yourself.

I guess you missed how white hot he was from May 6 until the month of May.  Check when he got cold and when his procedure was planned and get back to me.

Not to mention, you just went back 8 days to bring this back up.

[NavinRJohnson]

I guess you missed how white hot he was from May 6 until the month of May.  Check when he got cold and when his procedure was planned and get back to me.

Yep, and the season started on April 1st. I guess he decided not to fake an injury that first month and a half when he hit .222 because he knew you were onto him. Again, your assertion that he fakes an injury when he's cold (and the entire Brewer organization, and the media covering the team is in on it) could not possibly be more stupid.

If your  tinfoil hat theory is correct, explain to me why on earth didn't he take himself out of the lineup with a fake injury on/before May 5th, when he was at a season low .222?

[brandx]

I guess you missed how white hot he was from May 6 until the month of May.  Check when he got cold and when his procedure was planned and get back to me.

Not to mention, you just went back 8 days to bring this back up.

The procedure was planned ahead of time.

[NavinRJohnson]

Check when he got cold and when his procedure was planned and get back to me.

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/06/03/ryan-braun-leaves-brewers-to-undergo-cryotherapy/

Doh!

Im sure it's also pure coincidence he missed games around an off day too, huh?

[GGGG]

You are expecting HOT SPORTS TAKES!!!! to be logical????

Silly Navin....

[wadesworld]

You are expecting HOT SPORTS TAKES!!!! to be logical????

Silly Navin....

Says the guy who responds to everything I say. Don't like it? Don't respond. Not very hard concept. But you and reinko seem to have trouble with it.

 

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/06/03/ryan-braun-leaves-brewers-to-undergo-cryotherapy/

Doh!

Im sure it's also pure coincidence he missed games around an off day too, huh?

...uhh, that says exactly what I said. Hahaha. You just sited an article dated June 3 saying he had hit .293 since the start of May (see: May 6). Thanks for confirming what I just told you.

He hit .293 since exactly when I said, so not exactly cold all year like you said. Check out Braun's numbers the 7 games before the procedure. Or don't. But here's a hint: they ain't pretty.

Thanks for counting up the number of straight games he had played in. Guess what? He was as hot as you could be in that stretch! And when he got cold to end the month and start June? He's out of the lineup! Like I've said all along, and like you've argued he doesn't do! Hahahaha!

Thank you, Benny, for proving my exact point.

DOH!

I'll tell you what, believe Ryan Braun. Believe this guy.

"I want to say thanks to (Brewers vice president of communications) Tyler Barnes. I want to say a special thank you to Michael Weiner and the players association for supporting me through this situation and through this challenge. I want to thank the entire Milwaukee Brewers organization starting with Mark Attanasio, who truly represents everything that’s good about our game today. I want to thank my teammates, many of whom are here today and have supported me through this entire situation. I want to thank my family, my friends, a lot of other players around the league who have supported me and were there for me and who have stood by me throughout the biggest challenge I’ve ever faced in my life. I also want to thank athletes in other sports who have stepped up, shown their support and been there for me. I want to take a moment to especially thank the fans, all the fans who have supported me as well as the fans who withheld judgment as I respected the confidentiality of this case."

"As I’ve previously stated, this is without a doubt the biggest challenge I’ve ever faced in my life, and it’s made it that much more challenging that I’ve had to deal with it publicly. But I truly view this challenge as an opportunity, just as I’ve viewed every other challenge in my life – as an opportunity. I’ve tried to respect this process, even though the confidentiality of the process was breached early on. I’ve tried to handle the entire situation with honor, with integrity, with class, with dignity and with professionalism because that’s who I am and that’s how I’ve always lived my life.

"If I had done this intentionally or unintentionally, I’d be the first one to step up and say, ‘I did it.’ By no means am I perfect, but if I’ve ever made any mistakes in my life I’ve taken responsibility for my actions. I truly believe in my heart, and I would bet my life, that this substance never entered my body at any point.

"I’ve always had tremendous respect for the game of baseball, and part of the reason that I’ve kept quiet throughout the course of this ordeal, and part of the reason why I won’t be able to get into all the details today, is to put the best interests of the game ahead of the best interests of myself. And that hasn’t been easy. There were a lot of times when I wanted to come out and tell the entire story, to attack everybody as I’ve been attacked, as my name’s been dragged through the mud as everything I’ve worked for my entire life was called into question. There were a lot of times I wanted to come out, tell the entire story, but at the end of the day I recognized what’s actually best for the game of baseball and I put that ahead of what was actually best for myself.

