Re: 2013-06-04 Athletics (Griffin) at Brewers (Lohse), 7:10 PM CDT [Francisco & Gennett Starting; Brewers win, 4-3, 10 innings]

[Baldkin]

He posts here, on occasion.... and his avatar is Rickie Henderson

[RightFieldCoder]

Is the Doorman rocking a Henderson jersey? I knew he was a fan, but its so strange seeing him in anything other than Brewers gear.

 

He was in a gray A's (I'm assuming Henderson) jersey last night.

 

I saw that too... I assumed it was a Fingers jersey or something Brewers related since he seems like the ultimate Crew diehard.

I just called out to the wife down the hallway.

Me - "Wow, The Doorman is wearing an Oakland jersey today"

Wife shouting back within a second - "Yeah, he's probably wearing a Rickey Henderson jersey"

 

I married well.

[The stache]

I just can't enjoy this game, regardless of the score. This whole Ryan Braun thing popping up again has me bummed out.

 

I'd posted this on the other thread. This smacks of the Salem Witch Trials.

 

"We don't care if we lack clear evidence to support the assertion that Braun is guilty, we're just going to hang him anyway because his appeal made us look bad."

[The stache]

Lohse giving up another homer to Cespedes, who is now batting .236. That's just the cherry on top of the sundae.

[jjkoestler]

Nice to see Scooter flashing the leather. It's so easy to root for him.

[markedman5]

I think you have to entertain the thought that it might be as simple as he has been lying all along........

 

Lance Armstrong denied it all along......every step of the way until he had no choice but to admit the truth......This could easily play out the same way.

 

MLB would be nuts to go after him(and 20 others) this hard if they didn't think he was guilty because if they lose on appeal again it would be more of a fiasco then the first mess up.

[markedman5]

Its just amazing how many rockets our entire starting staff gives up day after day....even most of the outs are smoked.....

[The stache]

I think you have to entertain the thought that it might be as simple as he has been lying all along........

 

Lance Armstrong denied it all along......every step of the way until he had no choice but to admit the truth......This could easily play out the same way.

 

MLB would be nuts to go after him(and 20 others) this hard if they didn't think he was guilty because if they lose on appeal again it would be more of a fiasco then the first mess up.

 

Explain how Braun won an appeal then? Das had all the facts, and exonerated him. Would he do that if there were even a shred of evidence he'd cheated?

 

And remember, it was a "banned substance" that he was going to be suspended for, not a PED.

[The stache]

Its just amazing how many rockets our entire starting staff gives up day after day....even most of the outs are smoked.....

 

I wish our lineup could hit our own pitching staff.

[TheCrew07]

Lohse giving up another homer to Cespedes, who is now batting .236. That's just the cherry on top of the sundae.

 

Well Cespedes is going to be fine, he's a legit talent, but Lohse... well, he's just more of the same from the Brewer FO. In the end it doesn't matter if it's MA or DM, at some point, after all the money spent, the light has to go on... maybe there is a different and more effective way to build a rotation than this?

[The stache]

I'm sorry for dragging the whole Braun suspension thing into the game thread, guys. I'm just really down about this. And just my luck, the baseball draft, which I'd normally be psyched about, is coming up in a few days, and we don't even have a first rounder there.

 

Somebody give me a hug, lol.

[markedman5]

Das didn't exactly exonerate him....it was a chain of custody ruling. He never said he didn't test positive.

 

Ban substance could have been a masking agent to hide a PED......

 

Das ruled in Braun's favor because of a chain-of-custody dispute that occurred after his urine sample was taken during an early October drug test.

 

People familiar with the details said the sample was not dropped off that day at FedEx to be sent to the MLB testing lab in Montreal because the collector thought it was too late and the shipping company was closed.

 

Instead, the collector kept the sample, and perhaps others, refrigerated at home for two days before making the shipment. Though the seals on the samples were unbroken upon arriving at the lab, that lapse in protocol became the crux of the hearing in which Braun's side contested the validity of the test itself.

 

The MLB drug policy states that "absent unusual circumstances, the specimens should be sent by FedEx to the laboratory on the same day they are collected."

 

The policy goes on to say, "If the specimen is not immediately prepared for shipment, the collector shall ensure that it is appropriately safeguarded during temporary storage. The collector must keep the chain of custody intact. The collector must store the samples in a cool and secure location."

[RobDeer 45]

This isn't just about Braun my man. There are several players they are going after. MLB is trying to stop people from cheating, lets remember that. I'm super bummed about this but as I stated in another thread, be careful with blindly backing someone. We don't know the whole story.

[markedman5]

How about a little good news....?

 

RT @huntsvillestars: Tremendous outing for @HuntsvilleStars RHP Taylor Jungmann: 7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 5 K, 3 BB (retired his last 10 straight).

[MVP2110]

Man, Gennett has had one of the best looking 3 strikeout games I've seen

[3and2Fastball]

On the plus side we have a chance to draft one helluva prospect in the 1st round of 2014

[The stache]

Das didn't exactly exonerate him....it was a chain of custody ruling. He never said he didn't test positive.

 

Ban substance could have been a masking agent to hide a PED......

 

Das ruled in Braun's favor because of a chain-of-custody dispute that occurred after his urine sample was taken during an early October drug test.

 

People familiar with the details said the sample was not dropped off that day at FedEx to be sent to the MLB testing lab in Montreal because the collector thought it was too late and the shipping company was closed.

