Braun Suspended For Rest Of 2013 Season

[Outlaw]

MLB is after Braun big time. They will not need a positive test to suspend him. The consultant story was thrown out there to try and explian the money trail. They are all over the dates, timing of the contact with the "clinic" as well as the payments. It's very possible this lingers into the season, but if they get the evidence they need, then Braun will get suspended during the season. I would'nt want to play the season knowing he could get suspended at anytime.

[Edwards Kings]

MLB is after Braun big time. They will not need a positive test to suspend him. The consultant story was thrown out there to try and explian the money trail. They are all over the dates, timing of the contact with the "clinic" as well as the payments. It's very possible this lingers into the season, but if they get the evidence they need, then Braun will get suspended during the season. I would'nt want to play the season knowing he could get suspended at anytime.

I agree totally. No one should plan on drafting him. Just let him drop....all the way to me!!!!

[DOUGHBOYS]

MLB is after Braun big time. They will not need a positive test to suspend him. The consultant story was thrown out there to try and explian the money trail. They are all over the dates, timing of the contact with the "clinic" as well as the payments. It's very possible this lingers into the season, but if they get the evidence they need, then Braun will get suspended during the season. I would'nt want to play the season knowing he could get suspended at anytime.

I don't think MLB is 'out to get' Braun. They have to make decisions that are based on facts.
And I don't really care if Braun 'did it' or not.
What I do know is that the court of public opinion were awaiting a sentence last year and did not get one. This year, public opinion is that he will not get a sentence.
Well, public opinion sucks.
We don't know all the facts. Only a newspaper article, denials, and alibi's.
We can say drafters 'are crazy' for missing out on Braun or we can say Braun is toast because MLB is out to get him...
The truth of the matter is, we don't know all the facts.
We're only voicing opinions in what we know in the past or articles, denials, and alibi's.
Or, maybe in Greg and Tom's case, geography

[Tom Kessenich]

if there is no more "evidence" against braun, anyone taking him outside the top 3 is getting a christmas present. ZERO chance he gets suspended. zero

Yup. Nice to see sanity has been restored in the NFBC drafts as it pertains to Braun.

[DOUGHBOYS]

if there is no more "evidence" against braun, anyone taking him outside the top 3 is getting a christmas present. ZERO chance he gets suspended. zero

Yup. Nice to see sanity has been restored in the NFBC drafts as it pertains to Braun.

Uh huh. And here is that same poster a year ago....

'Braun is it true
by Gekko » Fri Dec 23, 2011 12:42 pm

no way braun is getting out of it. he's sitt'n 50 games. who knows what kinda shape he's gonna be in when he's reinstated? he's probably gonna hurt more teams than he helps this year.'

Gekko

Posts: 3808
Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2009 5:00 pm

This isn't to tarnish Mark's record or opinion. It is just the course of public opinion itself.
And as we know from last year, it's flawed.

[Greg Ambrosius]

MLB is after Braun big time. They will not need a positive test to suspend him. The consultant story was thrown out there to try and explian the money trail. They are all over the dates, timing of the contact with the "clinic" as well as the payments. It's very possible this lingers into the season, but if they get the evidence they need, then Braun will get suspended during the season. I would'nt want to play the season knowing he could get suspended at anytime.

I agree totally. No one should plan on drafting him. Just let him drop....all the way to me!!!!

He went 1st and 3rd overall in last night's drafts. So in the last 5 NFBC Draft Champions Leagues, he's gone 1st twice and 3rd three times. After Tuesday's announcement, he went 5th once and 4th three times. Let's see if the current trend continues over the next few weeks.

[Tom Kessenich]

The difference is last season there was a direct possible link with Braun to PEDs. One that was eventually shot down but still present at that time. So the concern about him from a fantasy perspective was justified.

This year, thus far, there has been no connection to PEDs and a very credible and logical explanation for why Braun's name is on the ledgers. There isn't a single damning thing in the Yahoo report that suggests Braun is even remotely facing a possible suspension. Again, if more surfaces then things could change. But as of now there's absolutely no reason anyone should be worried about a Braun suspension in my opinion based on the Yahoo report.

