2
2012
Braun Not Expected To Win His Appeal
An article by 72MetsFan
An MLB official told Tom Haudricourt of the Journal-Sentinel that there’s little to no chance that 2011 MVP Ryan Braun will win his appeal of a 50-game suspension for using a banned substance.
Braun’s appeal of that positive drug test and pending 50-game suspension will be heard later this month. Braun proclaimed his innocence after results of the drug test were leaked but has remained silent pending the conclusion of his appeal. Rumors have since surfaced that his extremely high testosterone level was the result of a prescription for herpes or some other sexually transmitted disease, but those reports are unconfirmed.
According to the official, there are only two ways for Braun to win his appeal: Either prove there was a lab error with the testing or say the Brewers signed off on the treatment, however both are very unlikely.
I was told to forget proving a lab error because the system is designed to prevent such an occurrence. Each player’s urine sample is divided into two samples. The first is tested and if it’s positive for any banned substance, the second sample is put through a more rigorous, comprehensive testing regimen to assure the result is valid.
The MLB official also told me that the Brewers did not sign off on whatever substance Braun took. So, it’s unlikely that excuse would be used during the appeal process.
Meanwhile, the Brewers are preparing for the likelihood that Braun will miss the first 50 games of the season.
Both MLB and the Players Association provide the players with a full list of banned substances and that list is reissued to every player whenever it is updated. Additionally, every player is told to ask the team or players association if they are unsure about any substance.
It seems that the first line of defense for these players who get caught is to refute the report and call the results bad, followed by pleading ignorance.
Fans and writers then fall into three camps: Denial (There’s no way this could be true), Indifference (Who cares, Babe Ruth drank beer), and Disappointment (Ban all these cheaters).
About the Author: Drew Staley
On June 1, 2012 Johan Santana officially became my favorite current Met! I'm a Queens native who grew up in the shadows of Big Shea. I was a huge Ron Darling, Dave Magadan and John Olerud fan. Honored to be a part of such a great site for Mets fans. Ya Gotta Believe!
13 Comments + Add Comment
NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 25 | 18 | .581 | - |
| Nationals | 23 | 21 | .523 | 2.5 |
| Phillies | 21 | 23 | .477 | 4.5 |
| Mets | 17 | 24 | .415 | 7.0 |
| Marlins | 12 | 32 | .273 | 13.5 |
Last updated: 05/19/2013
Recent Comments
- gasparsarm: on Mets Sign RHP David Aardsma To Minors Deal: As soon as it's longer than Turner's
- Tommy: on Sacking Terry Collins Now Would Be Unfair: I agree......I hate the Yankees more than...
- taskmaster4450: on Keep Daniel Murphy In The Leadoff Spot: That experiment needed to end yesterday. ...
- gasparsarm: on Mets Sign RHP David Aardsma To Minors Deal: Oh common, yer makin sense,...
- Al: on Mets Sign RHP David Aardsma To Minors Deal: When do the Mets sign Brian the...
MMO Mets Chat
Need Tickets To The Mets Game?
Check Out These Great MLB Links!
Photographs From Gordon Donovan
5365 Fans Follow Us On Twitter!
1269 Fans Like Us On Facebook!
2341 Fans Read Our Feed!
1702 Fans Subscribe via Daily Email!
There are legitimate reasons for a player to take some of the substances banned by MLB, reasons that could impact an individuals health on a long term basis. However, it is up to the player to report this to his team and MLB and make them aware if he needs to take a drug or drugs that are banned under the drug policy. I am not sure what to make of Braun’s case quite frankly because what he took was not really a performance enhancer (ok, maybe testosterone CAN be a performance enhancer, just not on the baseball field! LOL). But, even if he has/had medical reasons for taking it and didn’t inform the Brewers or MLB then he has to pay the piper and serve his suspension.
If Braun’s violation was detected earlier, my hunch is that Reyes wouldn’t have copped out on the last day. Braun won’t play, while Reyes will play for the enemy. Who gives a hoot now?
The thing is nobody knows if it was for medical reasons, that was just rumors and not even Braun has suggested that. He is not allowed to talk about it until the appeal is over. So for all we know it could be for medical purposes or it could still very well be to enhance his performance.
Didn’t think he would beat it.
MLB is just a bit hypocritical in their stance right now. After more then a decade of everyone from the commish to the coaches to the media turning a blind eye, now it’s almost fake indignation when someone gets busted. Please….
