2011 MLB Season Discussion

TheGameguru wrote:

So Braun is a cheater....but an MVP as well. Confusing.

I think we understand Beast Mode a little more. It's a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing.

TheGameguru wrote:

So Braun is a cheater....but an MVP as well. Confusing.

Apparently there were "unique circumstances" that explain the positive test result?!? But of course they can't discuss them since it's an ongoing investigation.

Should be interesting to see where this goes, but it's really unfortunate for baseball if he's not cleared. MLB doesn't need to remind its fans about steroids when more and more old fans are slowly re-engaging with the sport.

They always say there's some unique circumstance. He'll be getting booed at every other stadium for the rest of his career regardless of whether or not there actually is a difference here.

I'd be lying if I said I was surprised.

AndrewA wrote:

MLB doesn't need to remind its fans about steroids when more and more old fans are slowly re-engaging with the sport.

Careful. That's the exact attitude that allowed the steroid mess to get way out of hand after the work stoppage in '94.

Blind_Evil wrote:
AndrewA wrote:

MLB doesn't need to remind its fans about steroids when more and more old fans are slowly re-engaging with the sport.

Careful. That's the exact attitude that allowed the steroid mess to get way out of hand after the work stoppage in '94.

Huh? I'm not being an apologist - I'm just saying that this crap is coming at a really bad time. If he's guilty, then he deserves whatever's coming to him, including ARod-style boo-ing.

Blind_Evil wrote:

They always say there's some unique circumstance. He'll be getting booed at every other stadium for the rest of his career regardless of whether or not there actually is a difference here.

I'd be lying if I said I was surprised.

AndrewA wrote:

MLB doesn't need to remind its fans about steroids when more and more old fans are slowly re-engaging with the sport.

Careful. That's the exact attitude that allowed the steroid mess to get way out of hand after the work stoppage in '94.

He doesn't look like a roider and apparently they are reporting in Milwaukee that he took a test shortly after the one he didn't pass and he passed that Test. Also, he didn't fail the ped test he just didnt pass.

I hate typing on the iPhone.

Ulairi wrote:

apparently they are reporting in Milwaukee that he took a test shortly after the one he didn't pass and he passed that Test.

That doesn't prove a thing. Particularly when the second test was done by Braun's "camp" (whatever that means).

As for him not looking like a "roider", neither do most of the Latin American players that have been nailed.

Ulairi wrote:

Also, he didn't fail the ped test he just didnt pass.

Why isn't there an eye-roll smiley.

iaintgotnopants wrote:
Ulairi wrote:

apparently they are reporting in Milwaukee that he took a test shortly after the one he didn't pass and he passed that Test.

That doesn't prove a thing. Particularly when the second test was done by Braun's "camp" (whatever that means).

As for him not looking like a "roider", neither do most of the Latin American players that have been nailed.

Ulairi wrote:

Also, he didn't fail the ped test he just didnt pass.

Why isn't there an eye-roll smiley.

The test wasn't from his camp, it was administered by the MLB. Bruan has been tested is whole career even before he got in the majors and has never tested positive, including when he was in the minors. Also, the source to ESPN that he didn't test positive for a PED, steroid or any drug of any kind. Just high testosterone.

http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/new...

I think he'll be proven innocent. I hope he is anyway as I have season tickets to the Brewers.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...

Braun's voluntary test -- which showed normal testosterone levels -- came a few weeks after his positive test, and is expected to be part of his defense at arbitration. A source suggested that because Braun had passed previous tests and then passed his voluntary test, the fact that the one test produced such an extraordinarily high testosterone level may be used to suggest a problem with the testing or accidental one-time ingestion of a banned substance.

According to drug testing experts, though, passing a subsequent test is not, in and of itself, a valid defense and actually fits the pattern of some previous doping cases. US Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart has no specific knowledge of the Braun case, but says that a testosterone level that goes from normal, to high, to normal is typical of someone on a steroid cycle. "After a person stops using, the T:E ratio" -- that's the testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio, which is 1:1 in most people, and above 4:1 in positive tests -- "goes back down to normal levels, and that could be in a matter of days or hours. It depends on how much they used, how long they've been using, and their own individual metabolism." Research done by German scientists showed that one particular drug boosted a patient's T:E ratio above 80:1 before it dropped back to normal only 12 hours later.

