5:21pm: According to a source familiar with the case, Braun's original test for performance-enhancing drugs was "insanely high, the highest ever for anyone who has ever taken a test, twice the level of the highest test ever taken," writes Teri Thompson of the New York Daily News.
3:55pm: Yahoo's Jeff Passan reports (in these five Twitter links) that baseball's new CBA contains a provision stating that if a player tests positive for a banned substance, the drug will be publicly announced. The Players' Union could contest the announcement, as Braun's test was conducted under the old CBA, which prevented that information from becoming public. Experts say that false positives are nearly impossible under the carbon-isotope testing performed by WADA. His source also confirmed that MLB has never lost an arbitration case with PEDs. Ultimately, Passan says it's unlikely Braun's appeal will stand, and we'll probably learn which substance Braun tested for.
SUNDAY, 11:50am: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears from a source that Braun tested positive for a prohibited substance, not a performance-enhancing drug (Twitter link). Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel was told the same thing, with his source saying there's "never" been a result like this since MLB's drug testing program began.
SATURDAY, 6:46pm: Reigning NL MVP Ryan Braun has tested positive for a performance-enchancing drug, reports Mark Fainaru-Wada and T.J. Quinn of ESPN. YokalSports.com was the first to report the news (on Twitter). Braun is facing a 50-game suspension and is disputing the positive test through arbitration.
"There are highly unusual circumstances surrounding this case which will support Ryan's complete innocence and demonstrate there was absolutely no intentional violation of the program," said a spokesman for Braun in a statement. "While Ryan has impeccable character and no previous history, unfortunately, because of the process we have to maintain confidentiality and are not able to discuss it any further, but we are confident he will ultimately be exonerated."
Braun, 28, was tested during the playoffs and notified of the positive result in late-October. Elevated levels of testosterone in Braun's system triggered the positive test, which prompted MLB to ask the testing agency to perform a second test. The second test determined that the testosterone was exogenous, meaning it was produced outside of Braun's body.
Tyler Barnes, a spokesperson for the Brewers, said the team had no knowledge of the positive test and had not yet been contacted by the commissioner's office. Fainaru-Wade and Quinn say that Braun has told those close to him that he did not knowingly take an illegal substance and hopes the arbitration process proves his innocence. No player has ever successfully appealed a positive PED test.
The Brewers signed Braun to a five-year contract extension worth $105MM back in April, which will keep him in Milwaukee through 2020. He led the Brewers to the NL Central crown and took home MVP honors by hitting .332/.397/.597 with 33 homers and 33 steals this past season. It was his fourth 30+ homer season in his five years as a big leaguer.
Guillermo Mota, J.C. Romero, Edinson Volquez, and Manny Ramirez have been suspended 50 games for failed PED tests under MLB's current drug policy.
Josh Gedert
Uh-oh…
Infield Fly
“Uh-oh” indeed.
Seems like just yesterday so many of us were talking about what a class guy Braun was…his total respect for the game…how he would never cheat to win a title ‘like José Reyes did’…etc.
Just goes to show you how wrong you can be!
Steve Martin
Tom Haudricourt Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
I just talked to someone familiar with Ryan Braun’s positive drug test and he insisted that the Brewers’ star left fielder will be cleared on the appeal process and that this information never should have come out.
jjs91
How would this chan
Ge his personality?
chico65
Are there no heroes anymore?
brandondc
Ken Griffey, Jr.
wait_HOWmanyrings
nah, he tried to kill himself as a teenager (or maybe young player, i forget).
NickinIthaca
Buh? I’ve never heard that…
wait_HOWmanyrings
yep, tried to swallow 277 aspirin pills, would’ve been a whole lot easier to just jump off a building
John Ballou
it still seems fishy and I and a Red Sox fan
The_BiRDS
This adds a whole new meaning to “BEAST MODE”
Vossome93
Funny that in a matter of days Matt Holliday becomes the best right handed hitter in the NL Central.
furioustoaster
Or the next guy on this list…
R.D.
There are people who would rather have Holliday than Justin Upton, Troy Tulowitzki or Matt Kemp?
Dan Nancarrow
Upton, Tulowitzki and Kemp are in the NL Central?
wbminn
NOT ME!!! Matt Holliday is VERY overrated!!
BeenThereDoneIt
Your original post said the best right handed hitter in the National League. Nice try with the edit though!
Vossome93
No it didn’t.
BeenThereDoneIt
Your original post said the best right handed hitter in the National League. Nice try with the edit though!
cedarandstone
A big yawn.
It’s not like the guy was Skip Shumaker before he broke in.
As long as these guys aren’t blasting 60 HRs and turning themselves into action figures, I don’t care. I’d rather have star players on the field than nursing nagging injuries or playing half speed.
Randolph_Knackstedt
I personally feel if someone wants to take steroids, then they should be allowed to. BUT steroids does give you more of a performance advantage on them, than off. And there is a risk of screwing up your health. As a former user myself, the media has blown the health risks out of proportion, BIG TIME!!! But there still is a risk.
So if there are rules in place for no PEDS in baseball, then it’s not fair to those who actually follow the rules, and to those not willing to take a risk on their health.
I admit I would love to see the best, most thrilling performances possible on the field, but not at the expense of BREAKING RULES.
Andy Forrester
Cheating is cool.
liquid4head
sbmke, you are saying that it is okay to use steroids if the guy is a good enough player that would take him from, lets say, 25 home runs a year to 40 per year, but it is cheating if a better player does it and goes from 45 to 60 per year? Sounds like you are justifying for Braun while still allowing yourself the moral high ground to condemn Bonds.
es0terik
Braun was one of my favorite players. This is damn heartbreaking. I hope he’s telling the truth.
“Since being informed of the results, Braun has been disputing his case. A
source close to Braun said that when he was told about the positive
test, he immediately requested to be tested again. That second test, the
source said, was not positive. Those close to Braun believe that the
difference between the two tests will show that the first test was
invalid.”
wrestlingcritic
If he was telling the truth, this wouldn’t have come up. It would have been settled privately between Braun, his people, and MLB. If it really wasn’t what it looks like, it would’ve been swept under the rug as a false positive or fluke. By the way, this was Manny’s exact argument the first time he tested positive. “Highly unusual circumstances” in Manny’s case was that he had drugs in his system that were used for hormone control in pregnant women.
NickinIthaca
Possible heavy flows? Cramps? By the end of his career Manny was definitely taking about 5 days off a month…
RangersFan4ever
I wonder what Matt Kemp thinks about all this.
AlliedBiscuit
the same thing Frank Thomas thinks of Giambi
BuyBuyMets
Like Thomas was clean lol
AlliedBiscuit
the same thing Frank Thomas thinks of Giambi
Jakmagic
As a DIEHARD Brewers fan I am shocked! This would be the last player that I would have expected to test positive for PEDs. I am not going to judge him until the Arb case is complete. My opinion is that if it turns out to be true, he prolly ingested them without knowing. That still does not make it right. It will be devasating for us Brewers fans if he is suspended for 50 games. That only makes the pursuit of A. Ramirez and maybe C. Pena that much more important. If the result holds up, I think the MVP should be given to M. Kemp. He does very indeed deserve it if the PED charges hold up. Braun is/was on his way to the hall of Fame if he kept putting up the numbers that he has been. Braun could win more MVPs with the skill set he has. Now that Pujols is gone Braun is the most valuable position player in the National League. This is a sad day for Brewers fans.
tomymogo
No wayyy…….. Oh god Braun
Joey E
wowzers
carlos 15
Matt Kemp “so um when’s the apology?”
brocnessmonster
Send that MVP on down to LA!