[Outlaw]

There will be a conclusion to this particular PEDS mess one way or the other. The only question is when - before the season or during the season. As everyone here has said or commented, it's all just opinions, which then comes down to each individual fantasy player guaging his or her own assesment of the risk. I wouldnt touch him this season. If he stays on the top 5 or 10, it makes it failry easy to avoid him if you fall on the risky side.

[DOUGHBOYS]

The difference is last season there was a direct possible link with Braun to PEDs. One that was eventually shot down but still present at that time. So the concern about him from a fantasy perspective was justified.

This year, thus far, there has been no connection to PEDs and a very credible and logical explanation for why Braun's name is on the ledgers. There isn't a single damning thing in the Yahoo report that suggests Braun is even remotely facing a possible suspension. Again, if more surfaces then things could change. But as of now there's absolutely no reason anyone should be worried about a Braun suspension in my opinion based on the Yahoo report.

We're not in a court of law, Tom.
We're in the court of fantasy baseball.
No matter the evidence, Braun is linked.
He was linked last year.
We can use the smoke/fire analogy or any that we please.
This article was a reminder that he's linked and that he can be taken from our starting lineup for 50 games.
Some folks needed that reminder and you can bet that some who took him first in prior drafts are crossing fingers or doing voo doo in hopes that once again he'll be cleared.
They don't KNOW, as you and Greg seem to.
Cabrera and Trout are not linked and those drafting them have already factored in their shortcomings or frailties.
The mere mention of Braun being associated again is enough to have his draft spot drop.
It was a reminder that he is or was involved.
And, the evidence is of no matter in fantasy baseball court.

[Outlaw]

An update from the people who supposedly have "some" of the information. As they suggested, Cervalli and Braun have admitted being invloved with this clinic. If you are stand on the side of Braun you can Cherry Pick this article to support your opinion, same with if you feel Braun did something.

MLB Steroid Scandal: What's Next for New Times
By Chuck Strouse

A Miami New Times investigation of Biogenesis, a Coral Gables anti-aging clinic, has shaken Major League Baseball and been trumpeted worldwide — everywhere from the Jewish Daily Forward to the Wall Street Journal to a blog called Twinkie Town. A million or so people have perused our story, which just might make it the best-read piece ever in an alternative weekly newspaper.

And on February 5, a week and a day after we published the report describing hundreds of pages of Biogenesis records, the first professional baseball players acknowledged involvement with clinic owner Anthony Bosch.

Biogenesis clinic owner Anthony Bosch (left) and Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun
In statements issued to Yahoo! Sports, two current Major Leaguers, former University of Miami star Ryan Braun and New York Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli, admitted ties to Bosch but denied using banned drugs.

Braun, who plays for the Milwaukee Brewers and was named the National League's Most Valuable Player in 2011, was suspended last year for violating baseball's performance-enhancing drug (PED) policy but was later cleared of the charges. "During the course of preparing for my successful appeal... my attorneys, who were previously familiar with Tony Bosch, used him as a consultant," Braun said. "More specifically, he answered questions about [testosterone-to-epitestosterone] ratio and possibilities of tampering with samples... I have nothing to hide and have never had any other relationship with Bosch."

Cervelli, whose teammate, Miami native Alex Rodriguez, was the biggest name in the records, described his relationship with the clinic thusly: "Following my foot injury in March 2011, I consulted with a number of experts, including Biogenesis clinic, for legal ways to aid my rehab and recovery. I purchased supplements that I am certain were not prohibited by MLB.''

The admissions, made in response to a report by Yahoo! Sports, are significant for several reasons. First, because until now, all players named in the records — including Rodriguez, Washington Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez, and even Bosch himself — had denied New Times' report. And second, because Braun is, according to Yahoo!, a former roommate of minor-league pitcher Cesar Carrillo, who was also named in our report. Braun trained with Jimmy Goins, the UM strength and conditioning coach named in our investigation.

Even before the story was published, Major League Baseball took New Times managing editor Tim Elfrink's investigation seriously. A week ago, two of the league's top officials — Pat Courtney, senior vice president of public relations, and Rob Manfred, executive vice president of economics and league affairs — visited New Times' offices to request that we turn over the records.

Last year, Manfred, a charming bulldog with an upstate New York accent, issued a statement saying he "vehemently" disagreed with a decision absolving Braun. "We are pursuing this investigation aggressively," he told us last week. "These records have great potential."

