Braun Suspended for Remainder of 2013 Season: Busted by A-Rod/his people?

[502 to Right]

I cannot believe people on this board are defending Braun like he's a sympathetic figure. Disgusting.

 

I don't give a crap what Braun says at this point. The man is a liar. His chance to tell the truth has come and gone.

 

If I had done this intentionally or unintentionally, I’d be the first one to step up and say, ‘I did it.’ By no means am I perfect, but if I’ve ever made any mistakes in my life I’ve taken responsibility for my actions. I truly believe in my heart, and I would bet my life, that this substance never entered my body at any point.

 

I will continue to take the high road because that’s who I am, and that’s the way that I’ve lived my life. We won because the truth is on my side. The truth is always relevant, and at the end of the day the truth prevailed.

[homer]

I did not see this posted today, so here it is. Troy Tulowitzki has spoken, and says that Braun did not at any time ask him for support, or disparage Laurenzi, Jr.

 

“He never say anything like that to me or asked for my support,” Tulowitzki said after reading the story on Monday.

 

“I talked to him throughout the whole process. It was more as a friend. It wasn’t anything more than that. He never tried to change my opinion on the subject or anything like that. It was more of me saying, ‘Hey, how is this going? Is this taking a toll on you?’^”

 

http://blogs.denverpost.com/rockies/2013/08/19/troy-tulowitzki-says-ryan-braun-never-disparaged-sample-collector-to-him/15391/

 

 

This news upsets Buster Olney.

[The stache]

I cannot believe people on this board are defending Braun like he's a sympathetic figure. Disgusting.

 

Whoa, slow down. Braun's suspended, and rightfully so for taking something (as of yet, we don't know what) that MLB has on it's prohibited substance list. Nobody's defending him for that.

 

But when ESPN and Yahoo Sports are both saying "Braun contacted Tulowitzki, Votto and Kemp, telling them to back him up because the collector was an anti-sematic Cubs fan", then two of the three guys he (finger quotes) supposedly contacted come out and say that's a complete fabrication, do you not stop to pause at all and at least question some of the other stories they've published?

 

ESPN is famous for the "unnamed" or "confidential source". They can pretty much publish whatever they want, and since we can't confront, or at all question the people providing this information, or challenge it's veracity, do we just accept everything they say on it's face?

 

No.

 

Braun is guilty of doing wrong. But is he the manipulative monster ESPN and Yahoo are trying to make him out to be? Well, in this instance, they appear to be completely wrong. So maybe they're wrong about some other things, too.

 

The point is we don't have the bleeping facts. Everybody is slinging stuff at Braun, tarnishing his name left and right. And maybe some of it is warranted. But there's also a lot of stuff, it appears, that is being made up.

[torts]

LOL some of you are taking this WAY to seriously.

[Patrick425]

I love the defense of Braun by stating "other people do it."

 

And no, people do not lie and cover up all the time. It's part of life? Maybe for the lying low character people of the world but you make it sound like we are all lying and covering things up all the time. Completely baffled by your response.

 

Amen Brother. Is this how people were raised...or how they are raising their kids? "Hey son, it's ok to do bad things as long as other people are doing them also" Yikes.

[jerichoholicninja]

LOL some of you are taking this WAY to seriously.

 

Best and most important post in this whole thread. Some people's reactions here are just unbelievable.

[torts]

cant wait for 40 more pages once Braun releases his written in crayon statement

[thebruce44]

cant wait for 40 more pages once Braun releases his written in crayon statement

 

He will probably at least use capital letters and punctuation.

[Patrick425]

cant wait for 40 more pages once Braun releases his written in crayon statement

 

He will probably at least use capital letters and punctuation.

 

And I'm sure his hair will look flawless as he's writing it.

[trwi7]

I hope he has a design for his new Affliction shirt drawn on the back.

[TURBO]

LOL some of you are taking this WAY to seriously.

 

^THIS!

 

Calm down and breathe... we will have the entire story at some point, maybe not today or tomorrow, but it will come out, and if not, it's still just a game.

[logan82]

cant wait for 40 more pages once Braun releases his written in crayon statement

 

He will probably at least use capital letters and punctuation.

He probably will not use IM speak either, which is nice.

[FVBrewerFan]

LOL some of you are taking this WAY to seriously.

 

 

I don't want to convince you, or anyone, how seriously you should be taking it. Personally, I DO take it very seriously because it has a direct effect on wins and losses next year and years to follow. And that's why we're all on this site to begin with.

[trwi7]

Wait, how does this effect wins and losses next year?

[FVBrewerFan]

Wait, how does this effect wins and losses next year?

 

Several ways. First, how excited do you think Free Agents are to sign with the Brewers and the Brain sideshow? Sure, money talks, but if things are close I don't think too many players WANT to be on the Brewers, they way they did for a few years now. Milwaukee was finally a viable destination, Fun clubhouse, nice park, starting to win. Not anymore.

