Ryan Braun wins appeal of positive test for PEDs. Gob rejoices, MM still banned

[NAHSTE]

Heartbroken.

Me too, bro. I can't believe it. I know at this point we shouldn't be surprised but this truly blows me away.

Terrible thing for the game. Who are our heroes?

 

[mcstl25]

As I've been saying for years, the majority of baseball players use PEDs, and nobody getting caught ever surprises me.

 

[NAHSTE]

This depends entirely on when the second test took place. Unfortunately we don't know because espn sucks ass. If the second test was immediately after the first, (the next day?) then I'd say there's reason to believe the first test was invalid. If it took place a few weeks latter then yeah, different story.

Looking at twitter now, it seems as though there is some confusion as to whether the second test was from a different sample, or the same sample. This is coming from baseball writers, not fans.

Not sure how MLB does it, but most pre-employment screens split your piss into sample A and a B, and the B is only used in case you ask for a re-test. You normally do not get to re-drop if you claim "false positive."

Learned this the hard way.

 

[BigHouseUSA]

I really want this to be false, I like Braun, but for all the shit ESPN takes, it's unlikely they would go public with this story if they weren't 99% sure it was true.

 

[Goober]

I really want this to be false, I like Braun, but for all the shit ESPN takes, it's unlikely they would go public with this story if they weren't 99% sure it was true.

It's obviously true that Braun had a sample come up positive, but he also has the right to confidentially appeal the steroid use acquisitions. If you look back at when Manny Ramirez was suspended, each time the news broke after the appeal process had taken place. ESPN decided to break the news ahead of time, which ruins their own integrity, their sources and the integrity of the appeal process. I can only hope Ryan Braun is vindicated from the PED use acquisitions, but even if he is, his reputation will be permanently tarnished thanks to bad reporting.

 

[Goober]

@keithlaw keithlaw
Ryan Braun's ISO in 2011 was .018 above his ISO over the prior four years, when he would have tested negative for PEDs at least six times.

 

[1ke]

I never trusted this story as soon as I saw "ESPN Outside The Lines"

 

[manchild24]

I hope its all bull shit, I really like this kid

 

[Lanteri]

Old Hoss Radbourn

If a man having elevated testosterone levels is a bad thing then the feminists really have won their war on masculinity.

 

[Goober]

@Ken_Rosenthal Ken Rosenthal
Source: Braun tested positive for a prohibited substance, not a performance-enhancing drug. More coming on FOXSports.com. #Brewers #MLB

The quality of ESPN's initial report just gets worse and worse as the facts start to come out. Just terrible reporting.

 

[Goober]

If Keith Law is coming out so strongly against this I would question it.

I don't think ESPN would ever let him say it, but I get the feeling that Keith Law doesn't think steroids have much of an impact on players' performances.

 

[Goober]

@Haudricourt Tom
Source close to Ryan Braun : "There has never been a result like this in the history of the (MLB drug testing program." This is fascinating.

This is the Brewer's beat writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for those who don't know.

 

[NAHSTE]

I don't think ESPN would ever let him say it, but I get the feeling that Keith Law doesn't think steroids have much of an impact on players' performances.

He feels that way about HGH and doesn't think the league should test for it. Basically, most scientific research has proven HGH to be worthless, and he thinks fewer would it use it and incur the health risks if MLB said as much and stopped making it seem like this evil magic elixir.

As for his take on Braun, I think he is supportive of the current system but he is trying to caution us from directly assuming Braun was roiding. He tweeted today when asked by a fan that he feels the suspension should be served.

I think his point in noting his ISO did not increase dramatically is that it's very likely Braun was not "juicing" intentionally and this numbers could still be clean. He's been tested at least six times in the last two years and never failed, so this could very easily have been an honest mistake with a dietary supplement that included a banned substance.

I still feel he should serve the suspension either way but if it's a more innocuous banned substance it could protect his legacy.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

The HGH testing was something I thought was laughable. What is more of a concern from my perspective are amphetamines as a performance enhancer in baseball.

 

[Goober]

@Haudricourt Tom
An MLB management person told me nobody could believe it when they heard report about Braun. That's how clean his image was to them.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Not to delve to far off topic, buy don't underestimate the effects of hgh. It's a proven muscle enhancer, and it is viewed as a "safe" alternative to anabolic steroids like Winstrol V. People like Sylvester Stallone swear by it, and it is believed to have anti aging effects as well.

Then you have TRT, which rampant steroid abusers actually end up having to be prescribed by doctors, to help replace the testosterone that their bodies no longer produce naturally due to their bodies getting confused due to all of the artificial testosterone being intrkduced to the body. TRT (testosterone replacement theoropy) is safe & legal, but clean athletes think its bullshit that some guys are allowed to essentially legally juice. UFC fighter Dan Henderson is on the stuff, because his body basically produces zero testosterone at this point, and he needs it to get a boner or retain his voice, among other things. It becomes a slippery slope.

 

[Goober]

Milwaukee Brewers' star outfielder Ryan Braun's original test for performance-enhancing drugs as the playoffs were winding down in October was "insanely high, the highest ever for anyone who has ever taken a test, twice the level of the highest test ever taken," said a source familiar with the developing case in which Ryan was reported to have tested positive for an elevated level of testosterone caused by a synthetic substance, triggering a possible 50-game suspension if the test results are upheld.

According to the source, there are also chain of custody issues involving the test, which was first performed by Major League Baseball during the playoffs, then sent to the WADA lab. A positive test in MLB is triggered by an elevated level of testosterone to epitestosterone; the trigger point is a 4-1 ratio.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...ts-client-peds-article-1.990020#ixzz1gGVXbtc6


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...ts-client-peds-article-1.990020#ixzz1gGUBk8fv

I really want to know the full story. This is crazy.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

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.
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It's like I said earlier, false positives are ultra rare, especially as we move forward with the methods being used.

The big key people are kind of over looking here, is Braun in not denying the positive result. The statement released by his rep was very carefully constructed, with the use of the word intentional, which shows that the Braun side concedes the raised levels of artificial induced testosterone.

It looks like he will try to blame whatever supplement he took, but at least in the NFL and with state athletic commissions (which test professional combat sports combatants such as MMA, boxing, kickboxing, etc), the precedent has always been that the athlete is responsible for what he puts in his body...so basically, tough shit. You took it, you're beat.

 

[moneyman255]

Ryan Braun's testosterone levels during his failed drug test were "insanely high, the highest ever for anyone who has ever taken a test, twice the level of the highest test ever taken," a source told Teri Thompson of the New York Daily News.


"The argument before the appeals board won't be that the original ratio was so high and doesn't make sense," said the source, "but there will be a defense. It's not something he knew or should have known about."


This just keeps getting more odd as each day goes by.

 

[NAHSTE]

It looks like he will try to blame whatever supplement he took, but at least in the NFL and with state athletic commissions (which test professional combat sports combatants such as MMA, boxing, kickboxing, etc), the precedent has always been that the athlete is responsible for what he puts in his body...so basically, tough shit. You took it, you're beat.

Image control though. Big difference between JUICING and making an honest mistake and serving your 50 game suspension cooperatively.

We'll see how it plays out but if it is just a bizarre substance that he didn't know about, I don't think it will damage his credibility that much. The suspension will suck and I think it should be held up no matter what, but I'm at least willing to hear more details on exactly what it was he had in his system before I vilify him.