Fresh off of winning the National League’s Most Valuable Player Award, there’s accusations of something bad in the air. Milwaukee
Ryan Braun
Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun has been accused by Major League Baseball of being a cheater.
This is the type of thing that’s supposed to happen in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, not in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It’s like you got jacked in the mid-section and you’re still trying to catch your breath.
First its word that Prince Fielder will be leaving Milwaukee via free agency, then it’s the Brewers “Golden Boy”, Ryan Braun that is looking at a 50-game suspension for testing positive for a performance enhancing drug (PED).
Certainly everybody in Braun’s camp is on the defensive and claiming innocence. A Braun spokesman said, “We are confident he will ultimately be exonerated.”
Braun called the accusations “B.S.”
Braun’s attorney David Cornwell told the New York Daily News: “He did not take performance-enhancing drugs, and anyone who writes that is wrong.”
Baseball people can’t believe Braun could be guilty of such an act. Even Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig pointed to Braun as a shining example of how baseball had cleaned up its act.
But despite all of the claims by the Braun camp, the numbers just don’t lie. Braun’s positive result was triggered by elevated levels of testosterone in his system. That testosterone was found to be synthetic, meaning it wasn’t produced by Braun’s body.
To date, players are 0 for 13 in having their cases overturned by an arbitrator. That means the numbers are found to be totally reliable. Braun has a hearing in January.
The Baseball Writers of America say they won’t take Braun’s 2011 MVP Award away from him. That could still change, but that’s the least of Braun’s worries. If this is proven true, Braun’s shot at baseball’s Hall of Fame will go right down the drain.
Braun is claiming he never tested positive for a PED. Even if that’s true, he’s not out of the woods. The positive test means he’s tested positive for something on baseball’s banned list of supplements. If Braun didn’t know what he was taking was banned by baseball, that’s on the player. With as much as he has at stake, making that kid of mistake would be inexcusable.
Brewer fans are hoping this all goes away. Based on history, that’s not likely to happen. Brewer Nation is hoping this isn’t their dagger.