MLB 2017 Season

[Jockey]

Win tonight and take 3/4 this weekend and the last week of the season is going to be incredible regardless of the final outcome.

I'm onboard with this, Glow.

[WI inferiority Complexes]

Brew Crew holding strong, though, with Cubs coming to town.

[wadesworld]

Where are Biaz's dope braids?

[WI inferiority Complexes]

Where are Biaz's dope braids?

[Dr. Blackheart]

Where are Biaz's dope braids?

Ricky Weeks called and is borrowing them for the weekend...

[MU82]

Although I don't have a horse in the NL Central race, I always get some pleasure out of seeing Braun take an oh-fer in a big game.

My least-favorite player in baseball. Of all the cheaters - Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro, A-Rod, etc, etc - only Braun brazenly tried to ruin another human's life so he could protect his secret. Scum of the earth.

[wadesworld]

Although I don't have a horse in the NL Central race, I always get some pleasure out of seeing Braun take an oh-fer in a big game.

My least-favorite player in baseball. Of all the cheaters - Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro, A-Rod, etc, etc - only Braun brazenly tried to ruin another human's life so he could protect his secret. Scum of the earth.

While I agree he's a POS, you just started a new thread about a group of people who I would consider "scummier" than Ryan Braun.  And there are, sadly, a lot of people out there who are "scummier" than them.  "Ruin another human's life" is taking it a bit far.  He questioned the integrity of another human's ability to do his side job correctly.  That's a pretty far cry from "ruining a human's life."

If you limit it to just sports figures and take out the likes of people who murder people in drunk driving incidents and shootings, have dozens of illegitimate children, beat their children or wives or girlfriends, and dozens of other things, Ryan Braun is up there.

[MU82]

While I agree he's a POS, you just started a new thread about a group of people who I would consider "scummier" than Ryan Braun.  And there are, sadly, a lot of people out there who are "scummier" than them.  "Ruin another human's life" is taking it a bit far.  He questioned the integrity of another human's ability to do his side job correctly.  That's a pretty far cry from "ruining a human's life."

If you limit it to just sports figures and take out the likes of people who murder people in drunk driving incidents and shootings, have dozens of illegitimate children, beat their children or wives or girlfriends, and dozens of other things, Ryan Braun is up there.

Sure. Yes. There are scumbags who are higher on the scum-of-the-earth scale than Braun. He didn't murder or rape anybody. He nonetheless is still scum of the earth to me - worse than all the other steroid cheats IMHO, and very easy to root against.

I don't expect Brewers fans to root against him. Fans will root for anybody, including all of those even scummier scum-of-the-earthers who do the stuff you mentioned.

[wadesworld]

Sure. Yes. There are scumbags who are higher on the scum-of-the-earth scale than Braun. He didn't murder or rape anybody. He nonetheless is still scum of the earth to me - worse than all the other steroid cheats IMHO, and very easy to root against.

I don't expect Brewers fans to root against him. Fans will root for anybody, including all of those even scummier scum-of-the-earthers who do the stuff you mentioned.

I haven't rooted for him since then. But he's certainly not the scum of the eart. A douchebag no doubt. But there are far worse people in the world than he is. And he didn't try to ruin a human's life.

[Jay Bee]

Twins swept by NYY... thanks to our division butties, LAA still 1.5 behind us for the final Wild Card spot.

[MerrittsMustache]

Take what you can get.




If the Cubs can at least split this weekend, they'll be sitting pretty.

[4everwarriors]

Braun ain't watt he wuz. Basically, shot his load and now just middle of da road. I contend he signed da big contract years ago, knot 'cuz he luved MKE, butt because it wuz an "annuity" for wen he new he'd eventually get busted. Da dude's a huge dick, not in a good wey, and I'd trade his nappy ass for a bag of soiled rosin, ai na?

[BM1090]

Braun ain't watt he wuz. Basically, shot his load and now just middle of da road. I contend he signed da big contract years ago, knot 'cuz he luved MKE, butt because it wuz an "annuity" for wen he new he'd eventually get busted. Da dude's a huge dick, not in a good wey, and I'd trade his nappy ass for a bag of soiled rosin, ai na?

