Braun Suspended for Remainder of 2013 Season

[DocLuna7]

Selfishly, I wish the Brewers would use the money saved on the remainder of this season's salary and hold a Hernandez style jersey exchange similar to what the Patriots did. Obviously I'm not comparing the crimes of the two individuals, but I have no desire to wear any Braun gear for the foreseeable future. And as anyone living outside of Milwaukee can attest, non-Braun Brewer jerseys sold in stores are virtually non-existent.

 

I heard the exact same thing (Hernandez/Braun jersey exchange) idea mentioned tonight at my son's baseball practice. Also, Chris Carpenter aside, I am finding it a bit difficult to explain this whole thing to a seven year old. While I am certainly not naive enough to make professional athletes out to be any type of hero, it is nevertheless difficult to have to explain to a kid how someone he admires so much can be the country's number one villain right now. On a personal note as well, we got our dog during the Brewers playoff run a few years ago. My son proposed changing his name tonight from Brauny to GoGo Gomez. Ouch.

[LouisEly]

Anyway.....Southern ended up injuring his shoulder and was rehabing in Tampa during the 2008 season and happened to be rehabbing with one of Braun's College teammates. Braun's former teammate (University of Miami) told Southern that Braun was a notorious juicer in college.

I have wondered how many top draft picks, especially pitchers, flamed out in the minors because they were taking PEDs in college or high school and stopped when they started getting tested in the minors. According to an article I read today, 5% of high school athletes are using PEDs. I know people who played college baseball in the last decade and there definitely are college baseball players who use sterioids/PEDs.

 

Take a look at the scouting report posted by battlekow/Sessile Fielder when Arnett was drafted. "95 mph fastball... maintaining his velocity into the late innings... outstanding stamina"... does that sound anything like his performance in the minors? I'm not accusing Arnett of using PEDs in college, but it wouldn't surprise me if this were the case. And if this were the case (or the case with Cody Adams... or with Max Walla...), maybe the Brewers didn't make bad picks at all - they just got duped.

[SRB]

So are you saying you still believe he didnt take something? If Braun were 100% guilty he would have continued to fight. As an attorney, when my clients are facing a large pile of evidence that shows they are guilty, I recommend we cut a deal to save time, money, expense and most importantly to mitigate their damages. Why would MLB conspire to have him fail a test, only to NOT conspire to have the arbitrator rule against him, and then reconspire to get Braun involved with Biogenesis and then have Braun give into a deal after he fought and won the first time? Time to accept the fact he did this. You know, I know and Yovani Gallardo should know it.

 

EDIT - Also, you can be a juror in one of my cases any time.

There's no conspiracy, that's the point.

 

As a practical matter the balance of interests heavily favored taking a plea right now and serving a suspension, and I'm sure his advisers told him that. That doesn't mean he was actually guilty, it just means it wasn't cost effective for him to continue to fight it.

 

I'm not saying I believe he took something one way or the other, because I have seen essentially zero evidence for anything other than sensationalist and irresponsible reporting/leaks from ESPN. I think the 2011 suspension was very suspicious, obviously. But if people had given him the benefit of the doubt there, then I don't see how this plea changes anything.

 

Imagine that Braun's camp is told that MLB is going to do anything they can to nail him, including disregarding certain provisions in the CBA, and that they are threatening him with a 100+ game suspension (and even throwing around talk of a lifetime ban). Imagine further that the MLBPA -- faced with all these upcoming Biogenesis suspensions -- tells Braun that they aren't going to invest a lot in defending him and that he's on his own basically.

 

He's faced with:

[1] Immediate suspension, costing him around $3M, on a last place team, when he's already injured

 

versus

 

[2] 100+ game suspension, costing him at least $10M (and obviously a lifetime ban would cost him $120+M), at the earliest starting in 2014 when the Brewers might be competitive again and when he would be healthy and back in his prime. Furthermore, if MLB does something shady w/r/t the CBA to try and nail him (e.g. they suspend him and make it appealable to Selig alone, who cursorily dismisses any appeal), he's faced with a protracted legal battle that could conceivably cost him millions just to fight the charges.