CircusFresh
No doubt, I thought he should of won the MVP before, but now Kemp deserves an apology.
bravesdude
I would test Kemp too . If he passes it , they should give it him . There needs to be more consequences for those who win awards .
ElasticSyntax
Don’t they all get tested multiple times a year?
jjs91
At least twice a yr,and thats everyone on the 40
roberty
Yeah because awards really mean something.
KyleB
Ugh…I thought we were done with this crap.
Phillies_Aces35
Hate to say it, we’ll never be done with it.
KyleB
I think there needs to be a steeper punishment for it. Personally, I would kick them out of the league.
Phillies_Aces35
Would love that but the MLBPA would never let that happen.
KyleB
Gee, I wonder why they would be against it?
The_BiRDS
Plus there would be no superstars haha
GriffeyandSizemore
My jaw just hit the floor i am shocked.
Josh Gedert
Take that MVP away!
bravesdude
They should .
expos94
they would have to take pretty much every MVP then from the 90s and early 2000s.
MB923
And what’s wrong with that? Give it to the runner up then, or just take it away completely.
NickinIthaca
Mostly because it was (unfortunately) an intricate part of the game. Since writers and fans alike appear to be extremely cynical about the majority of players during that period, how can we guarantee that any of the runners up were any cleaner than the current winners who weren’t tested.
TheHotCorner 2
Give it to the runner up? And you are assuming the runner up was clean?
MB923
Apparently you’re assuming the runner up then Wasn’t clean
MB923
And did you miss the part where I added “or just take it away completely”?
MB923
Completely agree.
While it’s a different sport, Bush was about to be stripped of the Heisman award for improper benefits, right before he forfeited it up himself. I wouldn’t have a problem if the same happened to Braun.
Mike Adamson
Not shocked!!! Dude has roid rage.
NickinIthaca
Examples? The monster move shouldn’t count either.
EarlyMorningBoxscore
Holy Crap….I’m shocked…..can we give the NL MVP to Kemp now?
Yanks48
BRAUN!! HOW COULD YOU!!!
LUWahooNatFan
Disappointing
vtadave
Shocking really. There goes the Brewers’ season unless this is overturned.
Matt Kemp – 2011 NL MVP.
sherrilltradedooverexperience
I’m glad I didn’t have to take it upon myself to award Kemp the award in this thread 🙂
dourparoxysm
HOLY HALIBUT
dpm21
that’s really upsetting, I liked Ryan Braun a lot
metsfan121
Damn I liked him too…
Triple Hawpes Brewed
MVP tests positive for roids. Yawn…how cliche.
NickinIthaca
You don’t seem like you really like baseball….
NYBravosFan10
oh no…not Braun!!!
parkdav
This is just shocking.
Chad Hurley
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Shawnthemon
Is it not too yet to give Kemp the MVP that he deserved in the first place?
The brewers are in some trouble for the first 50 games…ugly middle of the order compared to last year.
The_BiRDS
HAHAHAHA! MVP MVP MVP! Tweet that Nyger!
vtadave
“Nyger”?
NYBravosFan10
i never understood what in the world his parents were thinking. What on earth did they name their african-american son “Nyjer”
Dynasty22
Huh? Is “Nyjer” a white name or something?
NYBravosFan10
lol
bravesdude
John Rocker calls him that just to be nice .
The_BiRDS
Ha ha I just realized how racist and ignorant my comment looks..
The_BiRDS
Yeah.. Brauns boy Nyger Morgan has a lot to say.. would love to know his thoughts
Kolukonu
I think he’s referring to Nyger Morgan.
$1639604
This should be interesting…
Eddie Robbins
At my age….nothing shocks me about people. Money and fame will cause people to do most anything. In the end, how does it satisfy? How does cheating make you feel good about winning a trophy?
E Scalez
Epistane. Good stuff, legal…but not for him.
E Scalez
Great, now the government will ban this stuff for the rest of us 🙁
Encarnacion's Parrot
MVPED.
Moseyah
Seems like a generally good guy. Horrible decision by him if it is indeed true. Has enough talent to succeed without it. My boy Kemp deserved NL MVP. Should be given to him if these tests/allegations are true.
Dem0nBear24
completely shocked and speechless. wow
go_jays_go
Oh yeah so I’m assuming there are the same ‘vitamins’ that David Ortiz used several years earlier.
If you can prove yourself innocent in front of an arbitrator, then fine, I’ll begrudgingly believe you. Otherwise, your best to come clean now.
Matt Manzella
I don’t watch Braun often enough to judge, but I am rather shocked. I think we should wait to see which “PEDs” he tested positive for before we condemn him entirely.
FS54 2
I am still going to wait for some more confirmation from others. I don’t want to believe it yet.
Josh Gedert
Yeah, this is all false.
JohnS
Dude… your in denial. Its not false.
Tyler Karsch
Sarcasm
neilg
Disappointing…wasn’t a big fan to begin with, but I’m pretty sure he has a ton of young fans who look up to him and this happens…obviously bad for the game…
shysox
“Braun deserved the MVP over Kemp.”
lol
slider32
Not surprising, players all try to get an edge. Hopefully they won’t let him out of it because Selig has ties to the Brewers. What good for Manny is good for Braun. Of course he’s the only one doing it.
lefty177
So Manny got 50 instead of 100 so Braun should get 25 instead of 50?
cedarandstone
Manny got 50 and 100.
I still think he’s the most brilliant hitter I’ve ever seen.
Jay 30
Manny’s 100 was reduced to 50, just for chips & giggles. Nobody’s going to sign him anyways, so MLB just humored him. I’m sure Selig is still chuckling to himself.
slider32
Manny was money!
jedicouncil
twisted by the dark side, braun was.
Encarnacion's Parrot
Well, cookies do they have..
Kyle Green
dude i would have guessed he would test positive for cocaine. look how blood shot and bulgy his eyes are.
mo2119
??? So that how he gets his power… too much power for such a skinny frame
Dynasty22
Time to test Ellsbery!
Lucas Kschischang
Two words: Alexei Ramirez, guy weights like a buck-o-five
HerbertAnchovy
Hmmm. Disappointing. I’ll be curious to see the information to follow.
Dave_in_Gainesville
Everybody just calm the bleep down. One way that there could be unusual extenuating circumstances, of precisely the sort that seemed unusually specific in the spokesperson’s statement, would be if his wife is allergic to the pill. In such a case testosterone injections serve as an alternate method of birth control because the male reproductive system triggers the production of sperm when it senses decreased levels of testosterone. I don’t know if this is *the* explanation (for example, if MLB would’ve required notification of this in advance) but the statement from the spokesperson seems awfully targeted in its language to be just a clever denial.
EarlyMorningBoxscore
And Braun just hired you as his publicist.
neilg
Yeah, that’s what happened…
dontsleep
Braun slipping and falling on a syringe would be more likely than this….
wait_HOWmanyrings
after seeing his inside-the-parker mishap, that seems like a very reasonable explanation
expos94
maybe he thought they were b-12 shot
MaineSox
It doesn’t matter even if that is the case. Injecting testosterone is against MLB’s drug policy and if he was injecting it (or having it injected) he’ll be suspended. It wouldn’t have been a matter of MLB needing notification in advance, it would have been a matter of Braun having to find some other form of birth control.
