Dec
12
2011

Braun’s Failed Test Revealed Synthetic Testosterone

The positive result was triggered by elevated levels of testosterone in Braun’s system, the sources told “Outside the Lines.” A subsequent, more comprehensive test revealed the testosterone was synthetic — not produced by Braun’s body.

Every individual naturally produces testosterone and a substance called epitestosterone, typically at a ratio of 1-to-1. In Major League Baseball, if the ratio comes in at 4-to-1 or higher during testing, a player is deemed to have tested positive. The sources did not indicate how high above the threshold Braun’s sample tested.

To affirm the results and strengthen its case, MLB asked the World Anti-Doping Agency lab in Montreal, which conducts its testing, to perform a secondary test to determine whether the testosterone spike resulted from natural variations within Braun’s body or from an artificial source. The test indicated the testosterone was exogenous, meaning it came from outside his body.

From ESPN.com

Braun calls the results “BS”, but haven’t all past violators?

Original Post 12/10

From ESPN, THIS:

National League MVP Ryan Braun, who last season led the Milwaukee Brewers to their first division title in nearly three decades, has tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug and faces a 50-game suspension if the initial finding is upheld, two sources familiar with the case told “Outside the Lines.”

Major League Baseball has not announced the positive test because Braun is disputing the result through arbitration.

A spokesman for Braun issued a statement Saturday: “There are highly unusual circumstances surrounding this case which will support Ryan’s complete innocence and demonstrate there was absolutely no intentional violation of the program. While Ryan has impeccable character and no previous history, unfortunately, because of the process we have to maintain confidentiality and are not able to discuss it any further, but we are confident he will ultimately be exonerated.”

The 28-year-old Braun had to provide a urine sample for testing during the playoffs, and he was notified of the positive test sometime in late October — about a month before he was named the National League’s most valuable player.

Damn you Jose Reyes for bunting for a single and depriving Ryan Braun of a Batting Title to go with his MVP. Damn you, Jose Reyes for playing by the rules.

If the finding is upheld, Braun faces a 50-game suspension.

Hat tip to Mr. North Jersey

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About the Author: Joe DeCaro

I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.

64 Comments + Add Comment

  • A few things I’ve learned from the steroid era.

    #1 Never, Ever assume your guy is fully innocent because one day this could be your favorite player

    #2 Players are dumb, but reports are not always correct.

  • sadly, the way sports is now, you almost have to say it as “at least player X didn’t get caught”. I really wonder what % of players have cheated, figuring with all the masking agents and other tricks of the trade (always something new coming that they don’t test for) that the ones getting caught are just the tip of the iceberg.

  • EVERYTHING I KNOW IS A LIE

  • I’ve lost all my faith in baseball. I really liked Braun, what a ****ing loser!

    • Chris can I just give you a positive note here?

      MLB is still the only sport really doing something about PED and soon to be HGH. The NFL and even NHL still sweep it under the rug.

      Now it’s not about the sport being tainted its about players being absolute buffoons. (if this is true)

  • LMAO, imagine the Brewers without Fielder and now Braun for 50 games!!! Goodbye post season!

    • So it makes you happy to see a team as bad as the METS?

  • Sometimes it speaks volumes about a player when you note to whom he’s being compared. Ryan Braun did the wrong thing by cheating. It says little about Reyes as a role model and leader to compare him with Braun the cheat. Reyes should have played the whole last game. Anyway, Terry and the Mets got their reward for not bashing Reyes, didn’t they?

    • DES, I BEG TO DISAGREE ON THAT LAST GAME THING; WHY SHOULD ANYONE “HAVE” TO GAMBLE SUCH A MEANINGFUL ACHIEVEMENT SIMPLY FOR ETHETICS REASONS, TO ME, WHAT REYES DID IS EQUIVILENT TO A FOOTBALL TEAM RUNNING OUT THE CLOCK BY KNEALING IT OUT(SUPERBOWL?) THROUGH THEIR LAST POSSESSIONS. REYES, AS A RESULT OF FIGHTING HARD FOR 126 GAMES WAS IN A POSITION TO “KNEAL ONE OUT”