 

Why would any sane person not elect for #1? He "admits" guilt, true, but everybody (except for some Brewers fans) already thought he was guilty after 2011 anyways, and that was always going to be hanging over him. Everybody already thought he got off on a technicality, so he's not taking a huge hit to his reputation/legacy. He lost nothing and saved himself millions of dollars, and at the same time acted in the best interest of the Brewers team and Brewers fans. It was a business decision; risking millions of dollars and everything else just for the "TRUTH!" would have been foolish given that his reputation was already tarnished to begin with.

[CheezWizHed]

I'm remarkably sanguine about the whole thing, but the way the suspension shakes out having Braun suspended in a season that's already lost doesn't really effect me. That's perhaps the selfish way of looking at it, but there it is.

 

This is where I'm at also. One of my first thoughts was, "At least Braun's suspension will help the Brewer's get a high draft pick and won't screw up next year.

[vegasbrewcrew1993]

Aren't you a lawyer? How many people sitting in jail right now as a result of plea deals were definitively guilty of the crime they were charged with? MLB was going to lay down the hammer and do whatever they could to suspend him, it sounded like to the point of abrogating the CBA. And I'm guessing the MLBPA wasn't that keen to back him up in a protracted legal battle (for which his legal fees could very well have exceeded the $3M or so he's losing here).

 

Don't need to be a conspiracy theorist to know there's quite a bit of room for doubt left.

 

Personally I honestly could not care less about whether he took PEDs (aside from K-Rod/Gallardo crimes people are mentioning -- people who want Prince back instead of Braun, have you forgotten when Prince tried to storm a clubhouse and beat up a dude?), but his admission here doesn't make me more or less convinced that he took something than the original suspension/acquittal.

 

If MLB has such "overwhelming evidence" they wouldn't do this cloak of dagger crap. Why not just admit what the evidence is? They're leaking everything else to ESPN & co.

 

All we know is that there was some shady list at Biogenesis that Braun's name allegedly appeared on, that MLB was deadset on destroying him, and that he decided to accept a deal that affects him and the team in the most minimal way possible.

 

I will be very interested to see how the A-Rod situation plays out; if MLB isn't able to get any other suspensions to stick, will that change people's thoughts on this?

 

Perfect answer. If the evidence is so overwhelming then show it to the public. If you are set on suspending the rest, then do so already. All this talk of suspending A-Rod and Cruz yet no action so far. Bud is pathetic. I think the guy has always been jealous that Attanasio was able to turn the Brewers into a success unlike Selig's family. The Seligs were a colossal failure as owners. Attanasio has done a superior job as an owner. Would not surprise me if Selig went out of his to focus on Braun instead of the others.

[brewtank34]

This season has been such a waste, this news of Ryan Braun has led me to feel.....Comfortably Numb. Enjoy a great rendition of just how I feel about this situation...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUYzQaCCt2o

[Baldkin]

 

MLB Changed the baseball. Now, steroids are being "blamed" for that.

 

 

You keep posting that same story, this is at least the 2nd time in the last month, which doesn't connect any of the necessary dots. I don't really want to get into a debate about everything that's wrong with that article and how he connects the "science" dots together, but that whole article is just one person's hypothesis.

 

Some random thoughts from having read it through 3 full times:

 

Certainly a more buoyant core could make the ball travel farther, but how much? Clearly not 33% or we'd be seeing 600 ft HRs like on video games. Why not test cores for all baseball types and not just MLBs? Why not actually set up a controlled experiment where the actual baseballs are hit by a bat at a consistent velocity to measure how far they all travel?

 

What about the other side where players who have used claim to have gained a statistical boost from greater FB velocity or strength?

 

Maybe the whole problem with that "analysis" is that the entire thing is centered around averages instead of spending some time looking at what happened statistically at the extremes? As the extremes move farther apart the average could still be in the middle...

 

The ball may have been juiced, I believe a different manufacturer with a different process likely changed the characteristics of the ball, but that doesn't explain Bonds or Sosa hitting more HRs later into their career or any of the players whom come forward to spill the beans about their increase in production while utilizing PEDs.

 

I'm not willing to dismiss any combination of factors but beating this drum about it all being the baseball is misguided at its best.