Carter S
Wouldn’t condoms have been easier?
Jay 30
Yeah, like wearing a condom will help you swipe 30+ bases AND keep the spermies at bay.
YanksFanSince78
I think we need to find out exactly what the situation is. If he injected something then he’s guilty. If he ate something or took a supp that wasn’t honest about what it was then that might be a different situation.
JohnS
not a chance… he is busted.
The_BiRDS
BUSTED!
Ferrariman
MLB has a zero tolerance policy. I believe it was Ronnie Paulino who took a supplement without knowing that one of the things in it was a banned substance and lost 50 games. Its in the article, MLB doesn’t care.
YanksFanSince78
I didn’t say it would excuse him from the suspension but I was addressing this “he’s a bad person who has disgraced himself” stand that ppl are jumping to proclaim. I’m not even a fan of the guy but at least let’s wait until we find out all the details first.
dontsleep
“I think we need to find out exactly what the situation is. If he injected something then he’s guilty. If he ate something or took a supp that wasn’t honest about what it was then that might be a different situation.”
Oh, okay…
Ferrariman
MLB has a zero tolerance policy. I believe it was Ronnie Paulino who took a supplement without knowing that one of the things in it was a banned substance and lost 50 games. Its in the article, MLB doesn’t care.
wholenewworld
Yes, I often buy vitamins and find, to my dismay, that someone accidentally, without my knowledge, slipped cocaine in there.
YanksFanSince78
big difference between cocaine and a supp that has a substance that’s not an illegal “street drug” but may have something on the banned substance list for athletes. Just sayin’ let’s see all the details first.
MaineSox
I don’t know that we’ll ever know all the details. The whole “I took something that had something in it that I didn’t know was banned” thing is exactly what supposedly happened with Ortiz, but we never found out the actual details, just stories.
Dave_in_Gainesville
All that YanksFan is saying, I think — and me too — is that the notion that testosterone was found in his system, and the notion that he put it there intentionally with a premeditated agenda to cheat, are two different things. I for one find the spokesperson’s statement to be unusually, nay eerily specific. Enough so that if there’s nothing factual to match it, it’ll look more damning than the act itself. I predict an unusually credible set of extenuating circumstances here, if not necessarily an exoneration, merely because of how elaborately structured the publicist’s statement about it was, afterward.
mickblue66
And there’s also a big difference between synthetic testosterone and a random PED on the list of banned substances. Synthetic testosterone is straight up juice. This isn’t Andros or something the man tested positive for synthetic testosterone which is illegal for anyone w/o a prescription, he would go to jail if he was caught with it on the street and be charged with a felony. The manufacturer would be imprisoned as well. The fact that he requested a second test and then passed also shows it wasn’t some unknown element in one of his supplements b/c he clearly knew which one to stop taking and what he needed to flush otherwise it would have shown up in the second test as well.
Matthew Young
Just once it would be nice if a player that gets caught would admit it. Enjoy your vacation.
The_BiRDS
A Rod did.. in fact he did it the right way.. you never hear about A Rods deal because he said “Yeah, I took PEDS, can I go back to playing baseball now?”
Chris H
You do remember that A-Rod denied using steroids before it was reported he tested positive, right?
YanksFanSince78
Name me one active player that took PEDS and admitted to it BEFORE it became public knowledge?
The_BiRDS
Thank you.. at least A Rod maned up and now he can focus on his career
MaineSox
The thing that got me, and I think what gets a lot of people about A-Rod taking steroids wasn’t the way he handled it (which, admittedly, was better than probably any other player); it was the fact that, even as a Red Sox fan, I was rooting for him to break Bonds’ home run record because at least he was clean. But no.
MB923
lol he lied to Katie Couric. Bonds, Palmeiro, Clemens and others lied to Congress.
Not that I’m defending A-Rod by any means, but you can’t compare between lying to a jury and Congress with lying to a journalist
NickinIthaca
Since when is Katie Couric considered a journalist?
MB923
Well then forgive me for leaving out TV before journalist.
Jay 30
Pretty sure he was in denial for quite a long time. Nice try.
KyleB
He’s still garbage
UnknownPoster
So does the MVP get taken away? honest question
*EDIT* I say this assuming the test is legit and he was using PEDs as a performance enhancer, aka it wasn’t a mistake
= )
No he doesn’t get it taken away. This isn’t David Stern who will veto anything. This is Bud Selig as Mlb head honcho. Since he was the owner of the Brewers, he won’t do anything. Except write a speech saying he is sadden to hear of such news)
UnknownPoster
heres the thing though. He is the only MVP who has ever tested positive in the same season he got the award. And because he was notified in Oct, this test took place during the season most likely. All other former MVPs were found guilty 5+ years later. No one has had it happen literally before he was announced the winner of the award. This is a new precedent for the game and it’ll be very interesting how it is handled. If he is guilty and he keeps the award, doesn’t it tell players to use PEDs, you’ll get suspended, but get to keep the MVP you win?
wholenewworld
They don’t take it back because people like Braun and dislike Kemp. (Same reason why Braun won it in the first place over Kemp and his superior numbers.)
But, now this is becoming a fun little hypocritical dance, right?
Defending dirty players you like (A-Rod, Braun vs denouncing players you don’t: Bonds for instance.)
Matthew Costanzo
Solution: Remove all accolades from those found guilty.
I’m a Yanks fan and would be perfectly content to never see A-rod’s name in the HOF (along with Big Mac, Bonds, etc etc). Doesn’t mean I dislike the guy or others in general (though, I do hate Bonds).
If Braun is indeed found guilty, there’s no happy story to be told to fans of the game (especially the younger ones) if the only penalty is sitting out 50 games.
Baseball already is dealing with a negative image due to all of the PED stuff that’s been surrounding it in the past and will continue to do so. This is the perfect opportunity to make it clear how serious they are with their zero-tolerance policy.
This, of course, is all under the assumption Braun is found guilty.
cedarandstone
So the moral of the story is be a better cheater and all is well.
If anyone believes that Braun is somehow the only guy in baseball in PEDs, then they should probably stay at home and not answer the phone. They’re a danger to themselves.
Drugs are all over in baseball.
UnknownPoster
Braun won because the Brewers were contending and the Dodgers weren’t. That was the deciding factor.
Regarding the 2nd part, I would say Arod is not someone who is defended often, and Braun still has the benefit of the doubt because he at least gets a chance to say what happened. Bonds is hated because he broke Aaron’s record unethically.
UnknownPoster
Braun won because the Brewers were contending and the Dodgers weren’t. That was the deciding factor.
Regarding the 2nd part, I would say Arod is not someone who is defended often, and Braun still has the benefit of the doubt because he at least gets a chance to say what happened. Bonds is hated because he broke Aaron’s record unethically.
Scott Tyler
That makes the loss of Pujols a wash for the Cards to take the NL Central now…
JohnS
Not a wash… they lost Fielder too.
bbq1959
The league will have to uphold the 50 game suspension. Everyone else had to serve theirs so he should serve his no questions asked.
Andy_B
yah victorino had to serve his suspension when he really wasn’t trying to gain an edge just took an over the counter substance that was on the banned list.
Milwaukee’s lineup without fielder and braun, wow that’s a last place team.
Bender44
When was Victorino suspended? Romero, you mean?
The_BiRDS
Maybe he should retire and come back next year..MLB would probably cut his suspension to 25 games… Pull a Manny.