He's not middle of the road. He's also not what he used to be. 275/345/506 (.851 OPS) and has the highest exit velocity of his career. He's hit into some bad luck this year.

Can't stay healthy though.

[GGGG]

Braun's contract isn't terrible by any means.  Last year he had 2.2 WAR per $10 M earned.  That's better than the four other guys who are tied with him at #34 in 2017 MLB at $20 million earned. (Martin, Tulo, Choo, Wright).

Not saying he's a bargain or that it's a great contract, but it isn't hampering the Brewers nor is it simply awful value. 

[Benny B]

Brewers screwed the pooch last night; however, the math is shaping up such that if the Brewers take 3 of 4 from the Cubs and go 2-1 against Reds and Cards while the Rockies take 3 of 4 in SD and go 3-3 on the homestand with the Fish and Dodgers, they would end in a tie for the 2nd wildcard spot.

There's also the very plausible, although not-exactly-likely, scenario where the Cubs take 2 of 3 from the Reds but go 1-3 in StL... which would result in Cubs, Brewers and Rockies with 88 wins.

Cubs and Brewers would then have a playoff in Milwaukee for the division; winner heads to Washington, loser would go on the road to play the Rockies, with the winner there playing the D-Backs in AZ, and then winner moseys up to LA for a date with the Dodgers.  Fortunately, the NL WC play-off is Wednesday, which allows for the first two games to be played without affecting the rest of the postseason schedule.

So Cubs would have to potentially play the Brewers, the Rockies, the D-Backs and then two against the Dodgers - all on the road - in the first week of the post-season.  Given that the Cubs are a heavy favorite for the division, which means more to the respective club: the Cubs winning at least a split in Milwaukee or the Brewers taking 3 from the Cubs.

Frankly, I think the Rockies have a tall order coming up with Miami (who swept them 5 weeks ago) and LA coming to town where splitting the homestand is no easy accomplishment.  Brewers' door for the WC was wide open last night until Knebel threw the ball away in the 8th, but there's still enough of an opening that even a John Kruk without a greasing could shimmy his way through.

Thank God for baseball... the perfect bridge between college hoops seasons.

[MerrittsMustache]

Big one for the Cubs tonight. Arrieta coming back from injury and Davies coming back from a rough outing. Arrieta had a 1.69 ERA in his 11 starts prior to the injury and has pitched very well against Milwaukee in 2 starts this season. Tonight will be the fifth time the Cubs have faced Davies this season. That tends to favor the hitter, though the Cubs bats were very quiet in Tampa. Also, likely no Knebel or Swarzak for the Brewers tonight, which could be big if it's close late.

[TallTitan34]

"Ruin another human's life" is taking it a bit far.  He questioned the integrity of another human's ability to do his side job correctly.  That's a pretty far cry from "ruining a human's life."

I'd say trying to get a man fired from his job would count as ruining someone's life.

Then after getting off on that technicality, he got caught again.  Why should I assume he has learned his lesson and still isn't using?

Far and away my most hated player in the history of baseball.  It turns out Ty Cobb was actually not a bad guy (http://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/arts/2015/06/09/ty-cobb-myth-legend-popular-culture/28765125/).

[wadesworld]

I'd say trying to get a man fired from his job would count as ruining someone's life.

Then after getting off on that technicality, he got caught again.  Why should I assume he has learned his lesson and still isn't using?

Far and away my most hated player in the history of baseball.  It turns out Ty Cobb was actually not a bad guy (http://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/arts/2015/06/09/ty-cobb-myth-legend-popular-culture/28765125/).

First of all I'm fairly confident that Ryan Braun wasn't the one coming up with the legal strategy on his appeal or the one writing up the statement he made.  But hey, maybe I'm wrong there.

Second of all, there's an appeal process for a reason.  Guilty or not, every defense team in the world will try to find the loophole in the case.  Braun's legal team found one.  If that makes Braun the scum of the earth and someone who "tried to get a man fired from his job" and "ruining his life" then I guess Braun is.

Third of all, again, this was Laurenzi's side job.  I know plenty of people who have very good full time jobs and pick up side jobs for some extra money or just because they want to occupy their weekends.  I'm fairly confident their lives wouldn't be ruined if they got fired from their side job.  Maybe Laurenzi is different and his life would be over if he was fired.