 

They have x-rayed and taken apart baseballs to demonstrate the fact that the ball changed. I'm not sure what more you can expect them to do.

 

Again, where PEDs have helped is in keeping players healthier longer. They haven't helped them hit more home runs. If that were the case, then as more and more players took PEDs the power numbers would have gradually gone up over time in MLB. They would not have dramatically jumped in one off season across all of baseball.

 

Here are your extremes: Between 1965 and 1994, 2 guys hit 50 home runs. Between 1995 and 2002 11 did. You're telling me, that in the 25 years that steroids existed, that no one in baseball bothered to start using them until Albert Belle in 1994?

 

I'll never understand the outrage. I'll never understand how "PED" became synonymous with "Steroids" and how come the "Old Guard" in baseball has no qualms about the thousands of players who admitted to taking (the now illegal) amphetamines in the 60's, 70's and 80's, but gosh darn it, if that evil Mark McGwire did it, everyone must be punished, even those who never tested positive, who's names were never associated with it, who just happened to be muscular guys.

[vegasbrewcrew1993]

So are you saying you still believe he didnt take something? If Braun were 100% guilty he would have continued to fight. As an attorney, when my clients are facing a large pile of evidence that shows they are guilty, I recommend we cut a deal to save time, money, expense and most importantly to mitigate their damages. Why would MLB conspire to have him fail a test, only to NOT conspire to have the arbitrator rule against him, and then reconspire to get Braun involved with Biogenesis and then have Braun give into a deal after he fought and won the first time? Time to accept the fact he did this. You know, I know and Yovani Gallardo should know it.

 

EDIT - Also, you can be a juror in one of my cases any time.

There's no conspiracy, that's the point.

 

As a practical matter the balance of interests heavily favored taking a plea right now and serving a suspension, and I'm sure his advisers told him that. That doesn't mean he was actually guilty, it just means it wasn't cost effective for him to continue to fight it.

 

I'm not saying I believe he took something one way or the other, because I have seen essentially zero evidence for anything other than sensationalist and irresponsible reporting/leaks from ESPN. I think the 2011 suspension was very suspicious, obviously. But if people had given him the benefit of the doubt there, then I don't see how this plea changes anything.

 

Imagine that Braun's camp is told that MLB is going to do anything they can to nail him, including disregarding certain provisions in the CBA, and that they are threatening him with a 100+ game suspension (and even throwing around talk of a lifetime ban). Imagine further that the MLBPA -- faced with all these upcoming Biogenesis suspensions -- tells Braun that they aren't going to invest a lot in defending him and that he's on his own basically.

 

He's faced with:

[1] Immediate suspension, costing him around $3M, on a last place team, when he's already injured

 

versus

 

[2] 100+ game suspension, costing him at least $10M (and obviously a lifetime ban would cost him $120+M), at the earliest starting in 2014 when the Brewers might be competitive again and when he would be healthy and back in his prime. Furthermore, if MLB does something shady w/r/t the CBA to try and nail him (e.g. they suspend him and make it appealable to Selig alone, who cursorily dismisses any appeal), he's faced with a protracted legal battle that could conceivably cost him millions just to fight the charges.

 

Why would any sane person not elect for #1? He "admits" guilt, true, but everybody (except for some Brewers fans) already thought he was guilty after 2011 anyways, and that was always going to be hanging over him. Everybody already thought he got off on a technicality, so he's not taking a huge hit to his reputation/legacy. He lost nothing and saved himself millions of dollars, and at the same time acted in the best interest of the Brewers team and Brewers fans. It was a business decision; risking millions of dollars and everything else just for the "TRUTH!" would have been foolish given that his reputation was already tarnished to begin with.

 

Perfect answer. If the evidence is so overwhelming then show it to the public. If you are set on suspending the rest, then do so already. All this talk of suspending A-Rod and Cruz yet no action so far. Bud is pathetic. I think the guy has always been jealous that Attanasio was able to turn the Brewers into a success unlike Selig's family. The Seligs were a colossal failure as owners. Attanasio has done a superior job as an owner. Would not surprise me if Selig went out of his to focus on Braun instead of the others.

[ilikewisco]

There's no conspiracy, that's the point.

