[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

Eh...ummmm...you don't really believe that Braun is innocent do you?

No, I definitely think he took a banned substance. I don't think he took a performance enhancing drug. Does that make my stance a little clearer, I hope?

As I said, he did something against the rules, and should absolutely be suspended. The problem I have is that Major League Baseball, which has played fast and loose with the "we're going to ban Braun, A Rod and 20 other players the week after the All Star Game" talk, is curiously hush hush with the details of what exactly he took. I guess in their eyes it's ok to suspend a player no matter what they had to do to get it, but ask for any of the facts germane to the suspension, and "well, that's strictly confidential". It stinks.

If MLB is so interested in cleaning up the sport, why not tell the fans what each suspended individual was guilty of taking? Because I look at Ryan Braun, and I'm not seeing Mark McGwire circa 1998, or Barry Bonds circa 2001. Braun is pretty much the same guy that came into the big leagues in 2007. The same guy that was a star at the University of Miami, and in high school in California. This isn't Melky Cabrera, who went from being a career .275 hitter to a .340 hitting MVP candidate. Ryan Braun was a top 100 amateur prospect per Baseball America. He was First Team All-American in college. So, I guess he started using PEDs in high school?

Or, maybe he didn't take PEDs. Maybe he took something like I'd mentioned earlier, to try and heal an injury that had plagued him all season. Isn't that at least possible?