 

Ditto for current players. Will Segura or other players be billing to sign a long term deal now? Maybe, but I bet they're thinking twice. Braun will have effect on trades also. Very well he may already HAVE had an effect on trades at the deadline this year. Why? In business, you smell weakness. If you know there's turmoil going on in Milwaukee, you may not offer as much in return. That's what happens when you negotiate ina position of weakness.

 

Finally, I think attendance will suffer. Some of you don't realize how upset a whole lot of Brewer fans are. Whther they should be this upset or not is irrelevant. They are, and that will translate to lower ticket sales. Especuilly coming off a losing season. Less revenue = less money to spend on the roster.

 

Those are all tangible ways Braun's actions will have on wins and losses. Not to mention the intangibles of 24 other players having to deal with this circus all year.

[burnzy24]

LOL some of you are taking this WAY to seriously.

 

Thank you.

 

Let's think about this for a second.

 

Ryan Braun takes PED's = 71+ page thread, 35 pages after his suspension

Yo drinks and drives, could have killed someone = 11 page thread

 

In only one of these threads was the player was called almost every name under the sun and people made requests that the player be sent out of Milwaukee. PED speculation has transformed ESPN, Yahoo and others into US Weekly and TMZ and a lot of fans are eating this up for whatever reason. Braun screwed up and he lied, something I know I have done in my past and as much as I hate to admit it I will probably do again. The only difference is that Braun's actions were very public. However, my views on this subject have changed over the years and now I don't feel like I can really pass judgment on Ryan since I have never been in his situation. None of us have ever been put in a situation where if we took a pill, which would never show up in a drug test, you have the chance to be stronger/ recover from an injury faster/ etc and potentially make millions of dollars playing the game you love. There is a reason many retired players, including Robin Yount, have said they would have been tempted too if this option was available to them during their playing days which is all the more reason why others like Kirk Gibson look extremely foolish for what he is saying. For all the players who were tempted and said no, I give them a lot of respect. However, it is literally insane to want him forever banished from the team just because Ryan wasn't as strong as others. Unfortunately, some in this thread are taking this very personally and are blowing this situation way out of proportion.

 

As a final note, I hope MLB is realizing that this entire situation is turning some fans like me off from watching baseball. Bud has determined that his swan song as commissioner will be acting tough on PED's so people forget he was complacent for so many years. However, in order to get this he has given deals to drug dealers, filed frivolous lawsuits, leaked an insane amount of confidential information, and made it open season for speculation on PED users. The NFL has PED users too, but you don't see Goodell doing anything close to Bud's public war on PED's.

[JohnBriggs12]

Wait, how does this effect wins and losses next year?

 

Several ways. First, how excited do you think Free Agents are to sign with the Brewers and the Brain sideshow? Sure, money talks, but if things are close I don't think too many players WANT to be on the Brewers, they way they did for a few years now. Milwaukee was finally a viable destination, Fun clubhouse, nice park, starting to win. Not anymore.

 

Ditto for current players. Will Segura or other players be billing to sign a long term deal now? Maybe, but I bet they're thinking twice. Braun will have effect on trades also. Very well he may already HAVE had an effect on trades at the deadline this year. Why? In business, you smell weakness. If you know there's turmoil going on in Milwaukee, you may not offer as much in return. That's what happens when you negotiate ina position of weakness.

 

Finally, I think attendance will suffer. Some of you don't realize how upset a whole lot of Brewer fans are. Whther they should be this upset or not is irrelevant. They are, and that will translate to lower ticket sales. Especuilly coming off a losing season. Less revenue = less money to spend on the roster.

 

Those are all tangible ways Braun's actions will have on wins and losses. Not to mention the intangibles of 24 other players having to deal with this circus all year.

 

Thanks FVBrewerFan for making my case on why Braun will be traded regardless that they can't get equal talent back. The fact is he can't hide here. In a major market, he shares the headlines with others. Where would he end up? It would be ironic if he ended up in LA back with Zack and with Kemp. But it is home and as long as Braun doesn't marry a Kardashian, he's at least not the focus of the entire area, and the Dodgers have a bad contract they'd like to unload in Eithier too. Of course the Dodgers don't have room in the OF anyway, so maybe Anaheim for Hamilton to reunite with Narron makes more sense. The whole situation is absurd and it's all Braun's doing.

[torts]

Wait, how does this effect wins and losses next year?

 

Several ways. First, how excited do you think Free Agents are to sign with the Brewers and the Brain sideshow? Sure, money talks, but if things are close I don't think too many players WANT to be on the Brewers, they way they did for a few years now. Milwaukee was finally a viable destination, Fun clubhouse, nice park, starting to win. Not anymore.