 

As a practical matter the balance of interests heavily favored taking a plea right now and serving a suspension, and I'm sure his advisers told him that. That doesn't mean he was actually guilty, it just means it wasn't cost effective for him to continue to fight it.

 

I'm not saying I believe he took something one way or the other, because I have seen essentially zero evidence for anything other than sensationalist and irresponsible reporting/leaks from ESPN. I think the 2011 suspension was very suspicious, obviously. But if people had given him the benefit of the doubt there, then I don't see how this plea changes anything.

 

Imagine that Braun's camp is told that MLB is going to do anything they can to nail him, including disregarding certain provisions in the CBA, and that they are threatening him with a 100+ game suspension (and even throwing around talk of a lifetime ban). Imagine further that the MLBPA -- faced with all these upcoming Biogenesis suspensions -- tells Braun that they aren't going to invest a lot in defending him and that he's on his own basically.

 

He's faced with:

[1] Immediate suspension, costing him around $3M, on a last place team, when he's already injured

 

versus

 

[2] 100+ game suspension, costing him at least $10M (and obviously a lifetime ban would cost him $120+M), at the earliest starting in 2014 when the Brewers might be competitive again and when he would be healthy and back in his prime. Furthermore, if MLB does something shady w/r/t the CBA to try and nail him (e.g. they suspend him and make it appealable to Selig alone, who cursorily dismisses any appeal), he's faced with a protracted legal battle that could conceivably cost him millions just to fight the charges.

 

Why would any sane person not elect for #1? He "admits" guilt, true, but everybody (except for some Brewers fans) already thought he was guilty after 2011 anyways, and that was always going to be hanging over him. Everybody already thought he got off on a technicality, so he's not taking a huge hit to his reputation/legacy. He lost nothing and saved himself millions of dollars, and at the same time acted in the best interest of the Brewers team and Brewers fans. It was a business decision; risking millions of dollars and everything else just for the "TRUTH!" would have been foolish given that his reputation was already tarnished to begin with.

 

You say there is no conspiracy then a few sentences later lay out an elaborate conspiracy. If he's not guilty he doesn't take the suspension. Say you were accused of theft or battery that you did not commit. Would you fight it to the end to prove your innocence? Now relate that to Braun, if he did nothing wrong why in the world would he roll over and take the deal? It does not make sense no matter how you spin it. And you can say he is dealing with MLB not the justice system, but I highly doubt the MLB has it out for an innocent man who did nothing wrong. And I doubt they could build a case against him to make him take a deal if he did nothing wrong.

[chewy522]

I think it is easy for someone to say they would never admit to a crime, or act, they didn't commit. But until you are in the same exact scenario with serious and real life implications, it is almost impossible to say what you would actually do. While I do believe the plea deal makes it more likely that Braun used, it still does not 100% mean that he actually was guilty. As other have pointed out, not taking the deal would have been a poor choice regardless of whether he used or not. So to dismiss the possibility (regardless how miniscule) of his innocence is faulty logic IMHO.

[Invader3K]

I've been a huge Braun fan and still will be when he comes back.

Invader...No dig intended here but I am just curious how any Brewer fan can be a huge Braun fan given how he has handled this entire situation to date?

 

Sure, he can remedy some of this by future actions as you mentioned. However, given that he has lied constantly since November 2011, thrown the franchise into turmoil by being a $20m/year PED user with a 65 game suspension and left his teammates, coaches and front office to answer questions while he runs off without apparently giving them a full explanation as to why he was suspended, I struggle to understand remaining a huge Braun fan today.

 

I guess I don't really expect much from professional athletes other than to go out and play the game. I learned long ago not to put too much faith into them otherwise. As long as he's a Brewer, I'll cheer for him.

 

As far as how his teammates, manager, GM, etc. handle it, that's on them.

[RU Rah Rah]

I think it is easy for someone to say they would never admit to a crime, or act, they didn't commit. But until you are in the same exact scenario with serious and real life implications, it is almost impossible to say what you would actually do. While I do believe the plea deal makes it more likely that Braun used, it still does not 100% mean that he actually was guilty. As other have pointed out, not taking the deal would have been a poor choice regardless of whether he used or not. So to dismiss the possibility (regardless how miniscule) of his innocence is faulty logic IMHO.

