Braun Suspended For Rest Of 2013 Season

[Greg Ambrosius]

No matter what you think about Ryan Braun and the latest news, you better be prepared for some changes on Draft Day because of it. As Tom and I reported on SiriusXM last night, the first NFBC Draft Champions League to be held since the news came out showed Braun going 5th last night. He was the No. 1 player on our ADP list before last night and he had never gone lower than 3rd in 50+ previous drafts. Now he's going 5th??? WOW.

What news has happened that could lower Braun to 5th? Apparently at least 4 owners think a possible suspension is coming. Could be. But there will need to be a Smoking Gun or verification that Braun and his attornies are lying about the $20,000 owed for consultation on his appeal. We'll continue to track Braun's status in future NFBC drafts, but this is the first sign that Braun's stock in fantasy circles has fallen slightly.

[Greg Ambrosius]

I am just amazed at the holier then thou attitude.In line with a previous post.If any of us were offered 10 million dollars to take a pill everyday we would all take the money.Some of us would ask for two.Show me a clean era.Some great players were kept out of the hall this year.They were the best of that era.By the way.Try to get a fair appeal if you are a player.MLB fired the Braun mediater for having the nerve to rule against them.

I agree with Dave and Dan on most of these posts. It's okay to blame the players for rising ticket prices and salaries and all the rest, but let's not lose sight of the fact that the owners get richer and richer with every season that passes and they aren't innocent from the Steroid Era or even from the shenanigans that are going on right now with the players. Take a look out West and see what the Dodgers are getting from their regional sports network for televising their games: $6 BILLION over 25 years. The YES Network in New York is now more valuable than the Yankees themselves mainly because they televise all of the Yankees games. Franchise values in all sports just keep going up and up and up.

If the owners and Players Associations for all sports want to clean up their games, they can. Easily enough. Yes, science is ahead for the cheats than the catchers, but this can easily be cleaned up. Harsher suspensions are a start. Melky Cabrera is Exhibit A of how cheating helped a guy get rich, to the tune of $16 million after being caught. And his team STILL won the World Series without him.

These anti-aging clinics and medicines aren't going away folks. The science is getting better and better and old actresses seem to look better and better because of it!! It's going to continue to find its way into sports, unless the leagues and Players Associations don't want it to. Beat up Braun all you want for this one, but his performance last year was the same as it was in 2011 and the same as previous years. He wasn't on anything last year, that much we know. But the sport needs to clean up its own playground and placing no blame on the owners or the Commissioner and just on the players is turning a blind eye to reality. They all know what is going on.

[Greg Ambrosius]

One nice addition to our STATS Fantasy Advantage show is Sam Lubeck, better known as "Sammy the STATS Man." We open the first segment each week with Sammy and he gives us some very nice tidbits. Last night on Ryan Braun he provided the following:

"When we look at the last two seasons, we don’t see much difference. Here’s a quick look at the numbers:

2011: .332-33-111-33, 109 runs, .397 OBP
2012: .319-41-112-30, 108 runs, .391 OB:

These are very similar overall stats in 2011 and 2012. While his HR went up by 8 (33 to 41), his batting average did drop 13 points (.332 to .319).

His drop in BA was due to NL West pitching more than anything.

Ryan Braun, BA vs. NL West

2010 .338
2011 .330
2012 .235 (28/119 with 11 HR)

He hit .363 against LHPs last year compared to .305 against RHPs. In 2011 he also hit .350 vs. LHPs.

Braun hit an MLB-high 17 HR against lefties last season, after hitting a total of just 13 vs. lefties in 2010-11 combined.

Braun is one of just three players all-time (Barry Bonds, Vladimir Guerrero) to put together multiple seasons with 30+ HR, 30+ SB, 100+ runs, 100+ RBI and a batting average of at least .300.

Guerrero (2001-02) and Braun are only ones to achieve that in back-to-back seasons.

Braun’s ADP is 1. In his last 5 NFBC drafts he has gone 1st four times and 2nd once. He has been picked 1st more times than Miguel Cabrera or Mike Trout. He’s never gone lower than 3rd overall. He’s a 40-30 guy who can win a batting title and who led the league in HRs and Runs last year."

