Braun Suspended for Remainder of 2013 Season

[hawing]

Oh, and now everyone who entered the Kwik Trip contest to win lunch with Ryan Braun is out of luck! [sarcasm]The unkindest cut of all.[/sarcasm] Link

[fondybrewfan]

There is still absolutely no way Braun will ever be traded in the next 3 years. He is basically untradeable until he demonstrates that he is actually still good and then what is the point of trading him? Trading him for less than full value because he is a liar is just not smart. I don't see anyway that trading Braun is a wise baseball decision; you are never going to get equal value back. You are better off sticking with him. He has got some damage control to do with the team but time heals all wounds and I hope he will do whatever he can to earn their trust back. Although that will probably be difficult; probably moreso for some players than others

[thebruce44]

Haven't seen this posted:

 

http://www.thenation.com/blog/174655/decriminalize-game-solution-baseballs-drug-wars#

 

I love baseball and it’s tragic to watch it self-devour, so here is my own humble advice about a different way to handle this. Steroids and all PEDs need to be seen as an issue of public health, not crime and punishment. If seen as an issue of public health, the scandal here would not be that a group of players may have used PEDs. The scandal would be that they had to visit a skuzzy, unregulated “clinic” not run by medical professionals to get their drugs. Instead of criminalization, educate all players about the harmful effects of long-term PED use when not under a doctor’s supervision. Have medical officials make the policy and determine what PEDs help a person heal faster—an admirable quality in a medicine, no?—and what shouldn’t be a part of any training regimen. Centralize distribution under the umbrella of MLB so it doesn’t become an arms race of which teams get the best doctors and the best drugs. Then, players could take advantage of the most effective new medicines and MLB would be removing the process out of the shadows where the Tony Bosch types of the world hold sway. They also then have an ethical basis for testing and rehabilitation when use crosses the line into abuse.

 

This solution won’t please the purists who revere a game that never existed. It won’t please the anti-steroid furies who think that the behavior of children are determined in Pavlovian fashion by the actions of Major League Baseball players. It certainly won’t please baseball’s owners who like a system where fleecing cities out of millions in tax money isn’t cheating but taking a pill to workout longer is. It would, however, finally, at long last, take the game out of the courts, off the front pages, and put it back on the field. Bud Selig isn’t Eliot Ness and Ryan Braun isn’t Al Capone. It’s time to stop the madness and decriminalize the game.

[JimH5]

2) Walk through in detail what he took, for how long, why/how he justified it to himself at thetime. Why he now sees it is wrong (if even today he really believes he did something wrong.)

 

3) Press conference taking on all questions, and answering honestly and hearfelt. Funny how when he was claiming innocence he had a public PC. Yesterday he released a generic statement and snuck out of town. That is not lost on people.

 

I don't believe we will ever get these, as much as some of us want them.

 

BUT. . .He's got 6 months until spring training, with seemingly nothing to do.

 

I don't expect to see or hear from him until the season ends, but from November through January, it wouldn't hurt him to spend half his time in the Milwaukee area, doing good deeds in the community, making tangible and significant gestures to rebuild his image.

 

He can pick an issue that is important to him, do public appearances, make charitable donations, etc. Maybe it's Hunger Task Force, maybe it's a literacy program, etc.

 

I think if he vanishes until February and then stonewalls the media (e.g. "I'm not here to talk about the past. . ."), then he's back to being the narcissist tool that he is today. But he's still the same charismatic guy, so if he shows some contrition and forces people to see a good side of him, that could go a long way to rebuilding his image.

[jmeks23]

I clearly just have a differing opinion on expectations of people and particularly athletes. Everyone's who's saying he's a bad person for being deceitful, that they expected better out of him, or would expect themselves to react better, etc. I just don't buy it. What Braun did is no different than anyone else. It doesn't excuse the action, but I also don't think chastising him for doing what everyone else does is appropriate. This guy has HOF talent, already had received an MVP (at the time not even a month earlier) and was on track for even more success (see last season's statistics). Why in the world would he come forward saying he took PED's, especially after he spent exorbitant amounts of money to win the case. In his defense, this should never have been public in the first place, at least not until now that the Bosch scandal has happened. Even more reason not to come forward about it. It shouldn't have been public knowledge in the first place. That's a positive PR angle for Braun.

 

You can say all you want that he should have come forward instead of saying "I swear I never intentionally put anything in my body" and all the other things he said, but that's BS to me. There was no other option for him, or for any other athlete that's gone through this. You cheat, you cover it up and deny deny deny until you get caught. Then you admit it after the fact. See Andy Pettitte, Giambi, etc. It's ridiculous that people don't see this as common place. Whether you agree with it or not, that's another ball game but don't be surprised by it. Don't have vitriol for him alone because he followed in the footsteps of others. He HAD a reputation to uphold. Now he has nothing.

