"A New York Treasure" --Village Voice

Ruh Roh

Ryan Bryan has won his appeal against MLB.

Categories:  1: Featured  Baseball  Games We Play

Share: Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via email %PRINT_TEXT

15 comments

1 rbj   ~  Feb 23, 2012 6:51 pm

Be interesting if we can learn the reason why.

2 Dimelo   ~  Feb 23, 2012 6:59 pm

[1] Did I ever tell you this one story about an owner of a baseball team who then became the commissioner of baseball?

3 rbj   ~  Feb 23, 2012 7:03 pm

[2] Heh. And don't forget to include the part where he used to be a used car salesman.

4 RIYank   ~  Feb 23, 2012 7:28 pm

I demand a congressional investigation!

5 Dimelo   ~  Feb 23, 2012 7:32 pm

[3] Right! This ish is all so suspect, I think Braun will be treated even worse in visiting ballparks.

MLB definitely didn't have to leak out the test results, but they did, they are run by dicks, now it's going to be more difficult for Braun because it was overturned on a "technicality" so people are even more suspicious. What.T.F.Evah!!!

6 Chris in Sydney   ~  Feb 23, 2012 8:37 pm

It was a technicality? I thought we didn't know the reason. Do folks really think the Commish has influence with (two of the) three judges? I'm not being sarcastic, just trying to figure out what's really going on here.

7 Jon DeRosa   ~  Feb 23, 2012 10:51 pm

[6] He appealed that the test was not shipped in a timely manner. The test was taken on a friday and because the tester thought fedexoffice was closed, he kept it at home until the following monday. Victor Conte had a very reasonable explanation for all of this, I'll go with that.

8 Jon DeRosa   ~  Feb 23, 2012 11:23 pm

Most likely explanation. Dude took fast acting testosterone for short term, quick clearing. Got unlucky on the test timing, but then got lucky the guy thought FedEx might be closed. That's why all the other tests are clean and he's so bung go about further testing. Stuff is just in and out. Haven't heard ny other explanations of how the testosterone got in the sample, and for all braun's protestations, he hasn't attempted to explain it either.

9 Chris in Sydney   ~  Feb 24, 2012 12:44 am

Thanks. I didn't see anything on this earlier, but I see now that ESPN has a piece saying what you've just recounted, Jon. Crazy.

I find it difficult to believe you could get the independent arbitrator to vote for overturning the ban in the absence of any evidence the sample was degraded or tampered with. Is there more to the story than what we have heard so far? Is Das biased? Or does he (rightly?) put that much weight on following the sample-handling protocol?

Either way, it sounds like MLB is pissed enough (pun intended) that they will not let the sample collectors work again without knowing the location and operating hours of the nearest FedEx location.

10 Jon DeRosa   ~  Feb 24, 2012 9:55 am

If MLB wrote stupid rules and Braun was able to out-maneuver them, good for him. He should not be suspended. But I hate his smarmy announcement, intentionally trying to confuse the public that by winning his appeal somehow there was not a double shot glass full of synthetic testosterone in his piss. If there's another explanation for that, I'm all ears, but I don't doubt that it was in there.

11 kenboyer made me cry   ~  Feb 24, 2012 10:18 am

When in doubt, throw it out.

If the chain of security has been compromised, how can we be sure that someone did not taint his sample?

Blackstone's "better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer" applies here.

12 Jon DeRosa   ~  Feb 24, 2012 11:15 am

[11] For whatever reason, MLB had stricter COC rules than the WADA. What happened to Braun's sample would not typically warrant an overturn in other sports.

13 kenboyer made me cry   ~  Feb 24, 2012 11:41 am

[12] You might be truthy on this, but Braun got a pass, and we have to let it go.

14 Chris in Sydney   ~  Feb 24, 2012 3:41 pm

[11] Did you just quote Blackstone? Nice. Frankly, I'm quite surprised such a high standard would (apparently) be used in an arbitration matter. My personal politics certainly lie with that axiom, but Jon's point is compelling: Has he raised any evidence there was some actual problem with the sample. (And who does he think he's fooling, really?) It does sound like the ruling is final, so I guess letting it go -- and fixing the testing process -- is the bottom line.

15 kenboyer made me cry   ~  Feb 24, 2012 7:01 pm

[14] Bruan's legal team concentrated on the technicality they could wrangle into the doubt that overturned the ruling. They didn't have to argue the test or evidence. Braun is claiming with certainty that he is innocent of ever using PED's. I guess the career is worth more than the public humiliation if he is lying. He'll have to live with that. The process must be fixed and ironclad from now on.

Such trouble for a landsman.

feed Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via email
"This ain't football. We do this every day."
--Earl Weaver