 

Ditto for current players. Will Segura or other players be billing to sign a long term deal now? Maybe, but I bet they're thinking twice. Braun will have effect on trades also. Very well he may already HAVE had an effect on trades at the deadline this year. Why? In business, you smell weakness. If you know there's turmoil going on in Milwaukee, you may not offer as much in return. That's what happens when you negotiate ina position of weakness.

 

Finally, I think attendance will suffer. Some of you don't realize how upset a whole lot of Brewer fans are. Whther they should be this upset or not is irrelevant. They are, and that will translate to lower ticket sales. Especuilly coming off a losing season. Less revenue = less money to spend on the roster.

 

Those are all tangible ways Braun's actions will have on wins and losses. Not to mention the intangibles of 24 other players having to deal with this circus all year.

 

[torts]

Wait, how does this effect wins and losses next year?

 

Several ways. First, how excited do you think Free Agents are to sign with the Brewers and the Brain sideshow? Sure, money talks, but if things are close I don't think too many players WANT to be on the Brewers, they way they did for a few years now. Milwaukee was finally a viable destination, Fun clubhouse, nice park, starting to win. Not anymore.

 

Ditto for current players. Will Segura or other players be billing to sign a long term deal now? Maybe, but I bet they're thinking twice. Braun will have effect on trades also. Very well he may already HAVE had an effect on trades at the deadline this year. Why? In business, you smell weakness. If you know there's turmoil going on in Milwaukee, you may not offer as much in return. That's what happens when you negotiate ina position of weakness.

 

Finally, I think attendance will suffer. Some of you don't realize how upset a whole lot of Brewer fans are. Whther they should be this upset or not is irrelevant. They are, and that will translate to lower ticket sales. Especuilly coming off a losing season. Less revenue = less money to spend on the roster.

 

Those are all tangible ways Braun's actions will have on wins and losses. Not to mention the intangibles of 24 other players having to deal with this circus all year.

 

Thanks FVBrewerFan for making my case on why Braun will be traded regardless that they can't get equal talent back. The fact is he can't hide here. In a major market, he shares the headlines with others. Where would he end up? It would be ironic if he ended up in LA back with Zack and with Kemp. But it is home and as long as Braun doesn't marry a Kardashian, he's at least not the focus of the entire area, and the Dodgers have a bad contract they'd like to unload in Eithier too. Of course the Dodgers don't have room in the OF anyway, so maybe Anaheim for Hamilton to reunite with Narron makes more sense. The whole situation is absurd and it's all Braun's doing.

 

He has a no trade clause, so... try again.

[Thurston Fluff]

Wait, how does this effect wins and losses next year?

 

At this point that is all I care about. I'm glad there is some hint of the discussion of where to go from here.

Several ways. First, how excited do you think Free Agents are to sign with the Brewers and the Brain sideshow?

 

I don't think it will effect FA's at all. There have plenty of player suspensions of PED use. Which team can you name that it has the slightest bit of effect on free agents? They come or not by how well a fit it is. Things like chances of being on a contender, playing time' money and years are all way more important. I doubt it is of any significance at all.

 

Braun will have effect on trades also. Very well he may already HAVE had an effect on trades at the deadline this year. Why? In business, you smell weakness. If you know there's turmoil going on in Milwaukee, you may not offer as much in return. That's what happens when you negotiate ina position of weakness.

I think this is about as far fetched as it could possibly be. What weakness? Turmoil in what sense? In order for this to make any sense the team would have to have a player they cannot keep. What possible player on our team is a must sell not matter what cost?

 

Finally, I think attendance will suffer. Some of you don't realize how upset a whole lot of Brewer fans are. Whther they should be this upset or not is irrelevant. They are, and that will translate to lower ticket sales. Especuilly coming off a losing season. Less revenue = less money to spend on the roster.

 

Maybe but I think it will have little to do with it unless the team sucks.

Not to mention the intangibles of 24 other players having to deal with this circus all year.

 

I won't be all year. They take a few questions early about it they give some stock answers and the story line moves to something that hasn't been beaten to death for more than a year by then.

 

Thanks FVBrewerFan for making my case on why Braun will be traded regardless that they can't get equal talent back.

 

He has a no trade clause. I seriously doubt he is waving it. Even if he did no team is going to give up anything unless they know he is going to produce. Not unless the Brewers picked up a huge part of his salary. Since they cannot afford to do that this is just a dead end.

[torts]

haha thank you thurston for taking the time I didnt want too responding to that

[sveumrules]

I would consider free agents not wanting to sign with Milwaukee to be a positive, myself. Protects the front office from itself. With the team's current payroll and standing in the division, who are we signing anyway?

