So here’s how the deal went down for Ryan Braun. First, he escaped suspension when his urine sample was held in some guy’s basement and Braun was let off on a technicality, avoiding suspension. Instead of shutting up and getting back to baseball, he wagged his finger (just like Rafael Palmeiro) telling MLB, shame on you for coming after me. I told you I was clean.
Then MLB investigators found a pile of evidence linking Braun to Biogenesis, and after refusing to answer questions on June 29, Braun runs back to MLB to strike a deal. Braun admits he made mistakes. My guest on today’s Google Hangout, Justin Hull of WSCO Radio in Appleton, WI., hit it right on the head…”Those weren’t mistakes, those were choices.”
“As I have acknowledged in the past, I am not perfect. I realize now that I have made some mistakes. I am willing to accept the consequences of those actions,” Braun said in a statement.
Those consequences turn out to be a 65 game suspension that will cause Braun to miss the rest of a lost season for the Brewers (19 games behind the Cardinals) and forfeit only $3.25 million in salary. However, Braun will be back for 2014 with six years remaining on a $113 million contract and the Brewers get to start fresh for next year.
The question is: Did MLB go on a witch hunt, or did Commissioner Bud Selig save an organization, he holds close to his heart, by giving them their franchise player free and clear for the start of a new 2014 season?