      NO, IT WASN’T WILLIAMSSQUE; BUT TEDDY HAD A TOTALLY DIFFERENT RISK AS 5-5 OR 0-5 HE HAD THE BATTING TITLE WHETHER HE FINISHED “@ OR OVER .400 ” OR JUST BELOW .400 WASN’T ALTERING HIS PERSONAL LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENTS HE’D STILL BE RECOGNIZED FOR COMING CLOSEST TO .400 AS ANYONE OF HIS ERA; YET NO ONE EVER RECALLS WHO PLACED SECOND IN BATTING RACES EACH SEASON. ALL THE MORE WITH THIS NEWS, I BELIEVE IT CEMENTS HIS JUSTLY PLACING THAT TROPHY ON HIS MANTLE.

      HAD BRAUN SURPASSED HIOM “WITH AN UNNATURAL EDGE” WOULD NEVER, EVER BE RECOLLECTED 30 YRS FROM NOW; BUT REYES’ TITLE WILL FOREVER BE NOTED WHILE HIS LAST GAME WILL BE PASSED OVER BY HISTORIANS..

      • 62 it’s not so much that Reyes left early to protect his batting title,it’s the way he did it that irks most people. Laying down a bunt which he rarely does for the good of the team,and then walking off the field without at least taking the field and having Collins pull him off to an ovation to give the fans the chance to give their proper goodbye’s.There have been hall of famers sit out to protect their batting averages but I ‘ve never seen a player drop a bunt and then walk off the field for a pinch runner.Had Reyes stayed in a n at least too the field to an ovation he wouldn’t have been under nearly as much scrutiny ass he was for walking off the field for the bunt and head for the hills act that he chose to pull.Not the way I envisioned the 1st batting title in team history.Reyes showed me that he was afraid to compete,like he did in September 2007 and 2008 when he choked down the stretch of 2 pennant races.

      • Mets62Fan — Ethics are what you do even when no one is looking. Reyes failed the test even though lots of folks were looking. I have an honest difference of opinion than you. The fact that it was a great achievement undoubtedly influenced him. Maybe for a lesser award he wouldn’t have done it. I’ll say he was brash about it. Anyway he’s playing for the Marlins now and is mostly off my radar screen.

        • DES, IT ISN’T A MATTER OF ETHICS IMO AT ALL. BRAUN’S JUICING ISSUE IS ETHICS. NOT REYES’ REFUSAL TO GAMBLE NEEDLESSLY. THAT WAS LOGISTICS NOT ETHICS!

          MUCH AS LOOKING @ THE 2 SIDES IN THE BATTLE OF THE LITTLE BIG HORN IS LOGISTICAL NOT ETHICAL.

          AS THE ISSUE IS A 2011 ISSUE IT’S A MET NOT A MARLIN ISSUE IN MY ESTIMATION. HE WILL ALWAYS BE THE VERY FIRST NY MET TO WIN A BATTING TITLE. WHERE HE PLAYS IN ’12 IS THE ETHICAL QUESTRION FOR ALDERSON & WILPONS.

          WHAT HE DOES OR DOESN’T ACHJIEVE FROM DEC 6 FORWARD IS OF NO CONSEQUENCE TO ME.

  • I am shocked. I sincerely thought Braun was a good guy. Brewers ownership got to be kicking themselves for giving such a long-term contract. What a damn shame.

    • didn’t you read his agent’s PR release? All a big mistake. Must have been some bad flax seed oil or something!

    • Whoever their GM is is looking like a clod right now!

  • I’m not being a hater here, but ever since that Mitchell Report came out, Wright has gone down hill. Everytime I hear a player got nabbed for HGH I brace myself waiting to hear it’s Wright.

    • kevin that is not accurate at all

      The Mitchell Report came out in December of 2007.

      In 2008 David Wright had his career high in RBI and HR.