[Roy's Outlaws]

Greg, How do you KNOW for sure that Braun was 100% clean last season?????????? The cheaters are always ahead of the test.masking agents,blocking drugs, plus if testing for HGH only stays in the system for a few day. Very small window to get caught for using just HGH. Braun got the winning lotto ticket last season, time will tell if his luck runs out?

[Rog]

when was lance Armstrong caught ? after how many tests?

[Greg Ambrosius]

Greg, How do you KNOW for sure that Braun was 100% clean last season?????????? The cheaters are always ahead of the test.masking agents,blocking drugs, plus if testing for HGH only stays in the system for a few day. Very small window to get caught for using just HGH. Braun got the winning lotto ticket last season, time will tell if his luck runs out?

Roy, I have no proof that he was clean last year. I just know that he would have to be dumbest human being on the earth if he took any PEDs last year after so much scrutiny. But I'll play along with you Roy, okay, he was on PEDs last year and actually EVERYONE in MLB was on PEDs last year. They're all juiced, Roy!!

[Navel Lint]

when was lance Armstrong caught ? after how many tests?

Armstrong had produced many "suspicious" test over the years. However, unlike the Owners is baseball that just turned a blind eye toward PED use, the governing body of cycling, UCI, actually went a step further. According to allegations, UCI actually helped Armstrong and others cover up their failed tests.

It wasn't until the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and then the World Anti-Doping Agency starting investigating UCI that Armstrong's house of cards started to collapse.

[Outlaw]

I am just amazed at the holier then thou attitude.In line with a previous post.If any of us were offered 10 million dollars to take a pill everyday we would all take the money.Some of us would ask for two.Show me a clean era.Some great players were kept out of the hall this year.They were the best of that era.By the way.Try to get a fair appeal if you are a player.MLB fired the Braun mediater for having the nerve to rule against them.

If the owners and Players Associations for all sports want to clean up their games, they can. Easily enough. Yes, science is ahead for the cheats than the catchers, but this can easily be cleaned up. Harsher suspensions are a start. Melky Cabrera is Exhibit A of how cheating helped a guy get rich, to the tune of $16 million after being caught. And his team STILL won the World Series without him.

These anti-aging clinics and medicines aren't going away folks. The science is getting better and better and old actresses seem to look better and better because of it!! It's going to continue to find its way into sports, unless the leagues and Players Associations don't want it to. Beat up Braun all you want for this one, but his performance last year was the same as it was in 2011 and the same as previous years. He wasn't on anything last year, that much we know. But the sport needs to clean up its own playground and placing no blame on the owners or the Commissioner and just on the players is turning a blind eye to reality. They all know what is going on.

I agree it’s not just the players and I never said it was just the players. MLB, the owners, the advertisers, TV, they all share in some of the responsibility. It's not about beating up Braun either, it’s whether he did or didn’t. It's a simple yes or no. But, the player ultimately is the one who chooses to break the rules/cheat, no matter how flawed the rules or system is. The rules existed; trying to find loopholes to avoid the rules exists almost entirely for one reason and one reason only, Financial gain through enhancing ones performance artificially. How is it you know Braun or any player didn’t use last season? You don’t, just like I don’t know if they did. Any player could’ve used HGH all season last year and never have gotten caught, that was the current agreement, no testing in season. It would be naïve to think too that players didn’t use the more advanced methods of HGH delivery that exist, last season.

Some Facts:

