Braun Suspended for Remainder of 2013 Season

[The stache]

i don't blame him for accepting the plea deal. braun is rich, but not rich enough to fight the mlb. eventually those shameless jerks were going to get what they want. they have already ruined braun's reputation. might as well serve the suspension during a lost season. i'm still certain he didn't take the juice. he doesn't have the appearance of a ped user and his numbers have always been consistent. there has never been a sudden and mysterious spike in his numbers ala chris davis. davis went from a nobody to a guy that is on pace to set a legit record.

 

I'll get ripped apart for this, but I agree with everything you just said. I think Braun took something (most likely to heal after a long 2011 season filled with injuries), but I would bet that he didn't take a PED.

 

Mark McGwire, between his rookie year and 1998, when he hit 70 home runs, bulked up by 37 pounds. Ryan Braun, between 2007 and 2012, added 8 pounds.

 

His rookie year, he averaged a home run every 14.4 at bats. In 2012, he averaged a home run every 14.55 at bats (those numbers are from memory earlier this evening.) Where's the gains from these steroids he's supposedly taking?

 

Braun was a top 100 amateur talent per Baseball America. He was an All-American at Miami. Are we supposed to believe he was juicing in high school?

[logan82]

If it gets him on the field in better condition than his body could normally handle wouldn't that be within the definition of a performance enhancing drug?

 

First of all, the $4M will be a drop in the bucket next to what they lose in ticket sales, jersey sales, other merchandise sales, etc.

How so? Merchandise sales are evenly split amongst MLB teams except for at the stadium and a few team stores. Ticket sales may take a small hit this year but if you put a goo product on the field people will show up. I would say $4m is way more than the losses in revenue.

[GoToHelfaer]

I wanted to believe Ryan so badly. Let's say Ryan took an illegal substance that allowed him to heal quicker but didn't give him that "competitive edge" that everyone thinks. Why wouldn't he be out there telling the story, providing the receipts and clarifying exactly what he took? I'd think that would be a better alternative than just trying to move on and leaving it to the public's imagination. I mean if that were the case and I were in his situation I would be hell bent on proving that yes I made a mis take and broke the rules, but I didn't cheat the game like everyone thinks.

 

It's a situation where if he does come back and perform he'll be lucky to be an all-star, he'll never win a major award, he probably won't get any lucrative licensing deals and he doesn't have a shot at the HOF. He's ruined in a lot of ways.

[Bnowell4evr]

i don't blame him for accepting the plea deal. braun is rich, but not rich enough to fight the mlb. eventually those shameless jerks were going to get what they want. they have already ruined braun's reputation. might as well serve the suspension during a lost season. i'm still certain he didn't take the juice. he doesn't have the appearance of a ped user and his numbers have always been consistent. there has never been a sudden and mysterious spike in his numbers ala chris davis. davis went from a nobody to a guy that is on pace to set a legit record.

 

I'll get ripped apart for this, but I agree with everything you just said. I think Braun took something (most likely to heal after a long 2011 season filled with injuries), but I would bet that he didn't take a PED.

 

Mark McGwire, between his rookie year and 1998, when he hit 70 home runs, bulked up by 37 pounds. Ryan Braun, between 2007 and 2012, added 8 pounds.

 

His rookie year, he averaged a home run every 14.4 at bats. In 2012, he averaged a home run every 14.55 at bats (those numbers are from memory earlier this evening.) Where's the gains from these steroids he's supposedly taking?

 

Braun was a top 100 amateur talent per Baseball America. He was an All-American at Miami. Are we supposed to believe he was juicing in high school?

 

Couple things.

 

1. Braun was using synthetic testosterone. Let's not confuse what he was using with anabolic steroids like Winstrol that was so popular in the 80's.

 

2. Whats to say Braun wasn't using this stuff from Paul Bosch back to his Miami days? You even said his numbers have stayed the same the entire time. It's not hard to beat MLB's testing as long as you keep your T/E levels under 4-1. Braun most likely failed his test in 2011 because he just took his dosage which explains the 20-1 level he had.

[brettac1]

I think he was definitely a long-term user. No reason to think otherwise. I think fans that are clinging to the "he just decided to take steroids for the playoffs" are quite naive.

[Outlander]

That is my biggest concern right now, how long was he using. I am real scared that they will be stuck paying a not so good player $120 million. Always thought he would be a Brewer for life but being a small market if they get a decent proposal in the off season they should take it but I imagine most teams don't want to deal with the drama.

[Patrick425]

And let's please not try to excuse with the "half the guys out there are probably doing the same thing." You cannot seriously profess "innocent until proven guilty!" for 2 years and then try to assume guilt about half the league based on nothing. I will assume the innocent are innocent until proven otherwise, just like I did for Braun until he proved otherwise.