Bottom line: rules being what they are right now players can’t claim ignorance. If it’s even remotely questionable you have to notify the team before taking it – if it’s not prescribe by the team. Failure to do so is either extreme stupidity or more likely crossing your fingers you won’t get caught.
I dont think it’s fake indignation. We didnt have a policy before and now we do. If you break it you pay the consequences. For years guys like Bonds and Clemens cheated because they said there was no official policy even though taking anobolic steroids was felony under United States laws. Expecting players to follow our laws has nothing to do with false indignation, it’s just common sense. Why does everyone want celebrities to have a different code of ethics and say it’s okay if they break the laws?
Everyone forgets that MLB did have a drug policy in place going back to the 80′s (I believe).
That policy made it against the rules for any player to take any illegal substance. That includes Coke, Crack and any non-prescribed prescription drug including steroids. Just because there was no testing in place, doesn’t mean it was OK.
As far as MLB’s stance on everything…MLB is banning, testing and suspending because it’s what the public wants…it’s mainly a PR move. If the drugs weren’t illegal and the Fans and Congress didn’t get so worked up about it, MLB would still have a PED problem. That said, I’m sure that the vast majority of owners, players, coaches and MLB officials believe that PEDs and bad and should be banned. But it’s not the motivation, but the results that are important.
Lets be honest with ourselves here too…back in the 90′s when roids were “saving” baseball…MLB, MLBPA, coaches, staff, owners, and media looked the other way…but so did the majority of us fans too…we wanted to believe that the parks were smaller, the balls wound tighter and advanced player conditioning was the reason for the numbers we were seeing. We looked the other way too. How many Mets fans are in denial about the possibility of Piazza taking PEDs? Generally , we want to believe in our heroes…of course once they show that they are human, we have love to tear them down and let everyone know how superior we are because we are smarter and better then they are.
It’s so easy for us as a society to blame everyone else for the problems of the day, but we seem forget that we are part of the problem too.
There are laws against things like tax evasion and domestic abuse. It wasn’t until very recently that MLB made any noise over drunk driving.
I’m in the 4th category…I’m in a “Sh!t Happens” group…Steroids were bad in MLB, but now things are a lot better, but there will always be guys who try to cheat and unfortunately, MLB has made the restrictions so strict, that guys will get busted for taking something that millions of people take everyday, but it just happens to through their body chemistry off a bit.
It’s too bad…Braun seems like a good guy and not the type to cheat…it wouldn’t surprise me that he was taking a drug for some real medical reason, but guy gotta know that they have to run everything they put into their body through MLB.
There is no reason any player should ever run into this situation…every team should have on staff a expert whose only job is to make sure that nobody puts the wrong thing in their body.
I do find it funny that is a baseball player take a PED, people go nuts…a football player takes a PED, and nobody cares, it’s pretty much a joke and nobody looks at the NBA or NHL. You can’t tell me that PEDs won’t help Hockey and Basketball players and you can’t tell me that these guys are above the whole doing anything to get an edge mentality.
Wouldn’t it be that if Braun was prescribed something by a doctor for a legitimate physical ailment there would be medical records to show that it was necessary under those conditions?
I’m talking about tests and office visits that led to the prognosis and medicine required to treat it.
If that was the case, this would have been resolved already.
It would also be Braun’s responsibility to seek and exemption for his case before he started taking them.
I actually believe the STD thing. Braun can’t be that stupid as to intentionally taint what very well could turn into a hall of fame career, if it means anything to him at all. Although the same could have been said about Palmeiro.
other guys have done it for whatever reason (chasing $$ signs?)
Heck, if A rod “had” to do it, everyone must have to!
and look at it this week. Would a player rather be thought of as a cheater, or someone dumb enough to get snagged trying to treat his STD?
Yeah but not since they started testing. What other hall of fame caliber player has been caught since they started testing besides Manny and Palmeiro. I can’t think of any. A-Rod admitted to doing it before they started testing. He didn’t actually get caught doing it since testing. I don’t even really count Manny because he didn’t really give a sh*t and just wanted bigger numbers for bigger paychecks most likely. So who other than Palmeiro has been caught? There may be guys that obviously did it before testing and are involved with the Mitchell report and all that, but no one but Palmeiro has been caught. Braun just seems like the kind of guy who would care more about his legacy than a paycheck. Palmeiro seemed like that also, which is why it shocked me. Manny certainly did not shock me in the slightest.