 

If Segura wants guaranteed millions between now and 2018 he can sign an extension with the Milwaukee Brewers. If he wants to risk millions he can go year to year and see how it turns out. Either way he is Milwaukee property for years so I'm not too concerned about Braun affecting him or any of the other 24 professionals on the team. When you've stood on a mound or in the batter's box with the game on the line and 50,000 fans screaming for you to fail, I'd hope you can spit out a few stock responses to pesky reporters.

 

Attendance will be directly tied to winning and losing. If the team is playing exciting baseball and winning games, fans will come out. If the team sucks, fans will stay home. This is true with or without Ryan Braun.

 

The only thing I care about is Braun's performance on the field. As long as he can keep his OPS around .850 or so he should still offer plenty of value.

 

EDIT! (Yeah, looks like I took a little too long to type this out and Thurston beat me to most of my points)

[thebruce44]

Wait, how does this effect wins and losses next year?

 

Several ways. First, how excited do you think Free Agents are to sign with the Brewers and the Brain sideshow? Sure, money talks, but if things are close I don't think too many players WANT to be on the Brewers, they way they did for a few years now. Milwaukee was finally a viable destination, Fun clubhouse, nice park, starting to win. Not anymore.

 

Outside of NYC, Miami, or LA, very few cities are markets players want to sign in. Sometimes there is the VERY rare hometown discount, but most players are from TX, FL, or CA anyway. Either way, players go where the money is. How many times have we speculated it might be different for so and so, only to see them go to the highest bidder. Braun's situation, IMO, changes nothing with regards to free agents and MKE.

[logan82]

Wait, how does this effect wins and losses next year?

If he had not been caught he could still be using and be a better player.

[MadScientist]

LOL some of you are taking this WAY to seriously.

As a fan, I want the team I root for to be the good guys. It's harder to think of things that way when the star player is a cheater, liar and an arrogant douchebag.

Let's think about this for a second.

 

Ryan Braun takes PED's = 71+ page thread, 35 pages after his suspension

Yo drinks and drives, could have killed someone = 11 page thread

 

In only one of these threads was the player was called almost every name under the sun and people made requests that the player be sent out of Milwaukee.

Yo's DUI was a point in time, not a saga that dragged out for 2 years. It's also easy to believe Yo saying he was sorry because his action was monumentally stupid and was of no advantage to him whatsoever. Still there were a surprising number of people defending him in that thread. Also wider philosophical discussions on DUI's cross into the realm of politics. PED's are a sports thing so the discussion can drift beyond Braun but still be on topic for the forum.

 

In the Yo thread, Yo was called every variant of idiot that fit under this forum's rules. There was some call for trading him, and there has been plenty since the Brewers' season tanked.

 

PED speculation has transformed ESPN, Yahoo and others into US Weekly and TMZ and a lot of fans are eating this up for whatever reason. Braun screwed up and he lied, something I know I have done in my past and as much as I hate to admit it I will probably do again. The only difference is that Braun's actions were very public. However, my views on this subject have changed over the years and now I don't feel like I can really pass judgment on Ryan since I have never been in his situation. None of us have ever been put in a situation where if we took a pill, which would never show up in a drug test, you have the chance to be stronger/ recover from an injury faster/ etc and potentially make millions of dollars playing the game you love. There is a reason many retired players, including Robin Yount, have said they would have been tempted too if this option was available to them during their playing days which is all the more reason why others like Kirk Gibson look extremely foolish for what he is saying. For all the players who were tempted and said no, I give them a lot of respect. However, it is literally insane to want him forever banished from the team just because Ryan wasn't as strong as others. Unfortunately, some in this thread are taking this very personally and are blowing this situation way out of proportion.

 

As a final note, I hope MLB is realizing that this entire situation is turning some fans like me off from watching baseball. Bud has determined that his swan song as commissioner will be acting tough on PED's so people forget he was complacent for so many years. However, in order to get this he has given deals to drug dealers, filed frivolous lawsuits, leaked an insane amount of confidential information, and made it open season for speculation on PED users. The NFL has PED users too, but you don't see Goodell doing anything close to Bud's public war on PED's.

If Braun just took PED's and lied about it he would have been vilified, but nowhere near the level he has been. It was his over the top denials and the way he pushed blame on the collector (ignoring the current reports that appear to be false), plus bringing in friends and teammates to defend him that speak volumes about the kind of person he is.

 

MLB has no choice but to come down on PED's hard. If PED's are not banned and the enforcement is not as strict as possible, then taking them almost becomes mandatory. It should be noted that the vilification has not come form MLB officials. It's the press and other players that are calling Braun out. That other players are going on record as strongly against other players who use PED's, is hopefully a good sign for cleaning up baseball.

 

If any of the players who comes out strongly against Braun test positive they will be vilified by the press almost as much as Braun for their hypocrisy.