"I could have never, ever envisioned being in this position today discussing this subject with you guys. But I truly believe that everything in life happens for a reason. I learned a long time ago to stop questioning life. I believe that everything that’s thrown at us we’re able to handle, and there’s a reason for it. I have yet to figure out exactly what the reason for this is, but I don’t question that.

"I’ve always stood up for what is right. Today is about everybody who’s been wrongly accused, and everybody who’s ever had to stand up for what is actually right. Today isn’t about me, it isn’t just about one player – it’s about all players. It’s about all current players, all future players and everybody who plays the game of baseball.

"Despite the fact there have been many inaccurate, erroneous and completely fabricated stories regarding this issue, I’ve maintained the integrity of the confidentiality of the process. There’s never been a personal medical issue, I’ve never had an STD. Many of the stories that were erroneously reported by the initial network continue to live on, and it’s sad and disappointing that this has become a PR battle and that people continue to leak information that’s inaccurate.

"I will continue to take the high road because that’s who I am, and that’s the way that I’ve lived my life. We won because the truth is on my side. The truth is always relevant, and at the end of the day the truth prevailed. I am a victim of a process that completely broke down and failed the way it was applied to me in this case. As players, we’re held to a standard of 100 percent perfection regarding the program, and everybody else associated with that program should be held to the same standard. We’re a part of a process where you’re 100 percent guilty until proven innocent. It’s opposite of the American judicial system – it’s not an innocent until proven guilty situation. So if we’re held to that standard, it’s only fair that everybody else is held to that exact same standard. With what’s at stake – this is my livelihood, this is my integrity, this is my character, this is everything that I’ve worked for in my life being called into question – we need to make sure that we get it right. If you’re going to be in a position where you’re 100 percent guilty until proven innocent, you can’t mess up. And today’s about making sure that this never happens to anybody else who plays this game.

"The system in the way it was applied to me in this case was fatally flawed. The initial test result in question was on Oct. 1. It was a playoff game. I was made aware of the positive test result on Oct. 19, at which point I had a conversation with the players association. I expressed to them that I have not done anything that could have possibly led to this test result. I told them that I promise you on anything that’s ever meant anything to me in my life – the morals, the values, the virtues by which I’ve lived in my 28 years on this planet – I did not do this. I told them that I would be an open book. I opened up my life to them. I told them I would be more than happy and willing to take any and every test to prove that I did not do this.

"You know, the entire process has really been frustrating for me. It’s been an extremely difficult, challenging time in my life. But at the end of the day, I know the truth. My friends, family, teammates, Milwaukee Brewers organization and everybody who knows me knows the truth. At the point that I told the players association about the positive test, they told me that the test result was three times higher than any number in the history of drug testing. We’ve had this program since, I believe, 2003 or 2004. I don’t know how many tens of thousands of tests there have been. But the fact that there’s a single number that’s three times higher than any number in the history of drug testing made me question the validity of the result. At that point, I was able to prove to them through contemporaneously documented recordings that I literally didn’t gain a single pound. When we’re in Milwaukee we weigh in at least once or twice a week. I was able to prove that I literally didn’t gain a single pound. Our times are recorded every time we run down the line, first to third, first to home. I literally didn’t get one-tenth of a second faster. My workouts have been virtually the exact same for six years. I didn’t get one percent stronger. I didn’t work out any more often. I didn’t have any additional power or any additional arm strength. All of those things are documented contemporaneously, and if anything had changed, I wouldn’t be able to go back and pretend like it didn’t change.

"I initially took a humanistic approach and explained to them, ‘I’m 27 years old, I’m just entering my prime, I have a contract guaranteed for nine more years. I’ve been tested 25 times over the course of my career, at least three times this season prior to this test, and an additional time when I signed my contract, including an extensive physical, blood test – everything you could imagine. I’ve never had any issue. There is no evidence to suggest otherwise, and they said, ‘That’s great, we believe you. In fact, the other side believes you. None of this makes any sense to anybody.’ At that point they explained to me the way that the process works, and that the burden of proof falls on us to be able to prove objectively what caused the positive test result, or what could have went wrong during the process that could have possibly led to the positive test result.