 

Our franchise player is now a known cheater. I could have moved on from that if he had come clean in the first place and admitted he was wrong and taken his 50 games, but he didn't. He looked us all in the eye and emotionally told us about how there was no way those drugs ever entered his body, and all this time tried to hide behind a cryptic "if you all knew the real story", which was all a lie. It is better to have no franchise player at all than a tainted one. I could have gotten over him cheating if he fessed up. Everybody makes mistakes. But he went far beyond that with lies and deception.

 

Well said and pretty much how I feel as well. I really hate this assumption that EVERYONE is doing it and on top of that this general acceptance of unethical behavior because other people are unethical also. So, basically what is being said is that no one has the ability to think and act on their own and that everyone is just a victim of widespread moral decay.

[saget]

Not sure if this has been talked about already, and maybe it doesn't really matter anyway, but is it possible Braun felt like the MLBPA kind of threw him under the bus or was of no help to him at all so he decided to go his own route and take MLB's deal? If you're a lower-tier player like Nelson Cruz you'd have to be dirtying a few diapers at the moment you would think.

[Funketown]

I'm genuinely curious:

 

Has there ever once been a player who has used the "no, I didn't use, I'm being truthful, etc." line of defense who hasn't looked worse 5 years down the road than if he'd simply said "Yeah, I made a mistake, etc." a la Andy Pettite?

 

As a Brewers fan, one of the things that gets you through the brutal years is having a player who looks like he's going to be a first-ballot HOF'er going out there 150 games a year and being great. It may be a long time before we have another MVP-caliber player signed to a gajillion year deal...

[Yount19]

Here are some Brewer player reactions.. http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/216536161.html

 

Lucroy "But I think it takes a bigger person to forgive them than to sit there and wear them out the rest of the time and hold a grudge against them"

 

Weeks "Wasn’t this an admission of guilt?

 

I don’t know. When it comes on TV, I will probably talk at a later date."

 

I wonder what Rickie means?

[RobDeer 45]

i don't blame him for accepting the plea deal. braun is rich, but not rich enough to fight the mlb. eventually those shameless jerks were going to get what they want. they have already ruined braun's reputation. might as well serve the suspension during a lost season. i'm still certain he didn't take the juice. he doesn't have the appearance of a ped user and his numbers have always been consistent. there has never been a sudden and mysterious spike in his numbers ala chris davis. davis went from a nobody to a guy that is on pace to set a legit record.

 

I'll get ripped apart for this, but I agree with everything you just said. I think Braun took something (most likely to heal after a long 2011 season filled with injuries), but I would bet that he didn't take a PED.

 

Mark McGwire, between his rookie year and 1998, when he hit 70 home runs, bulked up by 37 pounds. Ryan Braun, between 2007 and 2012, added 8 pounds.

 

His rookie year, he averaged a home run every 14.4 at bats. In 2012, he averaged a home run every 14.55 at bats (those numbers are from memory earlier this evening.) Where's the gains from these steroids he's supposedly taking?

 

Braun was a top 100 amateur talent per Baseball America. He was an All-American at Miami. Are we supposed to believe he was juicing in high school?

 

Couple things.

 

1. Braun was using synthetic testosterone. Let's not confuse what he was using with anabolic steroids like Winstrol that was so popular in the 80's.

 

2. Whats to say Braun wasn't using this stuff from Paul Bosch back to his Miami days? You even said his numbers have stayed the same the entire time. It's not hard to beat MLB's testing as long as you keep your T/E levels under 4-1. Braun most likely failed his test in 2011 because he just took his dosage which explains the 20-1 level he had.

 

 

Well said. Stache, as I said a lot earlier in this thread, I think you are confusing taking roids with taking hgh. It's a different animal. Easier to control (no spike in testosterone) and does not bulk you up. When used like many athletes are doing now, it just keeps you feeling 100%, not giving you the strength to bench a car.

[Outlander]

Kind of surprised that Lucroy gave him a pass as Lucroy seems like he could be the leader of the team in the future. Not real sure what Weeks meant there, Weeks has had a tough couple of years but he certainly has the respect of the clubhouse and is probably pretty ticked off he was lied to.

[JohnBriggs12]

Hang the "For Sale" sign on him this winter, take the best offer and move on. He should be done as a Brewer. A lot of Brewers fans (me included) stuck their necks out and supported him through all of this. That's a broken trust that can never be repaired. In other cities, they won't feel the personal betrayal so much. Fans will be eager to overlook his transgressions.