Here's the truth: We haven't yet decided what to do with the records from Tony Bosch's clinic. We've already posted many of them online after carefully redacting the names of people we didn't think were well enough confirmed or sufficiently newsworthy.

The question of whether to release the records is thorny, and there are few precedents. The 2002 BALCO investigation, the first big release of doping information, was very different. It followed a federal investigation into a San Francisco Bay Area lab and resulted in a written policy from professional baseball on steroids. No probe has yet been completed on Biogenesis, though its owner, Tony Bosch, and his father, Pedro Publio Bosch, were mentioned in reports about doping related to onetime Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez. Ramirez was suspended in that case, but the Bosches denied involvement and were never charged with anything.

Our records were provided by a source who requested anonymity. We will not divulge that person's name. We take this responsibility very seriously.

Moreover, reporters are not law enforcement. Nor do we discipline anybody for anything. Our job is to lay out the facts transparently and let the public and responsible parties decide whether action is needed. Reporters often provide records to law enforcement, sometimes under subpoena and sometimes without such a push, but Major League Baseball isn't a government body. It's a business.

Of course, we do want justice. And as a parent of three kids who play sports, I want badly to discourage the use of drugs that endanger people's health.

MLB is the only body that can sanction players involved with performance-enhancing drugs. Though the league passed tough new testing standards, which will take effect this year, it has proven at times ineffective at disciplining players for drug use. Only a handful of players — including San Francisco Giants star Melky Cabrera, who was named in our report — have been suspended for PEDs. Even Alex Rodriguez, who publicly admitted use of steroids a decade ago, hasn't been disciplined.

We will decide in the next few weeks what to do with the trove of records. We will do the right thing.

[Tom Kessenich]

The difference is last season there was a direct possible link with Braun to PEDs. One that was eventually shot down but still present at that time. So the concern about him from a fantasy perspective was justified.

This year, thus far, there has been no connection to PEDs and a very credible and logical explanation for why Braun's name is on the ledgers. There isn't a single damning thing in the Yahoo report that suggests Braun is even remotely facing a possible suspension. Again, if more surfaces then things could change. But as of now there's absolutely no reason anyone should be worried about a Braun suspension in my opinion based on the Yahoo report.

We're not in a court of law, Tom.
We're in the court of fantasy baseball.

Agreed. As a fantasy owner there was legitimate reason to worry about Braun last season which is why his ADP sunk like it did. This season there isn't a single reason I've seen thus far that would lead me as a fantasy owner to downgrade him. Given his talent, consistency and upside there's no way I'm passing on someone who to this point has no direct link to PEDs or is in any way facing a suspension based on this latest report.

If I'm drafting second or lower in a draft and Braun is on the board I will consider that a huge gift. Christmas will have come early for me and I'd be sure to thank everyone in my league who passed on him. Although at season's end I'm keeping all the winnings Braun will have brought me for myself.

As far as the article just posted above, I'm not sure what there is to cherry pick. It doesn't tell us anything about Braun we didn't already know. He's already provided an explanation for his connection to Bocsh, a logical and credible one. So I'm not seeing anything in this story which should have anyone remotely concerned about Braun.

[DOUGHBOYS]

I didn't get much out of the article either.

Tom, I hope you enjoy that Christmas present and hope that it doesn't turn to a lump of coal.

[Tom Kessenich]

Tom, I hope you enjoy that Christmas present and hope that it doesn't turn to a lump of coal.

If there's any coal I doubt it will have anything to do with Braun.

[Outlaw]

[quote="Tom Kessenich
He's already provided an explanation for his connection to Bocsh, a logical and credible one. So I'm not seeing anything in this story which should have anyone remotely concerned about Braun.

[/quote]

Logical maybe, credible- no way IMO.

Before All is said and done, Braun and his legal team will be answering a lot more questions to MLB officials. The article above says there will be more coming out by them over the next few weeks. New Times is in Miami, Spring training in Florida will be in Full on mode in a few weeks, along with the WBC in Miami. If you think like any business does or News organization, it's about maximizing your story. Not to mention there will be boatloads of additional press down there... All I am opining on, is No one will know the outcome of this for a period of time and all anyone has to form any opinion, is what drips out and is attributed to all the characters involved , such as what Braun, Brauns attorneys, Cervalli, other players. MLB officails, etc. have said so far.