1. MLB could never use older test results for the HGH family of drugs/hormones Until after the 2011 season, when it was agreed to with the players and tests after the end of 2011 season could be used.
2. MLB had compiled a list of players they suspected were using HGH between 2003 and 2011. They have publically admitted to over 100 players testing positive in 2003.
3. Under the 2011 agreement, they could only Test in the off season and in spring training of each year
4. Braun was tested right after the new agreement went into effect after the 2011 season of ended. He failed his test. Ultimately it was ruled his test was invalid because of procedural sample handling.
5. Cabrera and Colon were suspended in the summer of 2012 for testing positive for HGH. Tests that were conducted in spring training of 2012. MLB took a long time to ensure the suspensions could hold up after seeing the Braun finding. In addition Mota, Galvis and Byrd were also suspended for failed tests from spring training. Numerous minor leaguers failed tests also in 2012 and were suspended.
6. MLB fired the arbitrator that ruled in Braun’s favor in May of 2012. It's reasonable to ask why? It's also reasonable to say they didn’t like the way he ruled.
7. Grandal Tested positive for HGH in Nov 2012, a month after the season ended when he could be tested. They already probably knew he was associated with that clinic by that time.
8. MLB knew the HGH issue and testing for it was problematic less than a year into their current agreement with the players. Not being able to test in-season created a major loop hole for those players who chose to still use HGH during the season.
9. In regards to HGH, it has a testing shelf life of anywhere from a 3 hours to upwards of 9-10 days, depending on the mix of ingredients and delivery methods. It is why the world doping standards call for numerous random testing of other athletes, sometimes 20-40 times a year depending on the sport.
10. MLB and the PA agreed to the following in January of 2013: Major League Baseball and the players union reached an agreement to add random, in-season human growth hormone blood testing this season.
In addition, MLB, in conjunction with the World Anti-Doping Agency, will create a "longitudinal profile program" to establish a player's baseline testosterone level and enhance its ability to detect the use of testosterone.

It is great that MLB and the players are trying to get it right, but this latest mess and the 10-11 players named so far, have a lot of explaining to do as to how they are associated with this Miami Clinic and the creep/s that ran it. As I have said, follow the money. The payments, cashed checks, wire transfers, Credit cards, pictures, documents, emails, text messages, insiders, employees, other clinics, agents, attorneys, outside concerns like Miami University, will all be checked out and not just by MLB. MLB knows they have a nightmare on thier hands, because thier are multiple Gov't agency's involved now. If these players didn’t do anything wrong then they are owed an apology by the court of public opinion, MLB, the gov't, the news organizations, etc. It's telling how some of them have already lawyered up and have their well paid PR machines engaged.

As for Braun specifically, MLB has him in their cross hairs. He, rightly or wrongly is the poster child for this mess until more facts are known. IMO opinion there is no good legal team that would have ever advised him or acting on his behalf, contracted or associated with a well known chop shop, HGH clinic, for help in clearing his name. It just doesn’t pass the smell test. What’s more plausible is, he was associated with this place before he was ever even tested and initially found to have failed. It's quite possible MLB at the time didn’t know about his association with this "Clinc" when they suspended him and throughout his appeal and that in fact, now saying they used the clinic to aid in their defense sounds like a real good cover story. It then comes down to "when" Braun first dealt with this clinic. It could be months before the truth comes out as this mess has a lot of unanswered questions, unknown facts and multiple entities looking into it.

MLB Players knew that they could not ever get suspended for using HGH until the end of the 2011 season. I suspect the ADP's and where any of these players get drafted will gyrate all over the place the next 7 weeks until the start of the season. Some Fantasy players will shy away from the those names released so far, others will look at it, make their own conclusions and determine some or none of them will not get suspended and still draft them where they think they should go. It's just another aspect to consider when drafting.

I don’t pretend to be someone with “a holier than thou attitude”, I just don’t believe in cheating and drug use and to answer Dave’s statement of “ we would all take a pill or two for 10 million dollars” , there are a lot of people, fans and players and including me, who would not. That statement and attitude in and of itself, I would hope is never said, condoned or taught to children. Children generally do as their parents.
This whole subject does lend itself to some lively debate and passion, not to mention the impact on drafting the next 7 weeks.

[Tom Kessenich]

Greg and I discuss Braun's drop in the DC league last night on our Sirius show.

https://soundcloud.com/siriusxmsports/t ... -advantage

[NorCalAtlFan]

well said Roy.

with all the reputable doctors and/or clinics that the Braun defense team could have used, it's questionable why they used this one. i suppose they thought the clinic was "impeccable" in it's dealings?

[Money]

Greg and I discuss Braun's drop in the DC league last night on our Sirius show.

https://soundcloud.com/siriusxmsports/t ... -advantage

Best value in the draft at number 5? Really? You must be expecting Trout type numbers this year. I love your allegiance to your brewers.

I was able to catch the first show but not last nights. This was a great snip from that show. Can you share any of the interviews with Lindy and Mike?