Matthew Costanzo
Deja vu all over again
Lunchbox45
This would be terrible for baseball.
StarzRocks
Just like ticket prices!!
StarzRocks
Now he’s….Ryan BRAWN! Hey, Brewers brass, don’t forget to change the spelling on the back of his uniform!!! Will “ALL BRAWN, NO BRAIN” all fit??
Tyler Karsch
I don’t get it.
StarzRocks
Brawn (with this spelling means “muscles”)
Tyler Karsch
Ohhh gotcha.
BruinPirateAnteater
Please strip this guy of the MVP title and give it to the guy who rightfully deserved it anyway, Matt Kemp (after all, he had the better season in just about every possible category!)
wholenewworld
Braun had better BA, SLG & OPS, but, yes, Kemp should have run away with the MVP.
No sarcasm there, BTW. Kemp was far better than Braun.
sherrilltradedooverexperience
Reading the Brewers statement, it seems they are pretty confident he didn’t do something wrong and that’s going out on a limb for them, so it seems like they know something. The article says test 2 showed synthetic testosterone in his blood. Low-T is one of those fad conditions for which the “cure” is testosterone shots in your behind once every 2 weeks or once a month. Seems maybe he went along with a doctor’s Low-T diagnosis and has a valid prescription but was ignorant of the fact he had to go to the league and get a medical exception from MLB to take this and perhaps failed to. It’s not like he pulled a manny and downed a lot female fertility pills.
Rickey O'Sunnyvale
Yeah, I mean why would he ever think that he needed to report to MLB the fact that HE WAS TAKING TESTOSTERONE???? A simple honest mistake! OOOpps, silly me!!! Is his face red! hahaha!!! We’ll have a jolly good laugh over this and just move on!
E Scalez
the compound he tested positive for is in OTC legal supplements Epistane, E-Stane, RPN Havoc, etc. He should still have known better.
sherrilltradedooverexperience
if this is such a slam dunk, why are brewers putting their good name on the line with him by defending him and saying they believe in him?
If he’s so hung out to dry they would have released a very neutral statement to the effect of “we agree with the mlb drug testing policy yada yada yada”
notsureifsrs
ignorance is not an excuse, particularly while you’re making millions and winning MVP awards in a league that’s been scandalized over and over by PED busts made worse by “i didn’t know, honest!” BS stories from confirmed cheats
sherrilltradedooverexperience
so how do you explain the brewers statement clearly defending him, if there wasn’t some semi-reasonable explanation? they know the player’s medicals yet are defending him and saying there’s info not released that will explain the test. Why put the entire organization out there unless there’s something to that ?
notsureifsrs
are you talking about the statement in this post? that is a statement from braun’s rep, not the team’s. the team says they didn’t know about the test
moreover, it won’t surprise me at all if the team does come out and stand by him on the basis that he didn’t “knowingly” violate the policy. standard BS line. he’s the face of the franchise signed through 2020
the yanks didn’t cut ties with a-rod; the sox didn’t cut ties with ortiz. it’s in the team’s interest (and obviously braun’s) to try to whitewash this with the ol’ whoopsie daisy routine. “gee golly, we vow to make sure this total accident never happens again. honest!”
whatever the spin, this is completely disappointing
JohnS
You are absolutely nuts!!!
sherrilltradedooverexperience
but not as nuts as your man love/hate relationship with albert pujols 🙂 but nice try
JohnS
a Brewers fan……. that explains everything. Weak team with big mouths complimented by their star player chowing down on PED’s. LMAO
JohnS
a Brewers fan……. that explains everything. Weak team with big mouths complimented by their star player chowing down on PED’s. LMAO
JohnS
You are absolutely nuts!!!
Ferrariman
so your excuse is “oh my bad..i didn’t know!”
thats gonna work…
bluejayspwn
wow.
Johnny C. 2
Not completely shocked with his power numbers.. Great for fantasy owners but terrible for baseball. He is a face of MLB and hopefully 50 games teaches him cheaters never win. NL Central might be the Reds and Pirates this year with the Cards and Brewers depleted
stl_cards16
“NL Central might be the Reds and Pirates this year with the Cards and Brewers depleted”
Amazing how losing one player will make an 11 game difference to the Reds and an 18 game difference to the Pirates.
Cards also have a guy named Adam Wainwright coming back, maybe you’ve heard of him?
bleedrockiepurple
And plenty of money to spend to say the least. They wont be able to fill Big Al’s shoes but still plenty of guys on the open market who could be very nice pieces for the cards.
The_BiRDS
Not to mention Berkman, Holliday, Freese, and possibly Beltran… VS the brewers Nyger Morgan and Corey Hart. Ha Braun or no Braun Cards will take the Central
bleedrockiepurple
And the emergence of Craig (could miss beginning of the year I know) but none the less I’m taking that order whether it’s Beltran/Willingham/Cuddyer over any other in the central and were not even talking starting rotations with Wainwright coming back.
JohnS
Cardinals depleted????? What are you talking about. Albert gone & he comes Waino. Lost a great player but far from depleted.
The_BiRDS
Cards depleted? Please. We won the World Series without Wainwright and we can defiantly win the Central without Albert.
The_BiRDS
Cards depleted? Please. We won the World Series without Wainwright and we can defiantly win the Central without Albert.
Andy_B
First good news I’ve heard since thursday morning.
The_BiRDS
Amen
Tyler Karsch
Your bias is showing.
The_BiRDS
explain yourself
Tyler Karsch
Bias against the Brewers/Braun. Not a bad thing, just a little too excited.
The_BiRDS
I dont think so.. but thanks for your opinion
jjs91
Ur the bias person on this site so this is no shock
Simon
Not really sure how this qualifies as good news, unless you just hate baseball. Braun/Brewers fan or not-an MVP testing positive for PEDS is not good for the game, in any way, shape, or form.
jjs91
Btw palmero was suspended in 05 so you were wrong in the other thread t
Sting began in 04.
verlander
Meh, whatever.
I thought Kemp should’ve been the MVP though.
vtadave
ESPN reporting now that it’s synthetic testosterone. That means it came from outside his body.
No one has EVER beaten a positive test, but thought I’m not a Brewers fan, I hope he does.
Ugh.
Jay 30
Nobody? How about Bonds?
SouthPawRyno
Bonds took so many roids that it didn’t show up in the tests; it was just part of him. 🙂
StoutSTL
Bonds never failed a test. Don’t forget PEDs were not illegal in baseball until 2004. MLB NOW has the toughest testing in the major sports, but before 2004, there were no tests.
wholenewworld
Bonds never beat a positive test. He just made sure (per the agreement when taking the test) that the results would not be revealed.
So, and people love this, Bonds is clean.v
jjs91
Arods, mannys, and ortiz results on those secret tests were revealed if bonds was on the list of 204 players wed know about it
Daniel Han
Kemp deserved MVP in the first place
cubs27
Awesome, I live in Wisconsin. I’m sure you can see how happy this makes me!
mickblue66
Oh quit complaining..You have the Packers man, what else could a sports fan ask for
Edit: Didn’t read your name (Cubs) just saw Wisconsin and figured you were Brew Crew…my bad
sergio
he means he gets to rub it in everyone’s faces,
cubs27
I suppose that comment could be a little misleading without the name haha
mickblue66
Oh quit complaining..You have the Packers man, what else could a sports fan ask for
Edit: Didn’t read your name (Cubs) just saw Wisconsin and figured you were Brew Crew…my bad
Johnny C. 2
MVP belongs to Matt Kemp before and now more then ever!
cubs223425
What the hell? Here’s hoping something went wrong with that test or something, because this is horrid.