      I’m not saying its impossible Wright ever took anything, I think its possible anybody did to be honest… but you can trace back Wright’s lack of production more closely to Matt Cain than George Mitchell

      • Nice to see someone who has carefully looked a the facts about David’s decline. The beaning was a major problem and when you combine that with the ridiculous dimensions and wall configuration at Citi Field, it is a no brainer. I, for one always liked David Wright but a lot was put on his shoulders. Unless, the Mets can get him some help….it might not be a bad idea to see just what he would bring back in a trade. A season goes by quickly and if 2012.goes poorly for this team, then David might look to do as Jose did….

    • Kevin you’re not reaching at all,

      I’ll never forget a very trusted source on this website once hearing that Wright got off of HGH because of the testing WBC did. Of course the source here was hoping that what he heard wasn’t true but coincidentally the way Wright has performed since then clearly (no pun intended) has been in decline. Then i believe it was the following season in 2010 he came into ST all bulked up like never before almost as if he was trying to compensate for something. And also since he’s become a strikeout machine. Before that he was one of the best 2 strike hitters in the game. Never heard of anyone going from an excellent 2 strike hitter to a guy who strikes out all the time. And doesn’t HGH improve your eye sight?

      So kevin that’s was very perceptive of you and may not be far from the truth. Nobody can prove it either way as well.

      • @Bayonne Mets Fan

        Another red flag is David Wright and Paul LoDuca’s BroMance…they couldve been rubbing deer antler extract on one another :D

        • You know Leroy – that’s a great point! That never occurred to me! Too bad cuz LoDuca was my favorite Met when he was here

        • Oh yeah and remember when Reyes and Beltran were questioned because they were treated by Dr. Anthony Galea who was charged with a felony after misbranded drugs, human growth hormone HGH and Actovegin?

          Yeah – anything is possible………with any player, any player…….

          Don’t remember Wright being questioned though……nope don’t remember that………

      • the other commonly assumed reason is that he tried to change his approach to become a big HR pull hitter. Maybe because he thought the team needed it, he was psyched out about RCF in Citifield, or chicks dig the long ball, who knows.

        But going from a line drive spray hitter, taking balls to RF at will, and lengthening your swing to try and jack more HRs sure as hell can lead to more Ks.

        Backing off the plate after getting beaned may come into play also.

        again, all speculation, but unlike Bay who flat out lost the ability to hit at all, Wright really does not look at all like the same hitter he used to be.

        Hell, some people blame Hojo for turning him into a “mini me”.

        The big question of course is, can he rediscover what he used to have that made him one of the best, most productive hitters in the game?

        Maybe having 2 legit power sources int eh line up with him this year will help..

        • Yep,

          All things you can do to try and rediscover what you had while on the juice.

      • “I’ll never forget a very trusted source on this website once hearing that Wright got off of HGH because of the testing WBC did.”

        Could you perhaps link to this claim? No, you won’t.

        ” Of course the source here was hoping that what he heard wasn’t true but coincidentally the way Wright has performed since then clearly (no pun intended) has been in decline”

        Unlike you who would splooge himself if news like that came out.

        “hen i believe it was the following season in 2010 he came into ST all bulked up like never before almost as if he was trying to compensate for something.”

        Did you measure his shirts or something? Is HGH the only way athletes put on mass?

        ” And doesn’t HGH improve your eye sight?”

        Nope. that was a myth born of the snake oil salesmen peddling it as youth restoration medicine.

      • Compensate for something? You mean like not hitting HRs…no kidding. And no way to get stronger other than using illegal substances right?

        But if the HGH and whatever other drugs he was on in 2010 made him stronger and also improves his eye sight as you say, why did he strike out so much in 2010? With that improveed eye sight you’d think he’d K less not more

    • Mandatory testing was put into place in 2004…it was coming into that year that you had a few guys like Pudge Rodriguez suddenly show up to camp a whole lot thinner (he also was named by Jose Canseco). I don’t think a report itself coming out really changes anything…since testing was already in place…but even if it did, that was in 2007 and Wright went on to have a great 2008.