[Tom Kessenich]

Again folks I'd recommend reading the link I posted yesterday from the lawyer who listed several reasons why Bosch would've been consulted. This is a lawyer and she spelled everything out rather clearly.

And Joe, allegiance to the Brewers has nothing to do with this. It's all about Braun being the best player in fantasy this year falling to 5th. I LOVE that value.

[Money]

Again folks I'd recommend reading the link I posted yesterday from the lawyer who listed several reasons why Bosch would've been consulted. This is a lawyer and she spelled everything out rather clearly.

And Joe, allegiance to the Brewers has nothing to do with this. It's all about Braun being the best player in fantasy this year falling to 5th. I LOVE that value.

My thinking Tom was someone will come out of a much later round delivering first round value that will be of greater importance in the overall scheme of things. Trout, Dickey, and Encarnacion come to mind from last year. Such players exist each season. Identifying them right now is another story.

How about some more snips from the show?

[rockitsauce]

I can't believe I agree w/ the guy who thought Cole deserved 50 gm suspension for nailing Harper

I can dig what Dave was saying about taking a pill that guarantees you millions, but I think it's much more complicated than that. He's also right in that you cannot demonize today's players and turn a deaf ear to the greenies, etc from the past. Certainly the owners have some culpability w/ regard to this issue. However, keep in mind the MLB Player's union is probably the strongest in the country. They have resisted every attempt FOR YEARS to increase/better the testing that would ensure players are clean.

It's sad that a player has to choose b/w using PEDS or giving up the dream of making it to the Show.

There seems to be no easy answers.

I thought Bill Simmons wrote an excellent article about this the other day when the news broke about Ray "BambI" Lewis.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/890 ... d-question

[Tom Kessenich]

How about some more snips from the show?

I can only post what Sirius provides.

As far as more coming out I've said all along if there is a smoking gun out there as it pertains to Braun that could/would change everything and possibly dramatically. But to this point nothing has surfaced and there's nothing in the Yahoo report, combined with Braun's response, which leads me to be the least bit worried about him from a fantasy perspective or question him from a baseball perspective.

[Outlaw]

Greg and I discuss Braun's drop in the DC league last night on our Sirius show.

https://soundcloud.com/siriusxmsports/t ... -advantage

Another great show last night. You guys need to get more air time. Once a week for such valuable information, discussion and insight isnt enough. Hopefully XM realizes that.

for those that get XM internet, when Greg annouced their new show, I ran across this on sale at Crutchfield. http://www.crutchfield.com/p_220SXMTRIP ... o&skipvs=T.

At the time they had it for 48.00, but it can still be picked up on other places like ebay for around 75.00. It's wireless and once setup - took 5 mins, it works great. The sound is pretty amazing to. It works off your current XM interent subscription if you have one. It also doubles up as a very good alarma clock. Not only can you put it anywhere, you can also hook it up to existing sound systems or tv. In addtion to XM fantasy, with a subscription you also will get all the MLB games via the radio feeds during the season as well as most XM musci, news and sports programing.

[Ando]

It was another great show. Informative and catered to a NFBC player.

And it sounded even better because I don't know what the hell that Robert Wuhl show is suppose to be, but all I know is that it was absolutely embarrassingly bad. Hilariously bad.

They spent the first 30 minutes talking about the D'Arnaud/Dickey trade and I still don't know what they were trying to convey to their audience.

[Greg Ambrosius]

It was another great show. Informative and catered to a NFBC player.

And it sounded even better because I don't know what the hell that Robert Wuhl show is suppose to be, but all I know is that it was absolutely embarrassingly bad. Hilariously bad.

They spent the first 30 minutes talking about the D'Arnaud/Dickey trade and I still don't know what they were trying to convey to their audience.

Thanks Matt. The setup in Green Bay was MUCH better than the week before, so the show flowed very well between everyone. I thought it was very informative and the 2 hours went by quickly. I also thought Lindy and Michael were very good. Tom was very opinionated on Ryan Braun and having that draft going on at the time of our show was solid content. I loved it.

We already have Jeff Butler, our defending NFBC XII champion, lined up for next Wednesday. We'll see if our defending Auction Champion can fit us into his busy schedule, too.