[trwi7]

A) If he knew he was guilty, he should have never appealed in the first place

 

Uhh, no.

 

If I'm caught vandalizing property but think I can beat the charge why wouldn't I try to beat it, even if I did it? It's nice that you want/expect people to tell the truth right away and own up to what they did but that's not human nature.

[JimH5]

Uhh, no.

 

If I'm caught vandalizing property but think I can beat the charge why wouldn't I try to beat it, even if I did it? It's nice that you want/expect people to tell the truth right away and own up to what they did but that's not human nature.

 

Of course it is.

 

Lots of people get caught speeding, pay their ticket, and drive slower next time.

 

Not everyone tries to fight it in court.

[Patrick425]

In his defense, this should never have been public in the first place, at least not until now that the Bosch scandal has happened. Even more reason not to come forward about it. It shouldn't have been public knowledge in the first place. That's a positive PR angle for Braun.

 

No, not a positive angle. You can blame ESPN. You can blame whoever "leaked" the information. However, ultimately, Braun is to blame! He broke the rules! None of this is a story at all if he just plays by the rules! Again..zero sympathy for him in my mind. Is he human? Yes. Did he make a mistake? Yes. But humans should know the consequences of mistakes. By the way mistake is somewhat of a kind term. Makes it sound like..."oops, I took some PED's". He made a conscientious decision to take PEDs..and I'm guessing he did this over several years.

 

Also, it's one thing to cheat and deny. It's another to cheat, get caught, and continue to deny. Andy Pettitte did not do that.

[trwi7]

Uhh, no.

 

If I'm caught vandalizing property but think I can beat the charge why wouldn't I try to beat it, even if I did it? It's nice that you want/expect people to tell the truth right away and own up to what they did but that's not human nature.

 

Of course it is.

 

Lots of people get caught speeding, pay their ticket, and drive slower next time.

 

Not everyone tries to fight it in court.

 

But a lot of people do. It probably doesn't pay to go to court to fight a $100 speeding ticket with no guarantee it will be overturned. However if it's say a $1,000 fine plus a month in jail, I would imagine at least 99% of people would fight it.

[JohnBriggs12]

There is still absolutely no way Braun will ever be traded in the next 3 years. He is basically untradeable until he demonstrates that he is actually still good and then what is the point of trading him? Trading him for less than full value because he is a liar is just not smart. I don't see anyway that trading Braun is a wise baseball decision; you are never going to get equal value back. You are better off sticking with him. He has got some damage control to do with the team but time heals all wounds and I hope he will do whatever he can to earn their trust back. Although that will probably be difficult; probably moreso for some players than others

 

If his being here affects the atmosphere in and around the team, and so affects a segment of the ticket buying public that they stay away, no amount of production is worth keeping him around even if the return for dealing him in a strict baseball sense is less than equal. His actions and deceit cut to the core more so with Brewer fans than anywhere else. He'd get a much cleaner slate elsewhere from the fans. The Brewers gave him that contract not just to produce on the field but be the face of the franchise. He can no longer fulfill the second part of that. I might buy the argument for keeping him long enough to showcase that his skills haven't diminished, but once that's been accomplished, then you offer him up and sell to the highest bidder. He didn't just damage the Ryan Braun brand, he damaged the Milwaukee Brewer brand.

[brewmann04]

I think i have posted about this in detail at least to make my feeling knowm and will now worry about the rest of the 2013 seasons and the Brewers team moving forward.

[FVBrewerFan]

Lyin' Ryan

 

Ryan Braun is a member of the group of people who are over 2 years old and have lied. Which includes everybody over 2.

 

It doesn't make it right that he lied (assuming that he lied, and not even knowing what he lied about specifically), but let's get the facts before tacking on witty nicknames.

 

 

Too late, it's already out there. I used that term because you better get used to hearing/seeing that and worse for the next X number of years. Doesn't matter if it's justified or not, doesn't matter if it's right or wrong, this is what we will all have to endure as long as Braun is a Brewer.

[brewmann04]

My final thoughts for now is I wonder What our Owner thinks about what has happened to the face of the Franchise and what actions might he take.

[danzig6767]

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.

 

While we'll never know for sure unless Braun shocks me by ever coming truly clean in an interview, my guess is you're correct.

 

His vague statement is just icing on the cake for me. The guy is just a coward and hypocrite in my eyes given the various comments he's made on PED's over the years, so i fully understand why fellow players and some teammates are ripping him. I have zero sympathy for anything being said about him.

