[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by Runscott

I think you took this all way too personally. In response to Kenny, I didn't burn you at the stake for defending Braun - if I lit any matches, it was for your reference that I was posting out of ignorance, which simply wasn't true. The comments about Braun were only about Braun - not about Milwaukee and certainly not about you. Any judging we do of you is based entirely on your posts here - not on the team you support. You seem like a nice enough guy, and you are certainly very studious. I very much appreciate your sharing your research, and that goes for the stuff you posted here about Braun (which I read). But my thoughts about him haven't changed.

I'm also very happy that Kenny and I haven't gotten into it for quite some time

Scott, I apologize profusely. I wasn't meaning to say that you were posting about him out of ignorance, and I tried (unsuccessfully) to clarify that my post wasn't meant to single you out. What I meant to say is your statement about Braun is one that is often made by other people who demonstrate that they are ignorant of the facts, relying solely on a few talking points that have been repeated ad nauseam. Even after things have been proven 100% false--completely devoid of any factual merit whatsoever, like the Jeff Passan article about Braun calling Tulowitzki, Kemp and Votto for support--people still throw that out there at every opportunity. I'm seeing less talk about Braun online now, as this has died down somewhat, but whenever this whole debacle comes up somewhere, invariably the "Braun trashed Laurenzi Jr's reputation, calling him an anti-semitic Cubs fan, and got him fired", or something along those lines still comes up, and it's maddening. It's a lot like when I get into what starts out as a friendly political debate with people online. The world wide web has created an interesting phenomena, the "internet expert". One example I can remember clearly was somebody who didn't have even the most rudimentary grasp of how the legislative branch of our government works calling a professor of political science at Chicago University "an idiot". This guy actually called the tenured professor, who, if my memory serves me correctly, had a PhD in Constitutional Law from Stanford University, an idiot when he pointed out that members of the United States Senate serve six year terms, not four year terms. All I could do was laugh.

But anyway, when I get into really drawn out thoughts, Scott, I sometimes get tripped up, and don't effectively communicate what I am trying to say. I am on so many different medications right now, and they all work together to mess with my head just a little, and sometimes that is enough. Please accept my apology. You are certainly entitled to whatever opinion you may hold. I try to present facts, and let whomever I am speaking with review those facts, and draw their own conclusions.