Ryan Braun fails PED test. Faces 50-game suspension.

Why is it absolute? Why do you have to believe one person's explanation and not the other? All cases are different. And I ask that of those who think Braun is guilty as hell and those who think this was some sort of test fuck-up.

Since no one knows the full story, I think there's a lot of people seeing what they want to see -- those who want to see innocence and those who want to storm the PED village with torches -- and I include myself in that indictment being a Brewers fan.

And I don't blame those too much who assume 100 percent guilt, because the recent past has so many stories of players who claimed they were clean and weren't. It's the opposite of the Boy Who Cried Wolf. And yes, the myriad excuses used in the past can ring hollow. I get that.

But you're a fair-minded person, you still don't try a person based on the sins of others. To me, intent makes all of the difference, and I'm not convinced there was intent yet. To want to burn someone at the stake before intent is known is just as bad to me as to want to brush it under the carpet. I think all along that's what Braun's "supporters" have been trying to get across.

Personally, I think Braun took something by accident, especially given that there's little circumstantial evidence prior to his positive test to indicate he was using. The injury recovery possibility is not invalid, but it doesn't really wash for me. Braun's had aches and pains and missed games in nearly every season he's played. Again, I could be seeing what I want to see too.

But even if it was accidental, that's his fault and he'll get suspended for it.

Having said that, a logical person doesn't find out that a T-level is twice higher than any other recorded test and not think something is at least odd, whether you're a fan of that player's team or not, as I admittedly am. Certainly you don't burn someone at the stake for it without knowing all of the facts at hand.

I thought all along that there was something "embarrassing" behind this because Braun is normally very open about his life, etc., with the media. He courts celebrity status, especially in Wisconsin. My dad and I had a funny conversation about it a day or so after it was revealed. I think he uttered, "maybe he doesn't want anyone to find out his dick doesn't work."

Could be closer to the truth than anyone thought.

But Braun can't come clean until the appeal process ends. My major beef is with those who think he should "clear his name" or "admit guilt" by side-swiping the appeal process. There isn't a legal person on Earth who would advise anyone to do that. It's also extremely unfortunate that someone within a supposed confidential system leaked it. Braun's trial in the court of public opinion will never be recessed because of that.

If I'm wrong about intent when the full report comes out in January, and the appeal process shows definite intent by Braun, he's dead to me as a fan. That'll be disappointing, but life goes on.

I will say this, those who use Manny Ramirez, busted twice, as the equivalent of Ryan Braun are not on solid argumentative ground.

A better equivalent, if there is one, is Rafael Palmeiro, but even he had others (Jose Canseco among them) claiming he juiced before he tested positive. I know of no similar claims about Braun.

 

Fair enough, Bubbler, but I think you're already setting yourself up to believe the best -- that this was all some big misunderstanding or an accident. That has also been a very common excuse that has not held up.

And if you find the Manny Ramirez example lacking, I will provide another one -- Shawne Merriman. The whole world wrote about and accepted his explanation of tainted supplement or some such. Now, though, it's difficult not to conclude that steroids were the only reason he made the NFL.

 

I agree with Bubbler

At this point, I'd still believe it was an accident from some sort of medication or he has been juicing to the gills since he was a teenager, or anything in between. I just don't think we've seen the evidence, as we shouldn't, since the appeal hasn't been heard yet.

 

But how much evidence will we actually ever see? Baseball will announce a suspension but otherwise won't detail the case because of privacy statutes, right? So the only "evidence" we will see is the explanation proffered by Braun's legal team.

 

You might be right in the long run. But right now, no one really knows.

 

Braun's a fuckin' cheat. So is Rickie Weeks, Prince Fielder, Yovanni Gallardo and that little fuckin' headcase pitcher they got from Kansas City.

Hi Bubbler!

 

Technically, I suppose. But really it's because of the lack of transparency in baseball's CBA, which is an embarrassment compared to international doping standards. Baseball could easily collectively bargain around the statutes. The players can bargain those rights away. It needs to happen for the credibility of the game. Otherwise, you'll have the Ryan Brauns and Manny Ramirezes of the world making excuses with impunity, to the delight of their fans. Or, in the alternative, the Diana Taurasis of MLB victimized by a botched test.

 

The comparison to Ramirez is ridiculous. Braun's explanation is at least possible.

 

Manny claimed impotence and said hCG, although used primarily as a female fertility drug, was a doctor-prescribed treatment for that. How is his explanation not possible but Braun's is?

Here was his statement. My guess is when all this is said and done, you can just change the letterhead and just use it as Braun's statement too.

“Recently, I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy.”

 

Except Ramirez got caught twice. C'mon. It's a silly comparison.

 

As of 2009, though, he only had been caught once. That is the one I was talking about -- and that was the SHOCKING REVELATION!!!! that brought forth all the explanations that sound so much like Braun's now.

Maybe the comparison is not the best, then. But there are all kinds of others from all kinds of sports (Merriman being the other one I raised) that were just excuse-making aided by the fact that the league is handcuffed from correcting any of the player's claims.

 

Trying not to make this sound dickish, but we're not living in 2009, its 2011, so we know now that Ramirez was full of shit. As of right now, we only know it's possible Braun is full of shit. Also, there's a whole lot of strange information, such as unprecedented T-levels on his test, that open up all kinds of questions, both for those who are inclined to think he juiced on purpose and those who think something is fucked up in the testing itself. I don't recall any of that regarding Ramirez.

In addition, Ramirez was at a totally different stage of his career, a stage where his body was far more broken down, and thus, much more likely to juice.