      There has been testing in place in the majors since Wright has been a MLBer and even stricter testing in the minors. Certainly its possible Wright, like any player could be doing stuff to skirt the tests, but I think making accusations is unfair…and the timelines you are applying are false. And really there wouldnt be much of a reason for players to stop these past couple yrs if they’ve been getting away with it all this time…until maybe next yr when they allegedly may start testing for HGH

  • Nothing to laugh about here, this is very sad and terrible for the game. I hope it’s a mistake.

  • What do you mean at least Reyes didn’t cheat? Who says he didn’t? I don’t like the idea of accusing a guy who had a career year right before free agency but to say with absolute certainty he didn’t is ridiculous. How do we know he didn’t brush his teeth with deer antler velvet or swipe second with an HGH syringe hanging out of his thigh. Just because he didn’t get caught doesn’t mean he didn’t.

    • You realize this isn’t the 1960′s and you’re not in the Soviet Union don’t you> Another person bashing our Constitution, wonderful.

      • So I’m a communist and bashing the constitution because I find it suspect that a player hit nearly 50 pts higher in his walk year? Stay thirsty my friend

        • I”ll use your tactics on you. Who says you’re not a communist and hate the constitution? Just because you haven’t been caught yet it doesn’t mean that you’re aren’t. Right? Liberals, SMH…

          • *you aren’t.

            • I’d like to start of by thanking you for using a baseball website as an outlet to express your political beliefs. Secondly, I’m not a liberal, merely an observer who believes professional athletes will do anything to gain an edge. Seeing an anomaly in a players career numbers coinciding with a contract year raises my eyebrow.

      • Hmmm… A throwback to the Joe McCarthy era on MMO! You just never know what’s going to pop up here.

    • I mean Dr. GaLea, the thyroid thing. Yknow. Where there’s smoke

      • FP I hear ya. Don’t forget Reyes had that blood spinning therapy also.

        But listen, I don’t know WHO is guilty until the story is told in full ya know? I know 1 thing for sure though. I’ll never go nanny nanny poo poo to another player for being guilty because one day it’s gonna be “our guy,” and there is no way anybody can say with full certainty Reyes or Wright or anybody really has NEVER touched the stuff or never will.

        That’s why I don’t like the sentiment on this blog.

        I will say this: I don’t think it will happen but if somehow Braun’s appeal is heard and proves something different than original reports… I hope people here retract statements made. The problem with the roid era is that rarely happens.

        • I will say this: I don’t think it will happen but if somehow Braun’s appeal is heard and proves something different than original reports… I hope people here retract statements made.

          Conversely I hope you do the same, although history would say otherwise.

    • “What do you mean at least Reyes didn’t cheat? Who says he didn’t?”

      No one says he didn’t because no one has to. There is no proof Reyes has taken HGH or any sort of banned substance.

      • THIS RYAN BRAUN ISSUE, PROVES REYES DIDN’T CHEAT OR HE TOO WOULD BE GETTING FLOGGED BY THE PRESS.

        BTW ONE OF THIS NATION’S FOUNDING CONCEPTS IS THE PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE UNTIL U CAN ACTUALLY PROVE SOMETHING YOUR4NEGATIVE INNUENDOS Re BOTH REYES & WRIGHT ARE BEST KEPT TO YOURSELF, YOU LIEING, CHEATING BASTARD.

        OFFENDED? GOOD, I THOUGHT U’D APPRECIATE THE SHOE BEING ON YOUR FOOT. I BELIEVE THE REST OF US WILL.

        • Um, all you did was reiterate my point.

          ” There is no proof Reyes has taken HGH or any sort of banned substance.”

          How exactly did you misunderstand that?

          “YOUR4NEGATIVE INNUENDOS Re BOTH REYES & WRIGHT ARE BEST KEPT TO YOURSELF, YOU LIEING, CHEATING BASTARD.”

          I haven’t accused anyone of anything. I’ve been doing the exact opposite, pointing out the lack of any actual proof. There are several other people who have been accusing players of using banned substances. Go curse at them.

          “OFFENDED?”

          Nope. You’re a stranger on the internet.

          ” I THOUGHT U’D APPRECIATE THE SHOE BEING ON YOUR FOOT.”

          what are you babbling about? Are you still mad because you misunderstood something I said regarding your typing? I wasn’t making fun of you. I knew you had a physical impairment and the typing was a product of that. I just got the impairment wrong. Sorry if I’m unfamiliar with your life story.