The worst part is, it doesn’t even seem like it greatly affected his offensive production. He’s a monstrous hitter as it is. The most shocking part about is that everyone knew he could do this without drugs.
mickblue66
How so? We don’t know how long this could have been going on, just look at A-Rod. He always had too much power for his size IMO just like A-Rod.
cubs223425
Braun: 6’1″, 210 pounds, 33 HR.
Ellsbury: 6’1″, 185 pounds, 32 HR
Granderson: 6’1″, 185 pounds, 41 HR
Beltre: 5’11”, 220 pounds, 32 HR
Kinsler: 6’0″, 200 pounds, 32 HR
How is he such an anomaly?
Billy
You can add Hank Aaron 6′, 180 pounds to that list
cubs223425
Well, my point was that SEVERAL guys near Braun’s body type (height/weight) hit 30+ HR this season, so it’s a silly accusation to make that his body isn’t right for power hitting.
The_BiRDS
You forgot:
Fielder: 5’11”, 645 pounds, 38 HR
KyleB
Dustin PEDroia: 5’5, 180Ibs 😛 jk he’s legit.
mickblue66
Wouldn’t be surprised if the players on that list used PED’s as well especially Beltre. All of them also play in much more hitter friendly parks
cubs223425
Braun: 6’1″, 210 pounds, 33 HR.
Ellsbury: 6’1″, 185 pounds, 32 HR
Granderson: 6’1″, 185 pounds, 41 HR
Beltre: 5’11”, 220 pounds, 32 HR
Kinsler: 6’0″, 200 pounds, 32 HR
How is he such an anomaly?
sherrilltradedooverexperience
I think they should make any SP that smacks a home run go pee in a cup as soon as he’s done rounding the bases unless the home run was hit off bronson arroyo, then no need for a test
Fizzzay
Ugghhhh. Just devastating as a Brewer fan. Looks like he deserves to have his MVP taken away. What an embarrassment to the team.
mmiller54
They wouldn’t have beat the Dbacks without him taking those roids (he hit like .500 during that series). The whole playoffs could have been different.
Lunchbox45
oh please
jimboslice9
So synthetic testosterone makes you a better contact hitter? I had no idea hand-eye coordination could be aided by an artificial substance.
karkat
SAY IT AIN’T SO, RYAN! SAY IT AIN’T SO!
LifelongMets
Wow, this is rather unexpected, another cheater. Only one thing to say in response: Kemp for MVP!
Joshua
Here’s the question: If this suspension is upheld, do the Brewers change course and trade Greinke and Marcum?
FS54 2
no way. braun is a big part of that lineup but in nl central, milwaukee can hang for 50 games I believe.
LifelongMets
They’ll need Weeks, Hart, and McGehee to step it up without Braun for 50 games and without Fielder altogether.
Justin
I am absolutely crushed.
sportfan
Ryan Braun is cheaters.I just lost respect to him.You would never expect someone like Braun to take PED and Cheat
tomymogo
Steroids=MVP
Tyler Karsch
Rock solid analysis.
chris_synan1
wow….
Vossome93
There goes their chance of making the playoffs again.
grownice
Not going to assume anything yet , we’ll see at the end if there was infact any circumstances for him to be exonerated, but usually this doesn’t look to good lol
DT
That means the Cards are the true NL Central Division winner
Josh Mohr
LOLLOLOLOLOL HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH right
The_BiRDS
LOLOLLLOLOOOL HHAHAHAHHAAHA your right your pirates should take it this year
Simon
you’re right.
dudemanbro
add this to the long list of things to hate about ryan braun
Fifty_Five
Things to hate about Ryan Braun:
1. PED’s.
2. Bug eyes.
dudemanbro
3. Pseudo-mullet
The_BiRDS
4. Awarded 2011 NL MVP over Kemp
Adam Moreira
That to me is even bigger depending on when this drug test was administered.
dudemanbro
it was during the playoffs
Vossome93
5. Does “Beast Mode” after a 2 out single.
dontsleep
6. Straightening his hair.
See MVP speech….
The_BiRDS
7. Eyeball Augmentation
tomymogo
Don’t get it, he looks smart
tomymogo
Don’t get it, he looks smart
CyYoungSuppan
“Since being informed of the results, Braun has been disputing his
case. A source close to Braun said that when he was told about the
positive test, he immediately requested to be tested again. That second
test, the source said, was not positive. Those close to Braun believe
that the difference between the two tests will show that the first test
was invalid.”
E Scalez
Epistane has a 12 hour half life.
E Scalez
Epistane has a 12 hour half life.
Jay 30
“A source close to Braun…”
That could be a beer-swilling fan three rows behind the Brewers dugout. As for the re-test, Braun didn’t have a choice. And this year’s Jose Canseco Award goes to:
$4555515
its comforting to know steriods=mvp…
does anyone know if the mvp award can be taken away under these circumstances?
TimothyStone
I am a Cardinals fan, but lets wait and see what happens before we jump to conclusions. We need to make sure that he did something and that it’s real evidence before we say this.
LifelongMets
This Milwaukee lineup is going to really be in need of excellent pitching after loosing Fielder and potentially losing Braun for better than the first quarter of the season.
Dynasty22
Maybe Braun ate some bad cheese?
Dynasty22
Maybe Braun ate some bad cheese?
$4555515
take away the MVP and give it to kemp?
Diablo 2
they didn’t take Bonds, and Manny’s awards why Braun?
c
does anyone admit to using steriods before testing positive? Does anyone admit to anything before being caught?
Joseph M Kerber
So does he get to keep the roughly 6.5MM he would earn for those 50 games? I wouldn’t screw around if I got to keep even one game of that dude’s salary (130k/game if he played all 162).
The_BiRDS
Do the math on A Rod or Pujols… But no I doubt he will get paid during a PED suspension
Lenmb
As a pro cycling fan I’ve seen this kind of stuff too much the last 15 years. The worst part is that 99% of the athletes that are officially accused of using PED’s or whatever eventually confess (although most of the times years later). So big chance that if MLB says he’s used: he’s used.
bigpat
Pirates in 2012! Watch out!!!
Dave Lowe
As a Royals fan, this would be like hearing Alex Gordon or Eric Hosmer took roids to get an edge over the competition. Very disappointed in Ryan Braun. New nickname will be “Roid Ryan”.
Diablo 2
?? no..No even if this does go official..not a good nickname.. Use your brain more
Onetimeaccount
Yeah, it should be Ryan’s Roids when he gets a solid hit.
Eric 20
Wow! The Brewers just can’t win. First Francisco Rodriguez accepts arbitration, and now this?
Paul
I hope Matt Kemp does a press conference, pees in a cup, and says “test it! your writers done goofed!”
Will Yonish
hahaha sucks to suck Matt Kemp should get the MVP and Braun should be stripped of his!
At least my favorite player doesnt have to cheat to be the MVP (justin Verlander)
The_BiRDS
They will announce the AL cheater tomorrow so hold the phone
tomymogo
Reds winning the NL Center no matter what the Brewers and Cardinals do…….Theo should take advantage and sign Fielder, maybe the NL Central is so weak they can sneak in
The_BiRDS
They can have the NL Center.. Cards will take the NL Central
tomymogo
Maybe Fielder gave him one of his “vegetarian” sandwiches.