"So at that point, we start looking into the process. It states in the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment program that all samples shall be taken immediately to FedEx on the day they’re collected absent unusual circumstances. The reason that this is important, typically the only two people in the world who know whose sample it is are us, the donor, and the collector, who receives our urine samples. In my case there was an additional third person, the son of the collector, who just so happened to be the my chaperone on the day that I was tested. The day of the test we had a 1 o’clock game. I provided my sample at about 4:30. There were two other players who provided their samples that day within 10 minutes of mine. The collector left the field at about 5 o’clock. There were at least five FedEx locations within five miles of the stadium that were open until 9 p.m. and an additional FedEx location that was open for 24 hours. There were upwards of 18 or 19 FedEx locations that were open between the ballpark and his house that he could have dropped the samples off at.

"When FedEx received the samples, it then creates a chain of custody at the FedEx location where he eventually brought my sample to. It would have been stored in a temperature-controlled environment, and FedEx is used to handling clinical packaging. But most importantly, you then would become a number and no longer a name. So when we provide our samples, there is a number and no longer a name associated with the sample. That way there can’t be any bias – whether it’s with FedEx, while it’s traveling, at the lab in Montreal, in any way – based on somebody’s race, religion, ethnicity, what team they play for, whatever the case may be. As players, the confidentiality of this process is extremely important. It’s always been extremely important, because the only way for the process to succeed is for the confidentiality and the chain of custody to work.

"Why he didn’t bring it in, I don’t know. On the day that he did finally bring it in, FedEx opened at 7:30. Why didn’t he bring it in until 1:30? I can’t answer that question. Why was there zero documentation? What could have possibly happened to it during that 44-hour period? There were a lot of things that we learned about the collector, about the collection process, about the way that the entire thing worked that made us very concerned and very suspicious about what could have actually happened.

"I want everybody to ask themselves this question: if you guys went to go get a physical, something you’ve done 20-25 other times in your life, and three weeks later and told you that you were terminally ill with a disease, and it made no sense to you. ‘I feel perfectly fine, nothing’s any different than it’s ever been, this doesn’t make any sense,’ and you look back at the process and you find out that your doctor decided to take your urine sample home for a 44-, 48-hour period, there’s no documentation as to what happened. You don’t know if he left it in the trunk of his car, you don’t know where it could have been or what could have potentially happened to it during that period of time. I can assure you that you would never go back to that doctor, and you would demand a re-test.

"When our samples get to the lab in Montreal, they literally handle them like it’s a nuclear weapon. Everything is documented, everything is recorded. Anybody who enters the room where the samples are stored, their names are recorded, they sign for it, they write the time that they’re there. The model of the refrigerator they’re stored in is recorded, the temperature it’s stored at is recorded. Every time they move it, it’s all documented. Contemporaneously documented, and that’s important, again, with what’s at stake – our livelihoods, our integrity, everything we’ve ever worked for in our lives, it’s extremely important that there isn’t room for human error or systematic error.

"We spoke to biochemists and scientists and we asked them, ‘How difficult would it be to tamper with somebody’s sample?’ And their response was that, ‘If they were motivated, it would be extremely easy.’ Again, that’s why it’s so important to get it out of the hands of the only person in the world who knows whose sample it is. As soon as it gets to FedEx, they don’t know whose sample it is. As soon as it gets to the lab, they don’t know whose sample it is. That’s why it’s extremely important.

"Ultimately, as I sit here today, the system worked because I am innocent, and I was able to prove my innocence. After today I look forward to returning my focus to the game of baseball, being able to get back with my teammates, allowing my life to return to some sense of normalcy and focusing on helping our team get back to the post-season.

I’ll try to answer all of your questions, but please respect the fact that I can’t get into many details of the process because it’s supposed to be confidential, and because of potential ongoing litigations and the fact that I am considering all my legal options. There may be some questions I can’t answer.

"Thank you."

You guys are hilarious. I really couldn't care less. Believe him. Take him for his word. Believe that the lack of PEDs has nothing to do with Braun going from a .315 hitter to a .260 hitter. That he was never really injury prone and now he is. Go for it guys. Good for you.

But hey, if you want to come bring this topic back up every 8 days your boy "sports hot takes" will be happy to get a good laugh. Just let me know.

[NotBuzzWilliams]

I mean, it seems like you care a little bit...

[wadesworld]

I mean, it seems like you care a little bit...