 

You're correct to point out that, in the criminal justice context, innocent people cut deals all the time because they fear the worst-case scenario -- conviction, imprisonment, death penalty, etc. But these are often indigent racial and ethnic minorities who are poorly represented and facing long odds in court. (See the incredible story of Chris Ochoa, who was freed thanks to the Wisconsin Innocence Project.)

 

We're not dealing with anything like those circumstances here. We have a wealthy individual operating outside the criminal justice system who is represented/advised by the best and the brightest. I hate to use absolute terms, but it's completely inconceivable that an innocent person would cut this kind of deal.

[chewy522]

I think it is easy for someone to say they would never admit to a crime, or act, they didn't commit. But until you are in the same exact scenario with serious and real life implications, it is almost impossible to say what you would actually do. While I do believe the plea deal makes it more likely that Braun used, it still does not 100% mean that he actually was guilty. As other have pointed out, not taking the deal would have been a poor choice regardless of whether he used or not. So to dismiss the possibility (regardless how miniscule) of his innocence is faulty logic IMHO.

 

You're correct to point out that, in the criminal justice context, innocent people cut deals all the time because they fear the worst-case scenario -- conviction, imprisonment, death penalty, etc. But these are often indigent racial and ethnic minorities who are poorly represented and facing long odds in court. (See the incredible story of Chris Ochoa, who was freed thanks to the Wisconsin Innocence Project.)

 

We're not dealing with anything like those circumstances here. We have a wealthy individual operating outside the criminal justice system who is represented/advised by the best and the brightest. I hate to use absolute terms, but it's completely inconceivable that an innocent person would cut this kind of deal.

 

While I agree with your point about who usually cuts deals (poor or racial minorities vs. rich and educated baseball players), I will argue that the MLB suspension/appeal process would qualify as "facing long odds" as it pertains to Braun thus making him likely to admit guilt and take the deal.

[jazzytrav]

Just throwing it out there, but is it possible that he saw a situation where MLB has so much secret power over the lives of every player, so rather than drag out a situation that he was 100% going to lose, regardless of whether he's guilty or not, he just decided to take his lumps so he can get back sooner?

 

Secret power?

 

You mean like a ray gun or something, where they hone in on a guy and put the whammy on him? Then he becomes their slave, and can do dastardly things.

 

Yeah, I think they keep that in the back room at Gilles.

 

Yes, secret power. The power to suspend a player based on a gut feeling or because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time without telling anyone what or why or how. I'm not saying he didn't do it...I just don't know because no one on either side will admit to anything or present any evidence of anything.

[JohnBriggs12]

I think a lot of people here, in the Milwaukee media, and in the front office of the Brewers are living in a state of denial, the first stage of grief. I've moved on to the 2nd stage, depression. I here a lot of people say, "I never really was that big a fan/worshipper", or "I'm immune to players doing this kind of stuff", or "I don't care that he's a lousy human being if he produces for us."

 

Really people, really? Ryan Braun is no ordinary player. He was The Guy for this franchise. Think Milwaukee Brewers and the first guy that comes to mind is Ryan Braun. Period. You guys really think that now he's going to be able to somehow extricate himself from the role of team leader to more just a paid mercenary from somewhere else? Exactly how is he going to do that? Now he'd be hounded anywhere but more so in the place where all this happened. Oh, I have no doubt he'll still have some fans. Fans are like that. But what he did and the bold face lies he told are a stain not just on him, but on the organization. Fans elsewhere will take out their dislike of Braun and punish other guys in Brewer uniforms as long as he's still wearing one.

 

He needs to go somewhere where their is another highly beloved star player, and he can just be a guy who is a good player and doesn't have to be a good guy. It probably needs to be someplace too where fans are most jaded.

[DuWayne Steurer]

 

We're not dealing with anything like those circumstances here. We have a wealthy individual operating outside the criminal justice system who is represented/advised by the best and the brightest. I hate to use absolute terms, but it's completely inconceivable that an innocent person would cut this kind of deal.

