Braun Is Gone
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 8:29 am
I work for the Census every 10 years. It takes patience and a lot of listening skills to work for the Census. Anti-Government feelings are everywhere. Sometimes these folks have good reason to despise the Government. Sometimes, a lot of the feelings are conjured from what they've heard or read. I even had a guy leave the room we were talking in and came back with a shotgun in his hands. He didn't point it at me, but the meaning was clear, he did not want to talk to me any more and wanted me off his property.
For some folks, their feelings against our Government run deep. It wouldn't matter if our Government made the right decisions, in their mind, for the rest of their lifetime, they are disposed to be anti-government. And if those right decisions are made, they will still only talk about the past to disparage the Government.
We live in a world of advanced technology. Everybody seems to know everything. Secrets are hard to keep. Anything on the internet is fair game. Even a comment made years ago can come back to hurt somebody and take down a career.
Everything is questioned. Especially in business. Once upon a time, folks bought stock in a company simply because they used their product. Now, every decision made by a company is scrutinized and in a public forum. From the company heads, to their employees, to their stock holders, to the press, and to the consumer.
In my Census job, I conversed with some folks that I personally called 'yeah, butters'. When allieving them of their fears of answering questions, they'll reply, "Yeah, but", and rinse and repeat. I learned that folks like these were content in thinking that somehow, wrong was being done. And when eased about one part, another part then concerned them, rinse and repeat.
I learned that no matter what, they were going to be right and just move on as if they had brought a shotgun into the room.
MLB won't get everything right. No company does. They got this right. There are so many different aspects that one can pick on this or pick on that. But whole picture, they got it right.
Any time there is such damning information and evidence, enough to make a guy who essentially mocked Major League Baseball through the press and throw their employees under a bus for 'messing up his sample', bringing him to his knees in the form of a plea, that, well that, is a win.
Sure, it's a black eye for baseball. In any way it would be a black eye for baseball. No getting around it. But the person who provided the black eye is behind MLB bars.
Barry Bonds would like folks to think of him as the all time home run king.
They don't.
He cheated.
Mark McGwire would like to be thought of only as a hitting coach.
He can't.
He cheated.
Ryan Braun will next year like to be known as the face of the Brewers and a former MVP.
He won't.
He cheated.
I can criticize Major League Baseball. We all can. They are one of those businesses that can be criticized even after getting something right. I feel that cheaters should have a harsher first time penalty and then a death penalty. I also feel that a cheater's contract should be immediately voided if that is what his team desires.
But, I also know that these are steps that have to be done in unison with the Players Union. And in the past, especially with Marvin Miller, the Players Union was slow to grant MLB rights in penalizing these players. And so that process is slower to develop than some of us would like.
I can say, 'yeah but' and say this should happen or this shouldn't happen. That forum is open for all of us.
But Major League Baseball got this right.
They don't need to find a microphone as Braun did after the first go-round to dig Braun further into baseball history dirt.
Braun disappeared and avoided yesterday. The microphone that was his friend after the first go-round with MLB was his enemy yesterday.
Justice has been done.
For some folks, their feelings against our Government run deep. It wouldn't matter if our Government made the right decisions, in their mind, for the rest of their lifetime, they are disposed to be anti-government. And if those right decisions are made, they will still only talk about the past to disparage the Government.
We live in a world of advanced technology. Everybody seems to know everything. Secrets are hard to keep. Anything on the internet is fair game. Even a comment made years ago can come back to hurt somebody and take down a career.
Everything is questioned. Especially in business. Once upon a time, folks bought stock in a company simply because they used their product. Now, every decision made by a company is scrutinized and in a public forum. From the company heads, to their employees, to their stock holders, to the press, and to the consumer.
In my Census job, I conversed with some folks that I personally called 'yeah, butters'. When allieving them of their fears of answering questions, they'll reply, "Yeah, but", and rinse and repeat. I learned that folks like these were content in thinking that somehow, wrong was being done. And when eased about one part, another part then concerned them, rinse and repeat.
I learned that no matter what, they were going to be right and just move on as if they had brought a shotgun into the room.
MLB won't get everything right. No company does. They got this right. There are so many different aspects that one can pick on this or pick on that. But whole picture, they got it right.
Any time there is such damning information and evidence, enough to make a guy who essentially mocked Major League Baseball through the press and throw their employees under a bus for 'messing up his sample', bringing him to his knees in the form of a plea, that, well that, is a win.
Sure, it's a black eye for baseball. In any way it would be a black eye for baseball. No getting around it. But the person who provided the black eye is behind MLB bars.
Barry Bonds would like folks to think of him as the all time home run king.
They don't.
He cheated.
Mark McGwire would like to be thought of only as a hitting coach.
He can't.
He cheated.
Ryan Braun will next year like to be known as the face of the Brewers and a former MVP.
He won't.
He cheated.
I can criticize Major League Baseball. We all can. They are one of those businesses that can be criticized even after getting something right. I feel that cheaters should have a harsher first time penalty and then a death penalty. I also feel that a cheater's contract should be immediately voided if that is what his team desires.
But, I also know that these are steps that have to be done in unison with the Players Union. And in the past, especially with Marvin Miller, the Players Union was slow to grant MLB rights in penalizing these players. And so that process is slower to develop than some of us would like.
I can say, 'yeah but' and say this should happen or this shouldn't happen. That forum is open for all of us.
But Major League Baseball got this right.
They don't need to find a microphone as Braun did after the first go-round to dig Braun further into baseball history dirt.
Braun disappeared and avoided yesterday. The microphone that was his friend after the first go-round with MLB was his enemy yesterday.
Justice has been done.