          I have not said one negative about the formatting of your posts. I try to keep my discussions to content.

          Although, I love how you feel the need to attack me and falsely accuse me of doing the very things others you have sided with do on a regular basis.

  • On a similar note MLB just granted Manny Ramirez the opportunity to UN-retire and attempt a comeback. Oh, yeah, he also has to serve a 50 game suspension for his SECOND failed drug test before he can play. Um, excuse me, doesn’t the 2nd failed test carry a MANDATORY 100 Game ban? Or, are there “extenuating” circumstances for “Manny being Manny” here? What a buffoon Bud Selig is truly showing himself to be. First he allows Ramirez back when the game should move on without him and then apparently the rules change for him. Great message to send to all the young fans out there watching and taking note of the behavior of not only their “heroes” but also of those who are in charge of said heroes.

    Having that out of the way, it’s ghtha shame that one of the game’s bright, young talents gets caught up in this PED mess. But, as the agent suggests, there may be some legitimate reason for the failed test. No one knows. BUT, “IF” Braun intentionally cheated he should not be shown any special favors because he’s a $150 million MVP. Of course if Manny’s 100 game suspension has been cut in half Braun might have a right to ask for the 50 game ban to be cut in half as well. Let’s see how the hypocrites in the commissioners office handle this little PR nightmare in the making.

    • maybe they are giving Manny credit for time served, having been out of BB for what, 2 years now?

      • No, he retired in April of this year after his 2nd Failed test. He retired B4 the suspension could take place, I think. In any event he didn’t serve enough (if any) of that suspension so I’m wondering why he only has to serve 1/2 of what 99% of the rest of MLB would have to.

    • Yeah 86, I believe what any said above is correct.

      I heard the argument being made that since Manny did not play the remainder of the season he retired in, he did serve at least 50 games off the suspension. So he’s still being slapped with 50.

      • He retired to avoid serving a 100 game ban, IMO. Let’s suppose for a moment that MLB gives him credit for “time served” in 2011 even though he “retired”, well since he retired in early April and didn’t play another game then shouldn’t they consider the 100 games already served? I say this because there’s no way he waited 50 games before retiring therefore leaving an additional 50 to be served upon coming out of retirement. I am just puzzled as to why MLB is handling this in this manner.

        • Oh, by all rights, I concede to that part – he did retire to avoid the 100 game ban. I believe that as well.

          I’m very confused to why or how they are handling this as well, I’m just passing on what i’ve heard.

  • I’m not so sure Reyes is so clean.He’s ripped to shreds and did have a thyroid issue last year which is a side effect of HGH use.I also wouldn’t be shocked if Wright was juicing with anabolics.He has definitely lossed some mass and looks much leaner than he did a few years ago.His arms were pretty big in spring training 2 years ago so who knows.And please enough with the Matt Cain beaning being a reason for his decline.He was having a poor season up until that point to begin with and came back and hit 29 bombs the following season.I think Citifield was more of a reason than the Matt Cain beaning.I’m not denying that the beaning is why he stands further off the plate than in the past but he wasn’t hitting for any power at all before the beaning in 2009.

    • Dopey Joe, i gotta side with you here cuz i’m not so sure Reyes is so clean either

      • I believe in “Innocent until proven guilty”. But I will point out that Reyes also saw that Dr from Canada (If memory serves) for something called “blood spinning” who has also been investigated for giving pro athletes HGH as well. I am NOT accusing Reyes of any wrong doing. Just pointing out what “could” be. I certainly hope Reyes hasn’t done that stuff, but nowadays you never know.

      • I’m so relieved Retart Randy.

  • The only good news from this is that maybe Braun will slide to the 3rd round in my fantasy draft. Other than that, it’s happened before, will happen again and I’m not surprised by any of it. And that is the sad thing. I wish I could be surprised by it. Been quite some time since I fell out of the turnip truck, I guess.