 

That said, he's a Brewer and signed long term, so i want him to play well going forward. Also, hopefully one day fairly soon Ryan will grow some balls and come completely clean vs putting out these vague statements.

[Yount19]

hopefully one day fairly soon Ryan will grow some balls

 

 

wait, is that possible now?

[FVBrewerFan]

There is still absolutely no way Braun will ever be traded in the next 3 years. He is basically untradeable until he demonstrates that he is actually still good and then what is the point of trading him? Trading him for less than full value because he is a liar is just not smart. I don't see anyway that trading Braun is a wise baseball decision; you are never going to get equal value back. You are better off sticking with him. He has got some damage control to do with the team but time heals all wounds and I hope he will do whatever he can to earn their trust back. Although that will probably be difficult; probably moreso for some players than others

 

If his being here affects the atmosphere in and around the team, and so affects a segment of the ticket buying public that they stay away, no amount of production is worth keeping him around even if the return for dealing him in a strict baseball sense is less than equal. His actions and deceit cut to the core more so with Brewer fans than anywhere else. He'd get a much cleaner slate elsewhere from the fans. The Brewers gave him that contract not just to produce on the field but be the face of the franchise. He can no longer fulfill the second part of that. I might buy the argument for keeping him long enough to showcase that his skills haven't diminished, but once that's been accomplished, then you offer him up and sell to the highest bidder. He didn't just damage the Ryan Braun brand, he damaged the Milwaukee Brewer brand.

 

 

This. I don't think some of you realize how bad it's going to be next year. Will things settle downa little by then? Probably. Especially if he does aat least a couple of the things I mentioned earlier. But there will still be a very large percentage of fans who will boo him, cancel season tickets, etc. How many? I have no idea. But how many can a team like the Brewers afford to lose? Then there's the road games, where we have to sit there and hear steroid chants 81 games a year. I know some of you don't care, but I do. And I know lots of people do too.

 

As they say, no one man is bigger than the team- no matter how good they are. There would definitely be teams out there that would trade for him. Teams like the As and Cubs. Teams like the Jays and Orioles who have to compete in an incredibly tough division and would be willing to put up with the nonsense for a cornerstone like Braun.

 

I think some people are focused on what SHOULD be. We shouldn't be that upset, we should just accept he was punished and move on. But it doesn't matter what you or I think, it's the fan base in general, his teammates, and the media. At least 2 of the 3 are not behind him right now. As I said earlier, sometimes the best approach is to rip the band-aid off. Start fresh, which won't be all bad with all the payroll that will freed up.

[Patrick425]

Clearly, no team is going to touch Braun right now in regards to trying to trade for him. No team would want to deal with the probable backlash from their players and their fan base.

 

The only way I see Braun being traded at some point in the future is if he comes back, plays well, and some team in contention is in need of a bat at the trade deadline some season (but probably not next season).

[fondybrewfan]

I think it is clearly a stretch to say that fans will not buy tickets if Braun is on the team. It has and will always come down to performance of the team. Having Braun around isn't going to have some tangible effect on ticket sales or otherwise. So I don't buy that the Brewers need to cut the cord to save the franchise from attendance problems, merchandise problems, etc. And I highly doubt that Braun will have such a negative effect on the clubhouse that everyone will just be pissy and start sucking. I guess in general I am pretty skeptical that bringing Braun back will have any tangible negative affect on the team unless his performance just isn't adequate.

[danzig6767]

 

Yeah, I'm not saying he's a victim at all. He's a liar and a snake. But the attention and outrage this is receiving compared to actual criminal activity demonstrates a ridiculous double standard.

 

True, but with big celebrity comes big expectations. If I lie and continue to lie, the impact is limited to me and my family. Braun is a public figure, the most celebrated Brewer since Yount, the most highly paid player in franchise history, and the iconic image of the team. He didn't shy away from any of that.

 

Even though K-Rod and Gallardo's incidents were more criminal, they will pale in comparison to Braun's. It's how we know that Derek Jeter gives gift bags to the women who share his bedroom, but don't know anything about the way other players spend their free time.

 

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

 

Yea, he's a recent MVP and one of the top players in the game, not someone like say Melky Cabrera. Take the NFL. Have someone like Peyton Manning or Tom Brady get busted for roids, it's simply going to be a vastly bigger story than if some random lineman or cornerback gets busted. Mix in that if Manning or Brady got busted, got off on a technicality, then forcefully lied multiple times to the faces of everyone, only to later get busted again, it would be a massive massive story that dominated news coverage for awhile.