Sure, when he quotes a post of mine I'm going to respond.  Not sure I'm the one who brought up a thread that hadn't been posted in in 8 days...

But you're right, I should not respond to anybody directing a comment at me.

My fault.

 

[NavinRJohnson]

Holy crap. You still haven't been able to, or even attempted to explain how a guy who fakes an injury and takes himself out of the lineup every time he gets cold, (with the full support of the team and media), played every day for the first month and half of the season while hitting .225. I'll hang up and listen.

Again, my advice would be to dislike him for the things he does, not the things you make up or would like to believe he does (for reasons I will never understand).

[GGGG]

Says the guy who responds to everything I say. Don't like it? Don't respond. Not very hard concept. But you and reinko seem to have trouble with it.

Who says I don't like it?  I find you amusing.

[GGGG]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/17/sports/baseball/st-louis-cardinals-hack-astros-fbi.html?smid=tw-bna&_r=0

Of course it was the Cardinals.

[MUfan12]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/17/sports/baseball/st-louis-cardinals-hack-astros-fbi.html?smid=tw-bna&_r=0

Of course it was the Cardinals.

We've hit the high point of my baseball season. Can't wait to read Miklasz and Strauss try to defend this one.

[LAZER]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/17/sports/baseball/st-louis-cardinals-hack-astros-fbi.html?smid=tw-bna&_r=0

Of course it was the Cardinals.

This should get interesting.

[JWags85]

Couple this investigation with a Cavs loss tonight and the Hawks last night and its the best sports week in a LONG time for me, both legitimate joy and schadenfreude.

[🏀]

Couple this investigation with a Cavs loss tonight and the Hawks last night and its the best sports week in a LONG time for me, both legitimate joy and schadenfreude.

+1.

[brandx]

Looks like it may have been done because of the computer password habits of executives.

I've been down that road before.

[tower912]

How about the rumor that the Cardinal fans are jumping on the KC All-star bandwagon with the thought it will help give the Cardinals home field for the world series?      Can a fanbase be that organized and devious?

[Pakuni]

Taking down Sepp Blatter and the St. Louis Cardinals in the same month?
God bless the FBI.

[buckchuckler]

From Brandon McCarthy's Twitter

"in keeping with baseball tradition, a Houston exec should walk into the STL offices and hit their best front office guy with a fastball"

[muwarrior69]

Fan is keeping A-rods 3000 hit (home run) ball. Got to love it!

http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2015/06/20/baseball-collector-not-giving-up-alex-rodriguez-milestone-ball/?intcmp=latestnews

[naginiF]

How about the rumor that the Cardinal fans are jumping on the KC All-star bandwagon with the thought it will help give the Cardinals home field for the world series?      Can a fanbase be that organized and devious?

I just came home from the K where i was pimped (and obliged) to vote multiple times which got me thinking about the attention the KC voting is getting.  

I didn't vote straight Royals, but did vote 5 of 9 Royals because a) the combination of last year and this years performance deserves recognition, b) I'd much rather see Hosmer on first than Cabrera strictly from a hatred of the Tigers (and Hosmer is a "glue" guy that is really good - not great - but any team is better for having him than not), and c) though i'm a Twins fan i'm totally bias in my voting.

but isn't "c" what the MLB allstar vote is about?  when big pop markets dominate the roster it's great ratings and good, when a small market dominates it may be rigged.

I've not heard the Cardinal fan base organized to support Royals players but i doubt it.  It may be my KC media spin or your NL paranoia (justified) .  I think it's more like a starved fan base finally getting a voice.

i do have to admit that there is a bit of me that hopes your rumor is correct because i'd love for the Royals to roll the Cardinals in the Series.

#youngerbrothersyndrome

[withoutbias]

aren't cardinal fans (and managers and players) the one who got their panties all in a bunch last year over some tongue in cheek commercials the Brewers made to get fans to vote for the all star game? And then weren't Brewers players the only players who produced for the nl while the cardinals players all played terrible?

keep doing things the right way cards. hacking computers and all.

[GGGG]

aren't cardinal fans (and managers and players) the one who got their panties all in a bunch last year over some tongue in cheek commercials the Brewers made to get fans to vote for the all star game? And then weren't Brewers players the only players who produced for the nl while the cardinals players all played terrible?

keep doing things the right way cards. hacking computers and all.

Yep.  They bitched about the ribbon lights at Miller Park too.