Ryan Braun

Reply-to:The cheater was i-4 last night. He needs to be buzzed every time he steps to the plate. Talk about A-Fraud, he 100 times worse. At least A-fraud admitted it; Cryin Braun got himself a couple of schemin crook lawyers and lied his way to opening day.

the fact is that the arbiter made the decision - not management (MLB) or the players union (Players Assn) so his schemin crook lawyers had nothing to do with it. they presented their case ... management was against him, players association was for him, and the arbiter breaks the tie. there's much more that we don't know - for instance both the union and management don't want details of the case or the decision made public and that is pretty damn interesting.

i don't care if he cheated or not or if he plays well or not. if he's guilty, he got away with it. if not, well then he still has problems.

There is a controversy attached to Ryan now and for the foreseeable future. It is a sad truth but on the other side, he will have a long life in baseball if his skills hold up as he ages. Why? Because of the controversy ... teams will sign him because he will help fill the seats. He generates fan interest - the first guy to 'beat' the urine-testing system. It's historic.

On the field, these guys hear everything and don't let any of them tell you they don't. They hear absolutely everything - but a pro athlete should and does block this kind of noise out. There is such a thing as fan-heckling etiquette and as long as there are no comments about his mother - he will not care what is being yelled. (Of course, racist comments are verboten.)

And the other players will likely be very supportive of him - whether they think he cheated or not. Why? Because apart from the Mafia, baseball players are the tightest fraternity around. Whether on his team or another team, the other players all know him and each other because they came up through the minors together.

His weight, appearance, skills, and stats did not change. If anything, players are more angry at his sloppiness of ingesting something that may have on the forbidden list in the first place - even if he didn't mean to. He could have checked with his doctors, agent, MLB, his team, and the trainers. Many of these guys won't even sip an unknown soft drink in case there is something in there that is on the banned substance list.

So will all of this change him? Of course it will. Any time something extreme (good or bad) happens in someone's life, it changes them.

Reply-to:Can you just delete this webpage already?, it is useless and I am sick of it showing up in Google searches..terrible web design, terrible functionality, just awful looking

I TOTALLY AGREE

Ryan Braun - 1st Day of Spring Training, 2/25/12

I now doubt he was on steroids.

He said that his weight and on-field production hadn't changed and that is true. If he were on testosterone, people would have noticed marked changes in his physique and his batting abilities. His power, arm strength, and speed didn't change and neither did his weight.

And the independent arbiter got it right. The person who was supposed to mail Ryan's urine did not do so immediately. He placed it in his refrigerator (which was the correct thing to do) and shipped it two days later.

Come on. That's not proper procedure and both sides could have argued for days, weeks, and months about how that affected or didn't affect the specimen. If that doesn't create reasonable doubt ... I don't know what would.

The urine wasn't mailed for two days. Who is to say that the person who was supposed to deliver it, kept it in his fridge? And why didn't this person call his superiors and tell him that he hadn't shipped the urine yet. The guy supposedly thought that it was too late for the FedEx shipping place to be open. So incredibly lame. Check the times on the internet or call the place.

I give Ryan a lot of credit. I watched his public statement on TV the other day. I give his teammates credit too because many of them were in the audience while he made a statement.

The bottom line is Bud Selig tried to cover his own rear end at Ryan's expense. Remember the Congressional hearings with all the baseball players? Selig should have had drug testing in place years before he did ... but great big men with cartoonish muscles and super human power numbers sell more tickets than regular guys with regular human playing skills.

Reply-to:Ryan Braun should just say ‘no’ to NL MVP AwardBy David Brown | Big League Stew – Thu, Jan 19, 2012 3:46 AM EST2EmailMilwaukees Ryan Braun batted .500 with five extra-base hits against Arizona in the NL playoffs. (AP)After baseball writers call his name and ask Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun to accept the NL MVP Award at a banquet Saturday night, the only thing he should say is No, thank you.Though he hasnt said much since news leaked that he failed a drug test, Braun has insisted upon his innocence, saying he was flagged for testosterone because the test is flawed and it misinterpreted medication hes been taking. Come this Saturday, a spokesman says, Braun will be on hand to collect his trophy and give a short speech.The only way that speech will have meaning is if Braun says hes dropping his appeal, accepting a 50-game penalty and — most importantly — declining the award. Not because he wants to, or even because its the right thing. Its simply the only way for him to save his reputation.Perhaps to ratchet up the drama, Braun could do a Marlon Brando and send Bernie Brewer or a Racing Sausage to the podium with a note politely declining the honor. No matter how, he should not accept the trophy. It is not his to win. Following Dodgers manager Don Mattingly, another leading authority has come and said so.Joe Saunders allowed three runs and five hits with two walks against Milwaukee in the NLDS. (AP)Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Joe Saunders, whose team was eliminated by the Brauns Brewers in the NL playoffs, said Braun should be ashamed of himself for cheating — if his appeal is denied, that is.In an interview with Burns and Gambo on AZ Sports 620-AM in Phoenix, Saunders wouldnt expressly admit that Brauns alleged cheating bothers him. But it plainly does:You know, he has to deal with that. If thats true, hes got to live with that. And if it is true, hes going to tarnish great players. Hopefully it doesnt happen. Hopefully it was a mistake [in testing]. But if it is[nt], shame on him. What are you going to do?Well, you could give the MVP to someone else, like the runner-up. Here we go again with that:Im not sure about the rules on that but, definitely, if it comes true and it was proven that he did use it, I dont know why Kemp shouldnt get it. Because I thought Kemp should have got it in the first place. He had stupid numbers all year.Im not sure Saunders isnt still bitter about the stupid numbers Braun and the Brewers laid on the D-backs in the NL playoffs. Maybe hes really a champion for all that is pure in sport, or maybe hes still smarting from getting his behind beat.As Ive written before, I dont think much of the anti-PED crusade Major League Baseball has undertaken the past few seasons. I doubt steroids can give a major leaguer anything he doesnt have already. Im certainly not sure whatever it is, that its bad. Braun shouldnt be ashamed of anything, but thats not realistic in the hysteria of post-BALCO baseball.Im in a minority, however. Look at what happened to Jeff Bagwells reputation simply from a vague inference of wrongdoing. He is being kept out of the Hall of Fame as a result. If Braun cops to having taken testosterone in a moment of weakness to gain an advantage (even if it was to overcome chronic back problems, for example), and also declines the MVP, it will make many around MLB happy. And it will make Braun look like a stand-up guy in the eyes of Mattingly, Saunders and anyone else who thinks associating with performance-enhancing drugs makes baseball dirty.Braun is only 28. He could win himself another MVP someday, one that wont be tainted or asterisked or footnoted or questioned. But the only way to ensure that happens is for him to give this one back.


You are a tool.

Okay. At the MVP dinner last night, Ryan called his girlfriend, "Beautiful" and "Bestfriend", he was referring this to Larisa, not Nicole, not Minka, and not Andreena. So if you guys don't believe this. Well, just go on brewers.com and see for yourself.