Another "opinion" from the Daily news raises some addtional questions:


Braun once again says he can explain everything, he was using Bosch only as a consultant, and that that their relationship had nothing to do with performance-enhancing drugs. According to Braun, his lawyers went looking for guidance and wisdom and medical expertise from a guy you now imagine is a couple of steps away from working out of his garage.

Ryan Braun has a story to tell about his name showing up on ledger of an anti-aging clinic also linked to Alex Rodriguez, and it’s a whopper of a tale. He seems to be indicating the mention of $30,000 is only about a consulting fee, he insists.

This is what Ryan Braun, who seems to be the most falsely accused guy since Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables,” says when his name turns up in the ledgers of a two-bit South Florida scammer and drug pusher named Anthony Bosch:

“During the course of preparing for my successful appeal last year, my attorneys, who were previously familiar with Tony Bosch, used him as a consultant. More specifically, he answered questions about (testosterone to epitestosterone ratios) and possibilities of tampering with samples.

“There was a dispute over compensation for Bosch’s work, which is why my lawyer and I are listed under ‘moneys owed’ and not on any other list. I have nothing to hide and have never had any other relationship with Bosch. I will fully cooperate with any inquiry into this matter.”

What a guy.

The appeal Braun is talking about came after he tested positive a year or so ago for testosterone, with record-breaking numbers still discussed around baseball the way tape-measure home runs are. He was given a suspension for 50 games and appealed and won the appeal, apparently because the arbitrator decided that because Braun’s samples were kept over the weekend at the collector’s house, the guy having missed the last weekend pickup for FedEx, they had somehow been compromised.

I say apparently because to this day we never saw the written decision from the arbitrator, Shyam Das, probably because Major League Baseball is embarrassed it ever let Das near this case in the first place.

In the aftermath of Braun beating the rap, there was the not-so-veiled suggestion from him and his lawyers and handlers and his crisis managers that his sample had somehow been tampered with. And, boy, that would have been some job for a collector, spiking a sample container, spiking both the A and B samples perfectly, resealing the samples so nobody would ever noticed they had been tampered with.

All of this begged all sorts of questions at the time, starting with this one: Why would the collector, who had been doing this for years and years, want to go out of his way to ruin poor Ryan Braun?

Braun was one of the golden boys of the sport, a star in Milwaukee for the Brewers, a team once owned by the commissioner of baseball, Bud Selig. Right. Let’s get him.

Braun talked and talked about the “truth” coming out after the arbitrator threw out his suspension. But here’s another question: What truth? The only relevant truth is that Das blew the decision like a tomato can of a closer blowing a save, and let Braun walk.

Hoo-ray.

Now his name shows up in the same books where Alex Rodriguez’s name shows up and Yankee catcher Francisco Cervelli and all the rest of these guys who want the world to think they are more pure than a nunnery, and Braun once again says he can explain everything, he was using Bosch only as a consultant, and that that their relationship had nothing to do with performance-enhancing drugs. According to Braun, his lawyers went looking for guidance and wisdom and medical expertise from a guy you now imagine is a couple of steps away from working out of his garage

They say they used experts on Braun’s appeal. How could one of those “experts” have been Tony Bosch, anti-aging king of South Florida?

This would be like A-Rod hiring a lawyer with an 800 number he sees in a late-night television commercial instead of Roy Black after A-Rod’s name shows up in Bosch’s books.

Now there are a couple of new questions for Braun: Why did he need a “medical” consultant when he and his heavy-hitter lawyers never challenged the science of his original test? Because you should know that Braun’s lawyers haven’t challenged the science to this day.

David Cornwell, one of Braun’s attorneys, said on Tuesday that he found Bosch’s help “negligible” as he prepared Ryan Braun’s appeal. You have to wonder why his client was willing to pay $30,000 for a negligible consultation with the likes of Anthony Bosch.

Braun, at the end of Tuesday’s statement, says that he intends to cooperate fully in this matter. Maybe he can start by explaining to somebody at MLB why he wanted to have anybody associated with him associating with a known drug dealer like Anthony Bosch.

