By now we have all read all the news surrounding Ryan Braun and the missing urine sample which ended up in someone’s house over a weekend. We’ve heard about PED’s, STD’s and BVD’s. (well, maybe not the last one)
#8 Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers tested positive for PED's then got off due to a 'technicality'. Photo: radarline.com
The bottom line to this whole scenario is that ‘legally’ Ryan Braun got off on a ‘technicality’. A criminal defense attorney would have had a field day with this one in a court of law because of the ‘doubt’ that was created and the suspicion that followed that ‘someone’ might have tampered with Braun’s urine sample. Unlikely, but possible.
Ryan Braun didn’t change our minds or the minds of the multitudes concerning his ‘innocence’ at his new conference yesterday, because no one has been able to explain how his testosterone levels were higher than a Blake Griffin dunk. The average baseball fan has already been looking at their favorite players in a different light ever since the Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Rafael Palmeiro days, and the ‘Braun incident’ has just set the fan’s perception of the use of PED’s by MLB players back on its heels.
Did Ryan Braun mess up and get caught using some form of PED’s directly following an MVP season? Yep! Did MLB mess up by exposing a flawed system that allowed Braun’s urine to go unaccounted for 44 hours? Yep! Both are guilty as sin. But when Braun takes the field in April, the skeptics and cynics will probably be looking at him differently. Some might argue that he will join people like O.J. Simpson and Casey Anthony; both of whom were found guilty in the court of public opinion but got off on ‘technicalities’. Time will tell…
Sad, but the reality of this situation is that Ryan Braun and MLB have gone down on strikes on this issue leaving this sport tainted before yet another season even gets underway and the cries of “Play Ball” are heard at stadiums throughout the country. He will be remembered as someone who was guilty- but got off, and not as someone who was innocent all along…
Has testing positive for PED's (but not being punished) disparaged what Braun has accomplished and what he might do going forward? Photo: blogs.thescore.com
FANTASY FURNACE 
Great post, and you’re 100% on point. The fact is that MLB dropped the ball on this one. They can shout from the rooftops about how outraged they are at the decision, but if they don’t want something like this to happen again… well, the ball’s in their court now. They have to fix the system.
I still don’t think this is over… Someone should “leak” the name of the collector like they leaked Braun’s name & maybe that way we can hear an explanation from his side of the aisle.
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I would love to see that happen
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It’s not over. As you probably have heard MLB is going to file a lawsuit vs the arbitrator who overturned MLB’s decision to ban Braun for those 50 games.
That collector is assured of being fired so we’ll probably learn of his identity at that point.
Thanks for checking in Joe & the kind words.
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No problem. This will probably get ugly in court.
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Braun can expect the worst from opposing fans who are fed up with the disingenuous bargain they were asked to swallow after the Mitchell report’s findings back in ’07. Players find ways to better performance the way water finds its own level and the fans end up footing the bill with higher ticket prices as a result.
Very good post.
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Thanks CT!
Ah the Mitchell Report…What a sham!
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