As for "Off the Wuhl", well, we listened to it on the way home too. It was ....different.

[mlbbug]

There is nothing new with players using illegal methods to gain an edge over their competitors.Going back to the days of the spitball pitchers frequently doctored baseballs to gain an edge.In later years players used vaseline,hair tonic,belt buckles,tacks and even his bits of sandpaper in their gloves for the same effect. Hitters corked their bats and used illegal amounts of pine tar.In the nearly 5 and a half decades that I have been actively following baseball all these and more have been used.Now we are in the era of PEDS and the evil shadow it casts on the game we love.
With the insanely high salaries that today's top players command I am quite sure that any and all methods available to gain the necessary edge can and will continue to be used.When PEDS no longer becomes an issue there will most certainly be some other method used.IMO, if you want to put a stop to PEDS or any other illegal methods, then you must punish the team that he plays for in addition to the player.Make the team give up a draft pick equal to the value of the player involved(top players a first round pick;lesser players a lower round pick).Punishing both the team and the player would put some real teeth into PEDS enforcement.Teams could then let players know that they would not tolerate such actions since it would cost them as well as the player. Yes, this would have to be agreed to in a collective bargaining agreement but just thought it would be food for thought in this whole PEDS mess.
Btw, if Braun is there at #5 when I draft I won't hesitate to grab him there!

[Greg Ambrosius]

How about some more snips from the show?

It's a subscription service Joe, so they don't let us post any pieces of the show on our site or anywhere else. They want you to SUBSCRIBE!! Through Feb. 12th everything is free, though, so you can listen to it right now. Lindy and Michael were both great last night and hopefully some of you caught it. Both will be in Las Vegas on March 22-24 and we'll celebrate their accomplishments in a special ceremony on Saturday morning.

[Money]

How about some more snips from the show?

It's a subscription service Joe, so they don't let us post any pieces of the show on our site or anywhere else. They want you to SUBSCRIBE!! Through Feb. 12th everything is free, though, so you can listen to it right now. Lindy and Michael were both great last night and hopefully some of you caught it. Both will be in Las Vegas on March 22-24 and we'll celebrate their accomplishments in a special ceremony on Saturday morning.

I do subscribe I was just unable to listen in yesterday. When I heard the piece posted earlier I simply asked if there was more.

Thanks

[Tom Kessenich]

How about some more snips from the show?

It's a subscription service Joe, so they don't let us post any pieces of the show on our site or anywhere else. They want you to SUBSCRIBE!! Through Feb. 12th everything is free, though, so you can listen to it right now. Lindy and Michael were both great last night and hopefully some of you caught it. Both will be in Las Vegas on March 22-24 and we'll celebrate their accomplishments in a special ceremony on Saturday morning.

I do subscribe I was just unable to listen in yesterday. When I heard the piece posted earlier I simply asked if there was more.

Thanks

I believe they have our shows archived with their On Demand. We were told that would be the case. So if you're a subscriber and missed the show you should be able to hear it there.

[Greg Ambrosius]

I do subscribe I was just unable to listen in yesterday. When I heard the piece posted earlier I simply asked if there was more.

Thanks

If you subscribe then you should be able to catch the show "On Demand". Check that feature out.

[Money]

I do subscribe I was just unable to listen in yesterday. When I heard the piece posted earlier I simply asked if there was more.

Thanks

If you subscribe then you should be able to catch the show "On Demand". Check that feature out.

Perfect. Thanks.

[Atlas]

, then you must punish the team that he plays for in addition to the player.Make the team give up a draft pick equal to the value of the player involved(top players a first round pick;lesser players a lower round pick).Punishing both the team and the player would put some real teeth into PEDS enforcement.Teams could then let players know that they would not tolerate such actions since it would cost them as well as the player. Yes, this would have to be agreed to in a collective bargaining agreement but just thought it would be food for thought in this whole PEDS mess.
Btw, if Braun is there at #5 when I draft I won't hesitate to grab him there!

Here's a thought...penalize the team of the player caught the roster spot. That is, when Melky gets 50 games, the Giants lose that roster spot for 50 games. See how fast they police themselves then!