Aaron Giddens
I’m not so ready to cast stones. Having asthma, I know some perfectly legitimate drugs with legitimate uses have Steroids in them. As such, I want to hear more before I condemn or defend him.
iheartyourfart
you really think MLB doesn’t have medical exemptions? besides he tested positive for synthetic testosterone. not a lot of medical uses there for someone who is already in good shape unless they have HIV.
dshires4
Dear fellow comment crew: Innocent until proven guilty.
Every substance and supplement these days have substances in them that cause testosterone spikes. Don’t jump down his throat over testing positive, yet.
JohnS
Denial
Victor
Enabler
Carlos Menjivar
In the other news the sun was up in the east!
Madman2TX
Sucks for the Brewers…
Victor
How many Fantasy Keeper League Managers are going to be CRUSHED?
FS54 2
I still draft him in first round.
The_BiRDS
no kidding….
Joseph M Kerber
imagine how Mark Attanasio–the guy who actually owns Braun’s 105 million contract in real life–feels. He actually pays Braun to put up numbers.
Guest 5737
I don’t feel sorry for any MLB owner. They could have pushed harder for steeper penalties but most look the other way because they make money off of superstars (real or enhanced). They’re just as bad as the players for having allowed this crap to happen in the first place.
Dave Lowe
Strip the FRAUD Roid Ryan Braun and give it to a deserving player who didn’t dope up, like Matt Kemp or Clayton Kershaw.
LifelongMets
I’d like to see MLB revoke the MVP and give it to Kershaw, then we can have the same pitchers winning the Cy Young and MVP in both leagues. As interesting as that sounds, if they were to revoke it, it would probably go to Kemp.
Adam Moreira
Here though, I can’t really agree; Matt Kemp was the runner-up.
wholenewworld
Spin this one, MLB.
jjs91
No need to spin this is pretty good shows their tests work, e
Ven if one big player gets caught all it shows is that one player took. Everyone is tested.
Dave Lowe
The pressure to live up to the $100 million contracts are causing these players to dope up in order to produce.
orneryfish
They’re also starting young on the doping up so they can get an athletic scholarship to a sports factory school, and then make the big $ in pro sports.
Jeremy Johnson
Braun is a failer.
tomymogo
If it’s true that a retest didn’t come up positive, this story never should’ve seen the light of day.
Dave Lowe
The re-test DID come up positive again, bro.
tomymogo
not according to keith law
CyYoungSuppan
The retest of the same sample did, bro. Not the actual retest, bro.
commenter3346
Not really. If significant time had passed between the tests, the second test doesn’t negate the first test at all.
dlineback
Plenty of people are still taking steroids or HGH, probably more HGH than anything else, and they all know what they were taking. It’s ignorant to think Braun didn’t know he was taking it. I’m sure Kemp was taking something too.
Adam Moreira
To me, there should be absolutely serious consideration on whether or not to strip Ryan Braun of the MVP and re-award it to Matt Kemp.
This is a shock indeed, especially if the ruling stands on appeal.
Kb
he shouldn’t of won anyways. matt kemp was the clear better play this season
Brian Kent
Eh to be frank the timing of these allegations seems to be a touch fishy to me. Even still, the facts are the facts. He was taking enhancement pills, probably for another portion of his anatomy for other more personal reasons, and got caught there. Of course thats none of our business. Fantasy wise, just means Milwalkee will now have no other choice but to make a play for Carlos Beltran.
tomymogo
They should sign Aramis Ramirez to a short term deal maybe 2 year 25 million, move Mcgehee to platoon with Gamel at 1B
Brian Kent
That doesn’t address their need in Left Field for the first 50 games of the season. Aramis Ramirez is a decent thirdbaseman, but leave McGehee where he is and let Gamel take over 1st as fate intended. Their biggest need now is to grab a left fielder. Unless of course they are willing to bring up the dreaded Kentrail Davis, that is if he is still even in that system. They gave up a lot to get Greinke and Marcum.
phee17
aramis has said he is looking for at least a 3 year deal. then again, braun said he would never take roids so who knows
Guest 5738
looks like Reyes just got the all clear for sitting out that last game
LifelongMets
During the pending suspension will it be Nyjer in LF and Gomez in CF? BrewCrew will really need to have Gomez step it up from his offensive mediocrity.
sergio
Man-Ram, Palmeiro, F.P. Santangelo, and many, many others didnt “grow 2x bigger”, that is not a reason to believe they were clean
LifelongMets
ARod didn’t look all that much bigger either.
heinie_groh
some folks say arod started doing them in high school. he had the look of a fully mature stud in 10th grade. again, so what.
Lucas Kschischang
Even before reading the comments my thoughts were, “well at least now the MVP will go to the most deserving player; congrats Matt Kemp!”
heinie_groh
So what. any ban is a joke. a surgery is performance enhancing, and it carries greater risk than drugs. and where do you draw the line? Aspirin is performance enhancing. It reduces inflammation and pain, and allows you to compete at a higher level than you would have been able to otherwise. Anti inflams allow the joints to work better. How about synthetic vitamins? We all take them. Or how about eating beef or eggs that have been produced with growth hormone and steroids? That would knock off anybody who has eaten at MacDonalds or K Fried.
We look the other way when law enforcement people and soldiers are roided up. In fact, I hope that the guys who are protecting us are given every performance enhancing drug available.
Throw the testing out the window. I want to see how fast a human being can really run. I want to see how far a human being can hit a ball. Pro sports are already a freak show. Those athletes are capable of doing things 99.9% of the rest of the population can only dream about. That will never change. Lets see how far THEIR dreams can take them.
orneryfish
” I hope that the guys who are protecting us are given every performance enhancing drug available.”
Who will protect us from THEM ??
John 87
But aspirin isn’t banned is it
heinie_groh
why isn’t aspirin banned, that’s the point. it is performance enhancing. and it can be dangerous. it can also kill your cat. should athletes be allowed to take a drug that can kill kittens? no. it is as morally wrong as steroids. (which will only make your cat fat.)
KeithLawSucksInStl
Is that why his eyes are so big?
The_BiRDS
No his father is Italian and his mother is a prairie dog.
orneryfish
They are bugged out like golf balls.
I’m waiting to see ” Titleist ” in them.
DickHarden
Artificial brawn.
qudjy1
As a Dback fan, i am pretty pissed. He killed us in the playoffs (when the test was failed). I really think AZ matched up pretty well with STL.
DickHarden
Everyone is a cheat, even the legends.
bigbird24
Careful, the “man” is watching you.
expos94
chuck norris?
MB923
Tim Tebow?
drumzalicious
Wow.
batting1000
should trade him to yanks so they can complete their collection…
Tyler Karsch
Because they are the only team that has former steroid users.
MB923
Says the Red Sox fan lol (Yes look at some of his recent comments)
BrandonDbacks
Dbacks should have won that series vs them!! Revoke the victory and restart the playoffs!! 🙂 I’m kidding, kinda…
But as a Dbacks fan and Braun fantasy owner, this sucks!!
leachim2
If it stands he and Manny are back during the same week.
LifelongMets
That is, if anyone ends up adding Manny to their rosters.
leachim2
yeah, but would be very interesting to see
orneryfish
The Mets will, no doubt.