[thebruce44]

 

Yeah, I'm not saying he's a victim at all. He's a liar and a snake. But the attention and outrage this is receiving compared to actual criminal activity demonstrates a ridiculous double standard.

 

True, but with big celebrity comes big expectations. If I lie and continue to lie, the impact is limited to me and my family. Braun is a public figure, the most celebrated Brewer since Yount, the most highly paid player in franchise history, and the iconic image of the team. He didn't shy away from any of that.

 

Even though K-Rod and Gallardo's incidents were more criminal, they will pale in comparison to Braun's. It's how we know that Derek Jeter gives gift bags to the women who share his bedroom, but don't know anything about the way other players spend their free time.

 

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

 

Yea, he's a recent MVP and one of the top players in the game, not someone like say Melky Cabrera. Take the NFL. Have someone like Peyton Manning or Tom Brady get busted for roids, it's simply going to be a vastly bigger story than if some random lineman or cornerback gets busted. Mix in that if Manning or Brady got busted, got off on a technicality, then forcefully lied multiple times to the faces of everyone, only to later get busted again, it would be a massive massive story that dominated news coverage for awhile.

 

Seriously, could you imagine if a #2 overall pick, Rookie of the year, and runner up for DPOY were to be busted for PEDs!

[FVBrewerFan]

I think it is clearly a stretch to say that fans will not buy tickets if Braun is on the team. It has and will always come down to performance of the team. Having Braun around isn't going to have some tangible effect on ticket sales or otherwise. So I don't buy that the Brewers need to cut the cord to save the franchise from attendance problems, merchandise problems, etc. And I highly doubt that Braun will have such a negative effect on the clubhouse that everyone will just be pissy and start sucking. I guess in general I am pretty skeptical that bringing Braun back will have any tangible negative affect on the team unless his performance just isn't adequate.

 

We'll have to agree to disagree, since there's no way we'll know who's right until next Spring. All I know is I've heard froma couple freinds and family members who said they won't renew season tixs if Braun is still on the team. Have also heard this on radio call-in shows. Now, maybe they'll all come around by next April. It's possible. But I would say it's clearly a stretch to say at leat some fans will follow-though with these threats. I don't know if that will be 10 or 1,000 fans, that remains to be seen.

 

And then you mention performance of the team. Even before this 2014 looked like another rebuilding year, so stack that on top of the whole Braun thing and people have an excuse not to attend games.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Everything Braun should be removed and I might be alone but If Mark is Ticked off at his actions,it would not suprise me if he is Traded in the off season.

 

 

Dude, you have said this, probably a dozen times. I'm not trying to jump all over you, but you're just saying the same thing over and over.

[JimH5]

 

We'll have to agree to disagree, since there's no way we'll know who's right until next Spring. All I know is I've heard froma couple freinds and family members who said they won't renew season tixs if Braun is still on the team. Have also heard this on radio call-in shows. Now, maybe they'll all come around by next April. It's possible. But I would say it's clearly a stretch to say at leat some fans will follow-though with these threats. I don't know if that will be 10 or 1,000 fans, that remains to be seen.

 

And then you mention performance of the team. Even before this 2014 looked like another rebuilding year, so stack that on top of the whole Braun thing and people have an excuse not to attend games.

 

 

FWIW--I had a partial season ticket package from the mid-90s through 2002, during some of the dreck years, and we could consistently upgrade our seats from year to year, as people would drop off the season ticket lists.

 

If you're willing to stick it out for some troubling times, it's worth it in terms of seat location.

[owbc]

It doesn't matter if Braun is or isn't on the team in 2014, ticket sales are going to be horrible either way. Somewhere around 1.9-2.1 million would be my current guess since this year will end up around 2.45 million.

[danzig6767]

Lyin' Ryan

 

Ryan Braun is a member of the group of people who are over 2 years old and have lied. Which includes everybody over 2.

 

It doesn't make it right that he lied (assuming that he lied, and not even knowing what he lied about specifically), but let's get the facts before tacking on witty nicknames.

 

We could easily get the facts if Braun does an interview where he actually came completely clean about what he's done vs putting out cryptic vague statements, so long as baseball agrees to not punish him further for any truths he put out there.

 

Only he knows what exactly he's put into his body, when he started doing so, and how long he kept doing it. Unless baseball were to leak every bit of evidence they have on Ryan and maybe anything he admitted to them, how else are we supposed to get the facts/know what he lied about specifically if he doesn't come clean himself? Just vaguely saying he made mistakes tells us nothing except he's guilty of cheating to some degree, but with zero details.

 

His silence will only lead to speculation, regardless if that speculation is fact based. That's simply the world of sports coverage today.