 

I too believe he started this back in the Miami days. Hence I don't totally absolve the Brewers for a lack of due diligence prior to making him a high draft pick. You are going to commit millions on a guy, spend a couple hundred thousand and hire a private investigator to thoroughly check a guy.

[jeffy]

Braun has been revealed to be a selfish creep. Not because of his use of whatever he used, but because of his previous attack of the sample collector and all his other lies.

 

I am glad that I decided some time ago to stop following the Brewers and baseball, in fact I no longer follow any sports at all.

[torts]

Braun has been revealed to be a selfish creep. Not because of his use of whatever he used, but because of his previous attack of the sample collector and all his other lies.

 

I am glad that I decided some time ago to stop following the Brewers and baseball, in fact I no longer follow any sports at all.

 

so why are you even here?

[fondybrewfan]

People will eventually move on from this; its just going to take a lot of time to heal. If Braun comes back next year and puts up an OPS of 900+ then about 75% of Brewer fans will love him again. Yeah he will get booed on the road but he got booed in 2012 too. Eventually that will die down as well. There will probably be a whole new scandal by opening day 2014 anyways.

 

I just haven't gotten really all that upset over the situation. I know I have lied and/or thrown people under the bus before to benefit myself and probably everyone else has done the same thing. Braun didn't do inherently illegal. I am not excusing what he did I am just being realistic, Braun is human just like everyone else and naturally looked out for himself first. I never idolized Braun I just thought he was a good player playing for my favorite team. As long as his contract doesn't become some giant albratross then I am ready to move on.

 

Braun isn't going to get traded or released it simply doesn't make baseball sense and DM is not one to make a deal on emotion. DM and MA will only do whats best for the Brewers and the probably is wait and hope that he is still a good player going forward. Dumping him now for peanuts doesn't make a whole lot of sense and I don't think we could even find a trading partner anyways

[thebruce44]

I think he was definitely a long-term user. No reason to think otherwise. I think fans that are clinging to the "he just decided to take steroids for the playoffs" are quite naive.

 

This is the second time you have insulted others on this board who don't share your opinion. Some just want to keep an open mind, and this includes not looking down on others. Please try to keep that in mind.

[JohnBriggs12]

fondybrewfan,

 

Braun was more than just a great player. He is/was the face of the franchise. Sometimes preserving the brand trumps baseball sense. Baseball is about selling tickets. You don't do that when your best player has a cloud over his head.

 

He'll still likely fetch a solid return. They'll free up salary to spend on some solid FA player ala Mike Morse who has a career 1.207 OPS in Miller Park.

 

No they won't get full value back in a baseball sense, but they'd be removing a stain from the franchise.

[thebruce44]

Do people honestly believe Braun wont be worth his contract going forward? If you want to trade Braun, not out of an emotional reaction, this pretty much has to be your opinion and that seems like quite a leap.

[Yount19]

the fan situation is a lot like the whole Brett Favre fan reaction.. it'll take time to blow over for some, and for some it never will...

[JohnBriggs12]

It's not a matter of his being worth his contract, though there is a legit question about whether he will. His performance this year certainly wasn't. Nagging injuries are just going to go away now that he is clean? It's about trust. Besides part of his contract amount is not just to produce on the field but be an ambassador for the franchise.

 

Maybe if he comes clean and details everything he has a chance for redemption. But as of now, I don't see it.

[fondybrewfan]

Has it been established when he was buying this stuff? Was it prior to his previous failed test or was this still going on last year? If he was clean in 2012 and 2013 it make me feel a lot better about is production going forward. I kind if figured all the nagging injuries he has had is a likely side effect of not being on somethng anymore.

[owbc]

Do people honestly believe Braun wont be worth his contract going forward? If you want to trade Braun, not out of an emotional reaction, this pretty much has to be your opinion and that seems like quite a leap.

 

He's owed $122 million and it appears that MLB's evidence showed that he was doping for an extended period of time. There is a good chance that he was doping all the way back to his time in college in Miami. If that is the case, it seems unlikely that he will be able to produce anywhere near the $15-20 million/year level that he will be paid for the rest of the decade. What GM would be crazy enough to take a $120 million risk on a known steroid user that is currently nearly universally despised within MLB? A trade isn't happening.

[RU Rah Rah]

For me, it's not just that he cheated and then lied to wriggle his way out of punishment. Every human being does that (me included). It's more the sanctimonious way in which he defended himself when he knew that he was misleading everyone. That = uncool. If he had just said, "The testing process was flawed, and now it's time to move on," I'd feel slightly better about him now.

[bork]

Does a suspended player count against the 40 man roster?