Diablo 2
Manny getting resigned..Joke and anyone who gets him should be ashamed
Joseph M Kerber
“I would never do it because if I took steroids, I would hit 60 or 70 home runs.” -Braun when interviewed about A-Roid. I can’t believe that he was off by 27 homers on his estimate.
nestleraisinets
should have kept the “natural” fat guy…
Kendall Adkins
Cardinals would be the clear favorites in the Central now, right? Clearly not the Cubs, Astros, Pirates, or Brewers (assuming they don’t sign Fielder and Braun serves the 50 games). Maybe the Reds have a bounce back year, but I don’t think they are good enough top to bottom.
LifelongMets
Perhaps good years from Arroyo, Bailey, and Volquez, along with a healthy Cueto will aid the Reds. However, they’re going to need less strikeouts from Stubbs if they want their lineup to be effective.
vtadave
…and perhaps Santa is real.
The_BiRDS
Yes sir.. now it increases the chance of the Cards signing Beltran.. they should look at this as an opportunity to lock it up by adding another bat.
Kendall Adkins
I really want Beltran. The way I see it, with a healthy Holliday and Freese, Berkman doing anything slightly similar to what he did last year, and Beltran, our offense will be better than it was last year.
budman3
Fielder’s agent probably has a big smile on his face. The price for the Brewers to resign him might have just gone up several million dollars and that in turn might make other teams have to offer more.
The_BiRDS
Maybe drives the price up for the Cubs because he has a better argument.. should effect the Brewers decision.. they cant afford him
Adam Moreira
This may well have priced Prince Fielder right out of Wisconsin…I wonder if St. Louis might want to put a real hurt on Milwaukee, however. Do note that Prince Fielder is 27, and is likely to still get another contract after this.
budman3
Might make the Reds decide that getting a top of the rotation guy now puts them in a much better position to win the Central.
The_BiRDS
Or they understand they are the Reds and will remain out of contention for another decade or 2 but sure
cards2WS
Braun being out likely won’t change their perspective, when the powerhouse Cardinals will be more than enough to over-power the Reds, Cubs, or Brewers.
SixAces
Braun to hire David Ortiz as a damage control consultant.
RedSox69
Dam….
Jack Merlino
C’mon dude, I had respect for you.
DickHarden
Ryan
Randolph_Knackstedt
ZERO chance for the Brewers resigning Fielder with Braun out of the lineup.
Silence
I feel like this isn’t true yet, until more details are out. I am dissapointed in Braun if it is true, because he spoke against it multiple times and he was becoming a face of the MLB. Now he will be remembered as that guy who cheated (if it’s true)
kaunblauk
Can someone please remove all the double posts????
orneryfish
If anybody in the real world failed a work-related drug test, we would be jobless the minute the company got the results.
OklahomaBrave
Maybe at a comic book store, but not in the real world.
FamousGrouse
We would have no one to staff our hospitals if this were true…
Devon Henry
If I was an athlete heck i would be using hgh. 162 games a year is ridiculuos to stay healthy thru and live up to the expectations. If it allows me to continue to provide money for me and my family then y not?
NomarGarciaparra
Cause you’ll get caught?…and your wife will not like your shrunken balls…leading to…what’s this family you speak of?
OklahomaBrave
Because its prohibited! There’s something to be said for doing it the right way! Big Mac will never be in the hall because of it. So if it’s all about money then go ahead and destroy your body and the game. Your name won’t be remembered!
genius.gm.on.mlb.the.show
this cant be true? ryan is a classy guy?
OklahomaBrave
Do you know him personally?
coolstorybro222
the story breaks today and everbody jumps on the we hate braun bandwagaon. Now this is a excuse for more people to dump on him for winning the MVP.
cacavolante
i never hated braun. and i never needed another reason to know kemp got robbed of the mvp. even if kemp had been cheating too, he still deserved the mvp over braun.
Guest 5736
A 50 game suspension is a joke. MLB’s “independent” drug testing is a joke. It’s unbelievable that this sport doesn’t have a legitimate commissioner.
Wysocki
You mean like the NBA or NFL? LOL
TDKnies
Losing nearly 1/3 of a season is not a joke.
Cam Hodgson-Dwyer
Yes, 1/3 of a season is a joke. Precisely why so many people cheat, getting caught doesn’t seem so bad when you know you’ll be back on the field in just a few months.
There’s a reason why American sports are a laughing stock when it comes to dealing with situations such as these.
It’s like my boss saying to me “Cam, you lied, you cheated and you took millions of dollars in the process. Now, take an extra few months off work and stay at home, then we’ll see you back at the office”.
FamousGrouse
Its both MLB and Wall Street.
Guest 5734
Braun will still get paid $4.6M in 2012, proving that you can cheat and still make more than 99 percent of the world. A third of a season is nothing. Two years for first offense — now that might be something.
What I don’t get is, sure, some players cheat to get their first huge enormous contract — but why cheat after you are set for life? Ego.
Carter S
OK. Award the MVP to Matt Stairs..now please.
FS54 2
he definitely did not take any.
JP27
497
Frank Drebin
Next up: Pick who is 1st.
Jose Bau-cheats-sta
Albert Ped-jols
sourbob
These are lame, even by the exceedingly low standards of name-mangling jokes.
Frank Drebin
Don’t hate bobby. I worked hard on them.
Doug
How ’bout JosHGHamilton?
BLEACHER_CREATURD
Or A-Roid LOL!!!!
Matt Weaver
Well at least people cant argue that Braun only hit all those home runs because he had Prince hitting behind him anymore. He hit them because he cheated.
Leonard Washington
I am not gonna bury the guy before he is dead. Very few times do the players caught have their reps put out messages like this. His reps message to the media is different from the normally conveyed man with his hand in a cookie jar routine. I’ll judge when I know everything. Even then I am still going to like Braun. 90 percent were on one thing or another so its whatever at this point.
Steve Martin
He is innocent.
levendis
This is unfortunate to see. Alot of people dont realize though that many players take steroids/ HGH for recovery, rather than performance. I know at this point it make no difference, now that we are in a post-steroid era, however it should be noted that anabolic steroids have been in circulation since the 1940s. God knows how many players, HOFers have used it in the past. And not for performance, just to stay on the field. This is a demanding sport, 162 games will break you down by end season. In the past players had to stay on the field, they were playing with 1 year contracts, and not playing would cost them their jobs. I think by the 90s players started abusing it b/c all of the money you can make out of baseball. My argument (not really and argument, more just an assessment of steroids and players) is not pertaining to Braun, b/c he knows the times we live in, knew the consequences of his actions and its flat out unacceptable.
Steve Martin
Tom Haudricourt-I just talked to someone familiar with Ryan Braun’s positive drug test and he insisted that the Brewers’ star left fielder will be cleared on the appeal process and that this information never should have come out.
cacavolante
oh well, i guess that settles it.
Steve Martin
It dosen’t settle anything. Obviously it dosen’t look good for Braun. I was just trying to bring people information from a credible source.
JimBaily
I just talked to someone familiar with Ryan Braun’s positive drug test and he insisted that the Brewers’ star left fielder will be confirmed to have taken massive amounts of HGH and anobolics and it will be confirmed on the appeal process and that he wishes this information never came out.
BoomDizzle
Steroid Cheat
Chuck Norris 2
They need to strip him of his MVP title , because failing to do that will send a wrong message.
R.D.
Probably one of the last players I would’ve suspects, definitely going to wait for the full story. Everything about Braun screams acceptional human being to me.