My twitter is down. I want to hear about the Yu Darvish sweepstakes. Last I read, the deadline for bid posting was 5pm EST today, and Rangers and Blue Jays are the favorites to win the bid. Other teams interested include the Nationals, Yankees and Mariners.

Darvish is a 25 yr old RHP with 4 yrs of NPB experience and somewhat of an old arm. Nasty slider that runs away from righthanded hitters. Anyone intrigued at all?

I dig that guy's name and he dates hot ladies.

Looks pretty nasty in the videos I've seen, but Japanese players are such a huge risk as it turns out, I dunno. Who's the best Japanese pitcher, Hideo Nomo? Still?

The rumors that I heard were either the Blue Jays or the Nationals winning the bid....

I kind of hope that my Jays did win, because starting rotation help is exactly what they need right now, and Darvish seems worth the gamble at least.

Apparently the winner of the Yu Darvish sweepstakes will be announced around 9pm EST tonight.

Articles that have me giddy:

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-tr...
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/b...

Bah - the effing Rangers win.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...

Another reason to dislike them. Not as much as the Yankees.... but still.....

The rumors around here are that Braun's failed test was the result of a herpes treatment.
*snicker*

Probably time for a new thread, but this is not thread starting worthy.

Here's Yadier Molina's new ink.

IMAGE(http://photos.mycapture.com/STLT/1417776/40331154E.jpg)

Love it.

Braun's suspension overturned. Braun plays for the Brewers, right?

What team did Selig used to own? Just curious......................................

I don't think they have to do with one another, but it makes you think.

Kush15 wrote:

Braun's suspension overturned. Braun plays for the Brewers, right?

What team did Selig used to own? Just curious......................................

I don't think they have to do with one another, but it makes you think.

Wasn't his test suspicious from the beginning? Didn't he immediately retake the test and it was clean?

Psych wrote:
Kush15 wrote:

Braun's suspension overturned. Braun plays for the Brewers, right?

What team did Selig used to own? Just curious......................................

I don't think they have to do with one another, but it makes you think.

Wasn't his test suspicious from the beginning? Didn't he immediately retake the test and it was clean?

I'm no science major but his sample sat in a fridge over a weekend before it was expressed off to be tested.... and guess what one of the rules the players have is fair testing.

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/fantasy-roto-arcade/ryan-braun-beats-rap-wins-ped-suspension-appeal-224839761.html

part where MLB f*cked up

there were only a few ways to overturn a positive test, such as proving a chain-of-custody issue

vs

Apparently, his original sample was not transferred immediately to FedEx, per the usual handling procedures, but instead sat in the collector's fridge for part of a weekend.

hopefully he was clean and got out on a loophole cause MLB is a bunch of idiots but I doubt it :/

In reply to all the "commentary" on this issue and that he got off on a "technicality."

ESPN wrote:

But Braun's side went one step further. He and his lawyers, sources say, offered a DNA sample that could have been compared to the urine sample to determine whether the urine came from Braun. It was a bold move by Braun attorneys David Cornwell and Christopher Lyons. But instead of agreeing to a DNA test that would have determined conclusively whether it was Braun's urine that tested positive, MLB declined the offer. The refusal to agree to the DNA test likely pushed the arbitrator toward a ruling for Braun

http://espn.go.com/espn/commentary/s...

Of course, no way (yet) to verify if the above information is accurate.

It is what it is. If he doesn't flunk anymore tests, then I don't care.

I don't blame MLB for getting their hackles up, and I don't blame Braun for using the system to appeal his suspension. As far as I am concerned, it's over.

I think it is officially time for a new thread.

Jayhawker wrote:

It is what it is. If he doesn't flunk anymore tests, then I don't care.

I concur. However, if he is caught, they essentially need to serve him with both the 1st time and 2nd time penalties combined. I tend to side with Braun though, he seems like a good guy, and unlike McGwire, Bonds and the rest of the others, he continued to proclaim his innocence rather than giving vague responses to the issue.

Like Palmeiro or Clemens? Whether or not they profess innocence holds no water with me.

Jayhawker wrote:

I think it is officially time for a new thread.

I believe you're right sir

carrotpanic wrote:

Like Palmeiro or Clemens? Whether or not they profess innocence holds no water with me.

He's been tested 13 times, including 3 times last year and has never tested positive before. He had a better than normal year because he had Prince, who also had a great year hitting behind him.

Let me clarify: Players who proclaim they are innocent are not more or less innocent than players who are evasive or silent.