I've been a Braun hater for along time.  But the "scum of the Earth" and the "ruining a man's life" is quite a bit of hyperbole.

Edit: And fourth of all, he wasn't "caught again."  It was his involvement with Tony Bosh and the files he handed over to the MLB from prior to his failed drug test that he was suspended for, not a second failed drug test.

[TallTitan34]

If that makes Braun the scum of the earth and someone who "tried to get a man fired from his job" and "ruining his life" then I guess Braun is.

Bullseye.

[TallTitan34]

Edit: And fourth of all, he wasn't "caught again."  It was his involvement with Tony Bosh and the files he handed over to the MLB from prior to his failed drug test that he was suspended for, not a second failed drug test.

So he was lying the first time he said he was innocent and chose to place the blame on the carrier.  Cool.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

First of all I'm fairly confident that Ryan Braun wasn't the one coming up with the legal strategy on his appeal or the one writing up the statement he made.  But hey, maybe I'm wrong there.

Second of all, there's an appeal process for a reason.  Guilty or not, every defense team in the world will try to find the loophole in the case.  Braun's legal team found one.  If that makes Braun the scum of the earth and someone who "tried to get a man fired from his job" and "ruining his life" then I guess Braun is.

Third of all, again, this was Laurenzi's side job.  I know plenty of people who have very good full time jobs and pick up side jobs for some extra money or just because they want to occupy their weekends.  I'm fairly confident their lives wouldn't be ruined if they got fired from their side job.  Maybe Laurenzi is different and his life would be over if he was fired.

I've been a Braun hater for along time.  But the "scum of the Earth" and the "ruining a man's life" is quite a bit of hyperbole.

Edit: And fourth of all, he wasn't "caught again."  It was his involvement with Tony Bosh and the files he handed over to the MLB from prior to his failed drug test that he was suspended for, not a second failed drug test.

Do you think Braun knew or gave a sh*t if it was his side job?  He was lying and throwing someone under the bus to protect himself.  FYI, losing a job can be absolutely devastating to someone depending on the timing and circumstances, even it it is not a lucrative job. 

[wadesworld]

So he was lying the first time he said he was innocent and chose to place the blame on the carrier.  Cool.

Do you think Braun knew or gave a sh*t if it was his side job?  He was lying and throwing someone under the bus to protect himself.  FYI, losing a job can be absolutely devastating to someone depending on the timing and circumstances, even it it is not a lucrative job. 

Again, if you think Braun was the one coming up with the legal strategy for any of this or was the one coming up with what he was going to say, you are genuinely clueless about the legal process.  Braun paid a ton of money to get the very best people to turn him into their puppet.

The fact of the matter is that whether Braun had been shooting up on anabolic steroids every day that entire season or had never touched a PED in his life, there was a breach of protocol in the collection process, Braun's legal team found that, and he was the first player ever to win a drug suspension appeal as a result.  That's not Ryan Braun "attempting to ruin a human being's life."  That's Ryan Braun's legal team attempting to win an appeal and finding a way to do so.  Laurenzen didn't follow protocol, Braun's legal team appealed based on that, and they were right to question the collection process, which is what the MLB found.

I'm fairly confident Braun wasn't sitting around looking up FedEx tracking numbers and writing up public statements.

[TallTitan34]

How does that make it any better?  His legal team works for him. He could have just said "I did it" instead of letting an innocent man take the blame.

[wadesworld]

How does that make it any better?  His legal team works for him. He could have just said "I did it" instead of letting an innocent man take the blame.

Well, it depends what we are saying Laurenzen is "innocent" of.  He didn't do his job correctly and that's all Braun's legal team needed.  There's a reason the protocol is in place, and when it's breached it doesn't matter if Braun "did it" or "did not do it."  Hence why Braun won his appeal.

[BM1090]

How does that make it any better?  His legal team works for him. He could have just said "I did it" instead of letting an innocent man take the blame.

Because he was trying to win a case. The guy failed to do his job correctly, and Braun won the appeal. Every single player/person in his situation would have done the exact same thing.