brettac1

I can't believe they are charging people to read garbage like Hunt's column today.

I agree. Everything is certainly very murky to this point.

A lot of players use them for recovery and endurance. Not all steroids/PED's are created equal. A-Rod, Barry Bonds, Palmeiro, Clemens, etc. were all remarkably consistent players. Among several others. It helped them stay great at an advanced age. So I guess I can't buy the "you can't be consistent on steroids" idea.

I didn't say that anywhere. Obviously they work, that's why there are loads of guys who still use them even with testing in place. Certainly, though, a random player isn't just going to hit 73 HR because of them. Bonds is one of the best players to ever play the game. If you pair that incredible amount of talent with excellent science, you get that kind of amazing performance. It was awesome to behold.

If that's the only option, I'm cool with them never acknowledging it. Look at the Raw GM pay-off. They really suck at telling a linear story, so it makes sense that they would ignore it.

I cringe when I see it used on MLB Network's Clubhouse Confidential to make swift judgements on a player. I LOVE that show, but I think sometimes there is not enough time to get into the nuances of these stats, and thus, they get mis-used.

I don't know... I don't want to give WWE creative that much credit - hell, they have him on the house show circuit already. Would seem to make sense to bring "her" into it. Too bad Maria Kanelis is in ROH.

I would hope they can come up with something better. Doesn't the fact they would be feuding for the championship already establish that?

Jon Heyman with a new story: http://jon-heyman.blogs.c.../entry/33714192/34232524 Ryan Braun will be coming to the Baseball Writers dinner Jan. 21 to pick up his National League MVP award. At least that’s what we hear. His position is that he did nothing wrong, and thus, has nothing to hide. We hope that’s right. And maybe it is. Everyone should be presumed innocent. And in this case, we’re talking about a player who has been seen for a while as one of the brightest lights in the game, both on and off the field. Additionally, it shouldn’t even be known yet that he failed a test for a banned substance. The Brewers star is the first major league player to have his confidentiality breached. So maybe he becomes the first to win a hearing and save himself the 50 games suspension (although, that part won’t be easy). Braun certainly has expressed a lot of belief in his own innocence in the brief comments he’s made publicly, including one in which he said, “It’s BS.’’ It’s too bad that’s about all we’ve heard from Braun, as he is one of the most articulate players in the game. We will assume that he’s probably saving his best material for the hearing. But what will he say then? Word around the game is that he will press “multiple issues,’’ including the testing process itself. That’s good. Because to win the case, he has to point out a flaw in the system. One thing he is expected to point to is the test claim of a bizarrely high spike in testosterone, which was apparently something like three times what’s been seen before; it will likely to be argued that it must therefore be caused by testing error. Braun obviously passed all the tests before this one, and he passed a subsequent test he ordered upon learning about the failed one a couple weeks after taking the original sometime in early October when his Brewers team was just embarking on the playoffs. No one has done it at the major league level yet, but one minor leaguer won enough benefit of doubt in a hearing to win his case. (We don’t know who that is because his confidentiality wasn’t breached.) Braun will try to become the first at a hearing that ix expected to be just after that BBWAA dinner, Jan. 23 or 24, according to Lance Allen of WTMJ-4 in Milwaukee. It sounds like Braun may try a number of avenues here, including the possibility that a medication to combat a private medical issue is to blame, as TMZ initially reported. But while that argument could win some points with the public, that isn’t going to win the day, or the hearing. Baseball deserves credit for giving players a chance at a hearing (unlike the NFL). But it’s still considered a “strict liability’’ situation, which means it’s up to Braun to proven he’s been somehow wronged. He’s enlisted top people (both for p.r. and legal help), and that’s a good thing because everyone deserves their day in court. Braun should get his. Not really anything new aside from those dates. He also apparently missed Brendan Katin's story. Really, Jon Heyman is terrible, but it's something resembling a story, at least.

He's certainly best known for the trainwreck of a defensive game he had in game 3 of the NLDS against the Giants in 2010. The Braves likely would have had a great chance to win that series if not for him.

The medical story.

Or for Braun to slip up. Maybe he used to get tips before he would be tested. Maybe he used a fast-acting topical testosterone like Victor Conte mentioned and used it too close to this test and he got caught. It didn't have to be an advance in the testing system to have him get caught this time. I personally think that's the most probable explanation, far more believable than the story that the Braun people are feeding the media.

He'll come out of it smelling like a rose. He always does. He's the best agent in sports for a reason. As far as Madson goes, he's really not that great. He'll get paid plenty, though, too. It's not like the season starts tomorrow. There's so much time for guys to get contracts. Just because there haven't been a million stories about who's interested in Fielder doesn't mean there aren't negotiations ongoing, probably with multiple teams.

Well, there's a TNA PPV this weekend. I haven't watched Impact in a few weeks, but I'm watching the go home show from Thursday now. It kind of blows my mind that Jeff Hardy is going to be main-eventing a PPV.

I think there are plenty of players that use synthetic testosterone, or HGH, or an as-of-yet undetectable steroid, or something we have zero clue about through the season and don't get caught. I think you put too much faith in the testing system to assume he would have been caught earlier. The game isn't that far removed from a time when (at least) half of the league was using a PED of some form and it's still very much a part of the culture of the game since that genie is out of the bottle.

I think it's far more likely that he just screwed up and got popped with whatever he used. And, as far as I am concerned testosterone is pretty much taken for the same reason as "steroids". I know he didn't test for PED's/steroids (nor did I say he did), but if a guy is using testosterone it's for the same reasons a guy would use steroids.

Jenks totally belongs there. I would like Burny to be there, as well. Of course Cirillo.

Whatever deal he signs is going to prove that the Brewers had no chance of retaining him. Hiring Scott Boras proved they had no chance of retaining him.

No, but he was likely using them for the entire season. There wouldn't be a huge benefit to just doing it in the playoffs.

I hope they don't feud over a catch phrase.

I'm pretty sure he's not running out of options, either.

Steroids and testosterone don't just equal homers. That's pretty much a media/fan creation.

I still haven't heard back from them after I gave them my updated details to roll my Packer Insider sub in with this. Kind of getting irritating.

I'd think that would be with an American League team, though.

Yeah, for sure. I felt they were going to get good once I started to read up and listen to Ricketts, and then especially when they got Theo. When they do get good, it won't be once every few years like it was with Hendry. That's the scary thing.