 

 

If Braun was facing a full season ban, or maybe even, as has been suggested, a 500 game ban or lifetime ban, would he want to risk that, vs a 65 game ban, no matter how much money he has, or how good his legal representation is? We don't know what MLB threatened him with, and we also KNOW that the last time an arbitrator sided with a player (Braun), the arbitrator got fired.

 

It's entirely plausible that if baseball threatened him with a 500 game ban or gave him a plea deal of 65 games, Braun would decide to say "heck with it" and take the 65 games.

 

So I would have to disagree that it's completely inconceivable.

 

***I'm not saying Braun is innocent. Not at all. I'm simply disagreeing with the notion that an innocent player wouldn't take a 65 game suspension based on certain circumstances that we aren't privy to ***

[fondybrewfan]

In the least shocking news of the day; ESPN is reporting that Braun started buying from Bosch during the Summer of 2011. And 2-3 months later and perhaps even his first drug test after starting with Bosch, he tests positive.

 

Still don't know if 2011 was his first venture into PED's and just used them to stay on the field during a playoff run or if he just decided to switch suppliers in 2011.

[markedman5]

Haudricourt said there was no deal……..They showed Braun the evidence…..he went home(Bereavement list?)…talked it over and then asked for another meeting to accept the suspension that was offered.

[jjfanec]

I have always said if Braun used, which now it is no longer an if, it was probably to rehab an injury. I know he was hurt in 2011 but I am not sure if the timing fits. Like fondy said he could have just switched suppliers, but how odd is it that he started using that year of all years? his 2010 season was down for his standards. His 2011 was great as was 2012. I wonder if he was crazy enough to keep using last year

[kalle8]

"I have an autographed Braun jersey I'm going to take down," said Los Angeles Dodgers utility man Skip Schumaker, who often battled against Braun in the National League Central while playing for St. Louis. "I don't want my son associating that with what I've worked so hard to do to get to here, and have him compare Braun to me

http://www4.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Mark+McGwire+Skip+Schumaker+Mark+McGwire+Makes+kfpl0EAxjj3x.jpg

[Patrick425]

In the least shocking news of the day; ESPN is reporting that Braun started buying from Bosch during the Summer of 2011. And 2-3 months later and perhaps even his first drug test after starting with Bosch, he tests positive.

 

Still don't know if 2011 was his first venture into PED's and just used them to stay on the field during a playoff run or if he just decided to switch suppliers in 2011.

 

I would somewhat disagree. If this was his first venture into PED's then I think it is shocking and I have to ask "Why Ryan??..why??" As you stated, perhaps he was just "switching suppliers", but if not, c'mon!! I know it was the playoff run. I get that. I don't care though. The risk was never worth the reward. You're career, reputation, and every thing that goes with that down the drain.

 

Ughh.. I just want to hear that he was using since his Miami days and that it had become "a way of life for him". I could somewhat understand that. Taking it for the first time once you have made it and have recently signed a 10 guaranteed contract just does not make sense to me though.

[jjfanec]

The Shumaker quote was great. There is some real hypocrisy with the "outrage" of some players. Dont get me wrong I am glad Braun got caught since he was using but one of Shumaker's teammates is using and helps the team win a World Series, do you think he would have the same reaction to the guy?

[markedman5]

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/216763261.html

[PrinceEatMeat]

This new development doesn't surprise me. As I've said before, I believed all along that Braun was just taking the testosterone to recover from injury. With the lingering calf injury, and other injuries he had during 2011, it made sense that that's what he was doing. It's still very stupid for someone in his position to risk it, but other guys have gotten a free pass who have admitted to using for recovery purposes. Andy Pettitte would be the main example of that. If Braun had owned up to it from the get go instead of lying, he would've gotten off easier. I can see why he worked to get out of the original suspension though. If he had avoided all the hardcore denial though, and then laid this all out himself after this current suspension, I think more people would accept it. At least that's how I feel about it. I think he still needs to come out and corroborate this himself, and explain it. Will make it easier for fans to forgive him and get past it.

[zzzmanwitz]

The good thing about this news it that it makes me think more and more that he has been clean for most of his career and that he will not be a major burden to the club (on the field) over the remainder of his contract.