If this is the case though they better keep a close eye on that whole Brewers team as it seems roids are more of a team effort than anything.
inleylandwetrust
I really hope he’s innocent. How could anybody actually like this? This is terrible for baseball
Wayne Bainbridge
i wonder what “circumstances” could get braun out of this????….nobody has ever won an appeal on these type of matters
Steve Martin
People are writing that no one has won an appeal. How do you know? Could have been dozens anonymously.
tdot32
there’s a difference between winning an appeal anomously and this.
Steve Martin
Is the difference that this leaked and the others didn’t leak?
Or what is the difference? Because you didn’t state the actual difference.
tdot32
it’s fairly obvious that if we are even speaking about this, then it is indeed the fact that it is not anonymous
BLEACHER_CREATURD
Can’t really blame the guy. If you gave me some steroids and told me I could make 100 million if I used them for a year or two I would do it too… Then when my contract was about to come up again I would re-up on the juice like big poopie, or jacoby elsbury.
start_wearing_purple
So… you forgive Braun and attack the Red Sox in the same post. Good job on showing bias.
cubs27
hey, don’t be so hard on him.. at least the post wasn’t written in all caps.
KyleB
That’s BLEACHER_CREATURE.
BLEACHER_CREATURD
I don’t forgive him, because I don’t really see the problem here? Sorry for attacking the poor little red sox. 🙁
lol just kidding I hope that dumpster they play in crumbles this season.
burritolikethesun
haha!
tdot32
Ryan Braun should write a book called “How to fail a drug test and look completely innocent for Brewers Fans”
TylerB
Isn’t creatine a PED? something as simple as pre-workout considered a PED?
Fred McCarthy
Really really hated to see this…even as an Angels fan, Braun is probably my favorite player in the MLB. I never ever thought this would happen and I really hope he didnt do anything intentionally. Sadly, we will never know the truth if he did or not…unless he admits that he did. Just can hope he comes back and continue to play at a high level and can save some reputation.
joesaiditstrue
hilarious. “They tested him again, and the results were negative.” Yeah, kinda leaving out a key bit of information there. WHEN did he retest? A month later? When he was actually cycled off? C’mon.
Silence
He tested himself apparently a week after, probably boned a lot of women to lose his sperm.
55saveslives
He was tested and retested as positive. Then he had his “people” do a test which was negative.
LordD99 2
Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Roger Clemens, Ryan Braun…another year, another name.
Why is anyone ever surprised when a player fails a PED test? PEDs are here to stay.
$6592481
When did Ortiz fail a test?
vtadave
2003
LordD99 2
2003. He was one of the original group of MLB players who tested positive, along with Manny Ramirez (who has since failed two additional times), Sammy Sosa, A-Rod (who unlike others, including Ortiz, at least did admit his usage when caught and didn’t come up with the always popular excuse, “I have no idea how I tested positive.”), Grimsely, Segui, etc.
In 2009, Ortiz admitted he was on the list of players who tested positive for PED usage after it was confirmed to him by the MLB Players’ Union. He held a press conference, suddenly losing the ability to speak English when asked direct questions (similar to Sammy Sosa before Congress) insisting he was innocent and that he would begin an investigation into how he failed. More than 2 1/2 years later we await the results of his investigation.
I’m sure he has top people working on it.
Top.
People.
Rene Szeywerth
The BBWA is a joke – strip him of his MVP title if he’s found guilty of PED use.
jhfdssdaf
Unfortunately, voting occurred BEFORE the positive test. However, I completely agree. Kemp was more deserving anyway.
Rene Szeywerth
The BBWA is a joke – strip him of his MVP title if he’s found guilty of PED use.
BeenThereDoneIt
A Rod’s Contract says hi
BeenThereDoneIt
lol. Have you ever heard of the withdrawl method? Na, your explaination is much more effective.
BeenThereDoneIt
lol. Have you ever heard of the withdrawl method? Na, your explaination is much more effective.
BeenThereDoneIt
Way to take some guy on the internet saying he know’s a guy who know’s another guy who said that Braun asked for another test and passed. Gullable?(sp)
BeenThereDoneIt
Way to take some guy on the internet saying he know’s a guy who know’s another guy who said that Braun asked for another test and passed. Gullable?(sp)
BeenThereDoneIt
I disagree. I think it had more to do with Braun making the playoffs and Kemp playing on a team that didnt. This would be the same for Bautista. Clearly deserved to win, but didnt.
Logjammer D"Baggagecling
That’s the exact reason Votto was MVP in 2010 Pujols had better numbers in Statical catagories but because the Cards didn’t make the playoff and the Reds did, Votto was MVP.
BeenThereDoneIt
I disagree. I think it had more to do with Braun making the playoffs and Kemp playing on a team that didnt. This would be the same for Bautista. Clearly deserved to win, but didnt.
BeenThereDoneIt
If Ellsbury and Granderson are 6’1″, I will eat my hat.
Deekay
they should ban these guys longer, 50 games isn’t enough. 2 years is way better, that’s the way positive tests are handled in most sports in Europe.
3locos
europe…really europe. who gives a flying f what they do with their inconsiquential sports.
Jon Stark
Wow.
Deekay
u mad bro!? 😀
JacksTigers
Because if the Brewers lose Fielder to another team and Braun for 50 games, it doesn’t hurt the fan base that much. If you lose Braun for TWO YEARS and Fielder to another team, you can almost say bye bye to most revenue.
wbminn
There seems to be plenty of sinless-people, casting stones.
JimBaily
You don’t have to be “sinless” to cast stones, this punk is a cheat and steals our money with his cheating, we are all more than entitled to call him out on it.
Yount19
Most are at least a majority of players still cheat. Braun got caught and it sucks for me and the other Brewer fans. Hope he is innocent but, it doesn’t look very possible at this point.
When the stuff came out about Bonds, I said Manny should be tested, because the way the ball jumps off his bat. The ball left Braun’s bat the same way. There are still a couple of other players who have the same type of effect. For their fans I hope they don’t get caught. Maybe there is not a connection, but as a life long player and fan I don’t think this effect is possible without PED’s
baseball1010
A majority of players still cheat? What information or proof do you have or are you just making it up? It’s incredible that someone can cast aspersions so freely. If you have proof give it to MLB so they can clean up baseball. My guess is you have nothing.
Yount19
No proof at all. Just an opinion. I am not making any specific acusations. Maybe I should rephrase. A lot more players haven’t been caught yet, and I hope their fans don’t have to go through the same thing brewer fans are going through.
I just have seen a pattern of players staying a step ahead of the slow process of developing tests.
Sorry if you think I was trying to attack other players. Truth is I would probably do the same thing if I was arrogant ehough to think I could beat the whole system.
burritolikethesun
Might wanna hit up OWL or something for those hyphen usage rules.
FamousGrouse
Ive never tested positive for synthetic testosterone in my system.
I hope I never do as well-synthetic testosterone is often used by people recovering from prostate surgery or with testicular problems (think removal).
orangenblackattack
Guillermo Mota tested positive for PEDs? Say it aint so!
BluMule
Does that change anything?
grownice
YES lol it could have very well been unintentional, we’ll have to see.
JacksTigers
How do you unintentionaly smoke Mama Juana? Or anything else for that matter?
grownice
Injesting a supplement that you didnt realize had a banned substance? It’s not that far fetched. There’s clearly more to the story.
JacksTigers
It won’t matter though. Just because you didn’t know, doesn’t mean it’s okay.
grownice
But it does change the , “hes a steroid cheat” part of the story , by quite a large margin.
JacksTigers
He’ll still have the suspension though.
grownice
That remains to be determined, it could alter the punishment.