Braun says that he had no real relationship with Bosch. But it seems as if his college roommate, a Detroit Tigers pitching prospect named Cesar Carrillo, must have known Bosch pretty well, because Carrillo’s name is on Bosch’s list next to performance-enhancing drugs. This is probably just another of the crazy coincidences you get in life sometimes.

More likely it is just more bad luck for a hard-luck kid like Ryan Braun, who essentially says that somebody was out to get him suspended from baseball, says that a positive test was a huge misunderstanding, says that he needed a small-time “biochemist” named Anthony Bosch as a consultant, even though it sounds like Bosch gave them about as much good consulting as Braun and his fancy lawyers and his CAA agents could have gotten on Ask.com.

There is only one way for Major League Baseball and for the rest of us to get the answers we need on Bosch the “biochemist” and Braun and A-Rod and all the other misunderstood ballplayers who have made the PED version of the Dean’s List, known as Bosch’s List: Get everybody in front of a grand jury and make them tell their stories under oath, not to their PR men.

Make them all explain why they were associating with a PED pusher like Anthony Bosch in the first place.

[DOUGHBOYS]

Besides the sensationalism and spin that this writer has put on information, I see nothing different here.
It seems some of the press enjoy trying to put a new process on an old story in hopes that readers think of it as 'new'.
It's not.

[Tom Kessenich]

Besides the sensationalism and spin that this writer has put on information, I see nothing different here.
It seems some of the press enjoy trying to put a new process on an old story in hopes that readers think of it as 'new'.
It's not.

Well said.

As far as credible that's obviously subjective but again go back and read the statement from the lawyer who was asked about Braun's response. I think it provided a strong explanation as to why it was entirely credible. At the end of the day, though, those who believe Braun has been guilty all along won't believe him. Those who believe he has been honest the entire time will. That's all opinion. The one fact everyone should be able to agree upon is there is nothing reported to date which places Braun in any danger of a suspension. I've yet to see anything written or reported that even remotely challenges that position.

[Outlaw]

The one fact everyone should be able to agree upon is there is nothing reported to date which places Braun in any danger of a suspension. I've yet to see anything written or reported that even remotely challenges that position.

You are right on that one Tom, as of yet. But "if" a suspension were to happen, niether you or I or anyone else, will know until the suspensions get handed down, short of some admission or compelling evidence being released. No one had a clue when Melky and few of them got thiers last year.

It does seem one team is possibly making some contingecy plans: It doesnt take a rocket scientist to realize Teams know the direction things are heading in and guys like Kilgore get dripped on all the time by "insdie sources"

Kilgore- Washigton Post:

The Nationals seemingly removed themselves from the high end of the starting pitching market way back at the winter meetings, when they rapidly pursued and signed veteran Dan Haren to a one-year, $13 million deal. But their rotation calculus changed with the news that Gio Gonzalez may face a 50-game suspension for his reported ties to the Biogenesis clinic, forcing them to consider contingencies in the event they lose their best left-hander for two months.

There would still be obstacles to the Nationals’ signing Lohse. He may simply prove to be too expensive for the Nationals, especially considering they would, on paper, need him only for about 10 starts. They already have an opening payroll sitting at over $110 million. The Nationals may also still be waiting to learn Gonzalez’s fate before Lohse chooses his 2013 team, which would require a potential clogging of their rotation.

If suspended, Gonzalez would be eligible to return May 28. If the Nationals added Lohse and found too much of a logjam, they would have the option of trading a newly signed free agent (meaning either Haren or Lohse in this hypothetical) on June 1. They could trade one before if the player consented to the trade.

[Tom Kessenich]

If people pass on a superstar because they're worried a suspension may occur despite the fact there is no shred of evidence at the present time that would lead anyone to believe it will occur that's up to them. Each owner has to make that decision with Braun. For me as a fantasy player there's no way I'm passing on Braun for that reason just like I wouldn't pass on Miggy because I was afraid he might fall out of bed tomorrow, break his leg and miss the entire season.

[DOUGHBOYS]

Wasn't that the same writer that opined about Vasquez getting signed by the Nats?
How's that inside info working?
It sounds like this guy wants the Nats to have yet another Starter more than thinking of anybody's guilt.