 

Instead, the collector kept the sample, and perhaps others, refrigerated at home for two days before making the shipment. Though the seals on the samples were unbroken upon arriving at the lab, that lapse in protocol became the crux of the hearing in which Braun's side contested the validity of the test itself.

 

The MLB drug policy states that "absent unusual circumstances, the specimens should be sent by FedEx to the laboratory on the same day they are collected."

 

The policy goes on to say, "If the specimen is not immediately prepared for shipment, the collector shall ensure that it is appropriately safeguarded during temporary storage. The collector must keep the chain of custody intact. The collector must store the samples in a cool and secure location."

 

Your facts are wrong. The samples were not refrigerated, and the collector's statement said as much. They were kept in the basement, in a cooler on his counter top. That's not refrigerated.

 

And think about what you're saying. If Das overturned because of a procedural issue, that ultimately means the integrity of the sample could not be trusted. Any test result from said sample would be deemed inaccurate. That means you have to throw out the test.

[The stache]

This isn't just about Braun my man. There are several players they are going after. MLB is trying to stop people from cheating, lets remember that. I'm super bummed about this but as I stated in another thread, be careful with blindly backing someone. We don't know the whole story.

 

I'm not blindly backing somebody. If there is proof that Braun used steroids, he should be suspended, as painful as it would be as a Brewers fan, and a Braun fan. But I've seen nothing to sway my opinion that MLB is on a witch hunt. When they're willing to give immunity to a known drug dealer to get their desired outcome, the whole thing stinks. All they have is a few pieces of paper with Braun's name listed, and Bosch has stated publicly that what Braun's defense team said was accurate. Gio Gonzalez was listed on those documents, too, and it's already been pretty much proven that he purchased legal supplements.

[RobDeer 45]

So stache do you think it's all coincidence?

[brewmann04]

I am hoping on a top 3 in 2014

[brewcrewdue80]

Man, Gennett has had one of the best looking 3 strikeout games I've seen

 

I'm not watching the game. Should that be in Blue? Or are you serious?

[The stache]

So stache do you think it's all coincidence?

 

I don't know what it is, and that's kind of the whole point. When there's reasonable doubt in a court of law, the accused person is supposed to be found innocent. Now, binding arbitration is obviously not a criminal or civil court. But the same logic applies.

 

What if Braun were innocent?

 

Braun's been tested all through his time in the minors, and in the Major Leagues. I've never seen Braun suspended, so it's likely all the tests he's taken in the past have been clean. You can draw two conclusions: 1.) he's been cheating all along, and has somehow been able to cover his tracks so that every test he's taken have come up clean (masking agent, etc). Or, 2.) all his tests have been clean because he wasn't using any illegal substances.

 

Braun gives yet another urine test. Figure this is the fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth test, I don't know. Pure speculation. But this time, the collector does not follow procedure as agreed upon by both MLB and the player's union. It is not refrigerated, and is in a private residence for almost two days. It is then shipped, and tested, showing abnormally high levels of testosterone. And not just high, but 2-3 times higher than any test result that's been ever seen. Baseball is, of course, going to pursue a suspension. But the problem is, after the appeals process has played out, the man that holds the tie breaking vote, a man who has almost two months to look over all the evidence, sides with the player.

 

If it were just a cut and dry issue-procedure wasn't followed-and that was the reason for the overturn, it wouldn't have taken Shyam Das seven weeks to reach his decision.

 

There is a very clear reason why chain of custody is so important. Because if a sample is mishandled, it could conceivably ruin a man's reputation, and career. An innocent man could be subjected to unprecedented scrutiny in the court of public opinion.

 

When you take everything collectively-the failure to follow procedure, the leak of the appeals process, which was supposed to be confidential--there are just too many things that stink. Now, is it possible that Braun used? Absolutely. But when everything is examined objectively, I'm seeing a lot of goof ups. The collector of the sample could have taken it to a Fed Ex, as he was required to do. He just didn't. There were several between his home and Miller Park. There was at least one nearby that was available for drop offs 24 hours a day, and he would have known it. I'd be very curious as to why he didn't follow procedure. And it's ironic to me that this man, who has been employed by MLB for so long, just happens to hold a sample for an extra 48 hours (iirc) that later turned out to have a damning level of T.

[trwi7]

Man, Gennett has had one of the best looking 3 strikeout games I've seen

 

I'm not watching the game. Should that be in Blue? Or are you serious?

 

I believe it's a joke because whenever Weeks would strike out a couple times in a game fans would be all over him and calling for Gennett. Now Gennett does it and he looks awesome doing it.

[RobDeer 45]

This isn't just about Braun my man. There are several players they are going after. MLB is trying to stop people from cheating, lets remember that. I'm super bummed about this but as I stated in another thread, be careful with blindly backing someone. We don't know the whole story.

 

I'm not blindly backing somebody. If there is proof that Braun used steroids, he should be suspended, as painful as it would be as a Brewers fan, and a Braun fan. But I've seen nothing to sway my opinion that MLB is on a witch hunt. When they're willing to give immunity to a known drug dealer to get their desired outcome, the whole thing stinks. All they have is a few pieces of paper with Braun's name listed, and Bosch has stated publicly that what Braun's defense team said was accurate. Gio Gonzalez was listed on those documents, too, and it's already been pretty much proven that he purchased legal supplements.

 

That's cool. Just curious where you are coming from. For the record, people get off free all the time for giving info. Kind of how things work.

[The stache]

Nice play at first wasted by a pitcher that couldn't get to first. Sigh.