  • Lets see what the “substance” turns out to be before damning this guy. Something tells me it’s not a steroid or human growth hormone of some kind. Does anyone know the what is on the list of “banned substances” beside steroids, HG hormones, pep pills, narcs and deer antler spray?
    It’s all a joke. It wasn’t long ago that major league clubhouses had community bowls in each clubhouse filled with amphetamine pills for those pesky weekend day games.

    • not even sure that they actually detected a particular substance, as opposed to detecting elevated levels of (in this case) testosterone, and assuming it was from something banned.

    • Paulino was suspended for a particular diuretic, I think.

      A lot of guys get busted not for PEDs or HGH themselves, but for all the stuff they have to take for the side effects and to hide them.

  • You gotta wonder and shake your head of these stars thought to be clean get caught by a positive drug test. Shame on them for cheating.

  • If Reyes breaks down in Florida “where the warm weather will help his leg issues” i would be very suspicious.But i have felt that way the last 3 years after he piles up injury after injury..He has evolved from a baseball player to a guy who looks like an NFL safety.Rather strange

  • We should be fair here with Braun and at least wait to hear what he believes caused the positive test.

    “There are highly unusual circumstances surrounding this case which will support Ryan’s complete innocence and demonstrate there was absolutely no intentional violation of the program.”

    It would seem (They will probably claim) to be a case of using a supplement that was unknown to have precursors or was approved for use at one time before they changed something in their formula.

    The MLB, NFL and all pro sports need to be providing these supplements to the players so when these cases come up there is no doubt that the player was not intentionally using a bad supplement and that the supplement itself was the cause so the player can not be accused of cheating.

    If they continue to let players use whatever supplements they want off the shelf then these kinds of things will keep happening. The league itself should test the brands, see which ones are clean and then provide them to players so these supplements can not sully a good player’s name merely because they bought the wrong brand or because the company tweaked the formula in some way that tests positive.

    I’ll wait to hear his side and reason for testing positive before I indicte Braun.
    But from that statement is sure sounds like he used a supplement that had precursors or roids in it that gave the positive results.

    I can’t think of any other “UNUSUAL” circumstances other than some random nut injecting him with something before the game!

    • ”If they continue to let players use whatever supplements they want off the shelf then these kinds of things will keep happening’

      This isn’t exactly right. According to what I read, MLB has quite an extensive list of banned substances. And if using an over the counter anything, if in doubt you’re supposed to be checking with MLB.

      • Yes SRT they have quite an extensive list of BANNED products!

        Shouldn’t that instead be a list of APPROVED products?
        How current is the list of BANNED products? Is it updated every day? Week? Month?
        By making a list of BANNED there could be 20 new products introduced this week that are not on the banned list and have not been tested by the MLB.

        If they instead had a list of THESE PRODUCTS ARE APPROVED then there could be no mistakes!

        If a player buys an unapproved product then he is wrong. If he buys an approved one and tests positive then it really isn’t his fault and he has good reason if the product has been found to have been changed in some way from the formula that was approved by the MLB!

        Tell them what they CAN use and if they use something different then they have no excuses!
        If you merely tell them what NOT to use there could be plenty of products that would be banned if the MLB had looked at them out on those shelves and since they aren’t on the do not use list it is hard to blame a player for trying to comply with MLBs ass backward system!

  • Now there is this.

    Ken Rosenthal
    Source: Braun tested positive for a prohibited substance, not a performance-enhancing drug. More coming on FOXSports.com.

    http://twitter.com/#!/Ken_Rosenthal/statuses/145921525877440513

  • I’m going to wait the Ryan Braun thing out before I pass judgement. His own team is backing him up which they wouldn’t do unless they were confident there was some mistake.

  • WOW. Didn’t see that coming at all. Braun was one of the last people I’d expected to cheat. Shame. BTW Joe, I’d change that title if I were you. Karma’s a strange thing…

  • I’m pretty sure they dont sell testosterone at GNC, cant wait to see how this ends up.

NL East Standings

TeamWLPct.GB
Braves2418.571 -
Nationals2320.5351.5
Phillies2023.4654.5
Mets1624.4007.0
Marlins1132.25613.5

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