[NorCalAtlFan]

it's time to check the genealogy on Braun-Kessenich.
mr kessenich is taking this personal now!

[Tom Kessenich]

it's time to check the genealogy on Braun-Kessenich.
mr kessenich is taking this personal now!

Nah. Not personal. Just sticking up for the wrongly accused.

[Outlaw]

I'll end my "opinions" on this until and if this whole mess gets clarified one way or the other or more substantial news. I'm not touching Braun until this mess conlcudes. But hey, that's just my opinion.

If I was Braun, since he has acknowledged he and his advsiors have been associated with this Bosch character and clinic and money has changed hands, If I did'nt do anything wrong and have nothing to hide, I would be out front of it and would hammer MLB, NEW TIMES and everyone else with the proof. And dont tell me his lawyers have shut him up, he's calling the shots, is'nt he? To allow his name to be out there associated with this for any extended period of time speaks volumnes. It is very simple for Braun to clear his name.

1. Provide the cancelled checks and bank records or any other transactions- they will all be dated
2. Provide the phone records of first, all and last contacts by either Braun or his reps
3. Provide the emails between the parties if they exist.
4. Provide the timeline of dealings with the guy and clinic
5. Provide the delivery methods of contact, fed ex, US mail, etc..

Any good legal team could put that together in a few hours and redact out anything not related from his personal records.

I suspect the problem Braun and his team have is the timing and records that do exist. Any contact/records with that Clinic and Bosch before his appeal process started last year, he is a sitting duck waiting for the dining room table.

[Tom Kessenich]

I highly doubt Braun and his legal team would have put forward an explanation for why his name appeared on the ledgers that couldn't easily be verified. These guys aren't dumb.

[DOUGHBOYS]

I'll end my "opinions" on this until and if this whole mess gets clarified one way or the other or more substantial news. I'm not touching Braun until this mess conlcudes. But hey, that's just my opinion.

If I was Braun, since he has acknowledged he and his advsiors have been associated with this Bosch character and clinic and money has changed hands, If I did'nt do anything wrong and have nothing to hide, I would be out front of it and would hammer MLB, NEW TIMES and everyone else with the proof. And dont tell me his lawyers have shut him up, he's calling the shots, is'nt he? To allow his name to be out there associated with this for any extended period of time speaks volumnes. It is very simple for Braun to clear his name.

1. Provide the cancelled checks and bank records or any other transactions- they will all be dated
2. Provide the phone records of first, all and last contacts by either Braun or his reps
3. Provide the emails between the parties if they exist.
4. Provide the timeline of dealings with the guy and clinic
5. Provide the delivery methods of contact, fed ex, US mail, etc..

Any good legal team could put that together in a few hours and redact out anything not related from his personal records.

I suspect the problem Braun and his team have is the timing and records that do exist. Any contact/records with that Clinic and Bosch before his appeal process started last year, he is a sitting duck waiting for the dining room table.

And why should he?
He is winning the public opinion polls.
It would just add fuel to the fodder of writers that would spread the sensationalism you seem to like.
Politicians know not to rock the boat when ahead in polls.

Look, you think I'm on Braun's side.
Greg and Tom thinks I'm against Braun.
In actuality, I just find the accusers and defenders amusing with the scant information that the public has.
Due process will question everybody involved in Miami and pore through the clinic's paperwork.
And find notes and timelines.
We don't have that pertinent information, only the story, the accused stories or alibi's, and public opinion.
That's not much.

[KJ Duke]

I agree with everything that I can recall Dan has written in this thread. Braun, because twice he has been linked to this issue has an extra layer of risk on top of his expected performance.

Likewise, perceived risk is heightened when the cost of that risk increases.
* In a free "experts" league, I'd say "who cares?" if a suspension seems unlikely. No hard evidence, draft him.
* In a $150 DC, my opinion wouldn't change much. Go for it.
* In a main event, I'm working through my alternatives much more closely.
* In the Diamond league I'm asking myself, "do I want to potentially lose $75k because Ryan Braun might be a self-righteous jerk who's thinking he can cheat the system and get away it?", knowing yet another skeleton could be dug up. Even if I think he probably won't get busted, might be innocenent, and I estimate there's only a 1 in 20 chance he gets suspended, do I really want to risk having my team built around Lance Braunstrong?