You know it's been a long offseason when you're actually looking forward to the results of a bunting competition.
- So Ryan Braun won his appeal to overturn a 50-game suspension for testing positive for elevated testerone levels. Many are claiming he's only been exonerated because of a technicality as Braun won his appeal because the "chain-of-custody" was not followed, a fancy way of saying the tester did not make Fed Ex in time and stored the urine sample in his home. There are conflicting reports on where it was stored, some saying a fridge at the tester's house, another a tupperware container on his desk for two days*. Regardless, the real winner here is due process. Clearly the standards agreed upon were not followed and a neutral arbitrator ruled accordingly. Whether he actually took anything or not will have to be decided in the court of opinion, but I'll say his 2011 numbers aren't anything out of the ordinary for a 27 year old that was already third in the MVP vote in 2008.
- Dale Sveum says that David DeJesus will likely bat leadoff to start spring training with Bryan LaHair batting fourth, Alfonso Soriano has an outside shot at the cleanup spot. He's still filling out the rest, buy my guess would be a lineup of: DeJesus, Castro, Soriano, LaHair, Soto, Stewart, Byrd, Barney.
- Sveum also goes into great detail on what he means by hustle. He's already giving Soriano a pass for gawking at home runs if you had any notions of him cracking down on that.
- Speaking of lack of hustle, Junior Lake, Starlin Castro and Alfonso Soriano were the last ones to report to camp.
- Sickels came out with his top 120 prospects, Jackson at #27, Rizzo #37, Baez at #109 (believe he's predetermined that Baez will not be a SS already and adjusted accordingly). Jonathon Mayo on his blog put together an average ranking of "the big 4" prospect lists (himself, Keith Law, Baseball America and Kevin Goldstein). Rizzo comes in at 48.75 average, Jackson 49.50 and Baez at 71. Their actually ranking on that list though - since others move around as well - is Rizzo at #38, Jackson at #40 and Baez at #69.
- Former Cub Josh Donaldson is working out a little at third base while also vying for the backup catcher job with the A's.
Enjoy the weekend!!!
*misread that bit, ESPN article just says tupperware container, nothing about a desk. There was some discrepancy about whether it was in a fridge or a basement though or maybe a fridge in the basement...whateves...FREEDOM!!!
**I swear they keep changing the article because now it mentions the desk again.
Sources told Munson that the collector left Braun's sample on a desk in a Tupperware container and left it there for two days.
I give up.
Comments
Re: TCR Friday Notes
http://wiklifield.thecubreporter.com/John_Sic...
past rankings by Sickels, he use to just do a separate top 50 for pitchers and hitters
Castro speaks
about his offseason
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball...
Re: braun
per usual, Craig Calcaterra is the voice of reason, he's like the Jon Stewart of baseball
For years, people argued for Major League Baseball to adopt a rigorous testing regime. Why? To end the speculation. To stop the “is he using or isn’t he” parlor games. Read every single column written about Jeff Bagwell’s Hall of Fame candidacy and you’ll find some variation of “but for so long there was no testing, so we just can’t know, and that uncertainty is horrible …” sentiment.
Now we have a testing program. And it’s amazing to me just how quickly the end product of that testing program — no suspension for Ryan Braun — is diminished or outright dismissed when results aren’t what people wanted.
I’m talking about those who don’t care that the procedures weren’t followed and say that they still don’t think Braun is clean, his name not cleared. Sure, you’re allowed to think that if you want, but just understand that if you do — if “we still don’t think he’s clean” or “questions still remain” holds — then there is no purpose whatsoever to have a testing program in the first place. Because even with one in place, people will just assume what they want to assume regardless of the end product, and that’s no different than where we were in 1998.
The reason? Because no scientific protocol has legitimacy if only some parts of it are adhered to and others aren’t. When you go with testing, you go with everything. You can’t say that the preliminary test results matter and the chain of custody protocols don’t. It’s all of a piece. It’s the entire process that lends drug testing its legitimacy, not just part of it.
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/02/24/...
Re: TCR Friday Notes
I completely agree. You can't in good conscience claim that Braun is still a cheater if MLB didn't follow the rules that are in place for drug testing. After all, the specific rules are in place for a reason. You can't interrupt the chain of custody for two days and still claim that the test results are credible. That's just not how the process works.
The fact that Braun's test results showed that his testosterone level was spectacularly high supports his innocence in my opinion. If Braun was juicing, you would expect his test results to be similar to the results of other PED users, not so high that people involved claimed they had never seen results that far out of whack.
Folks in the media are reporting that Braun won his appeal on a technicality, but I think that is a misnomer. He didn't win the appeal because of a loophole in the testing procedure. He won because MLB screwed up his test.
Re: TCR Friday Notes
How was the sample supposed to get shipped on Saturday?
Fedex doesn't pick up on the weekend. E.G. Here's the latest a Fedex package can be accepted and get shipped in Milwaukee, Wisconsin .
Mon 7:30 PM
Tue 7:30 PM
Wed 7:30 PM
Thu 7:30 PM
Fri 7:30 PM
Sat No Pickup
Sun No Pickup
Since the sample needed to be kept in a cool place until it could be shipped, clearly protocol WAS kept. The arbitrator is an idiot. He must believe that external testosterone can grow spontaneously in urine. I hope MLB sues in federal court.
Re: TCR Friday Notes
he probably believes that the handler's basement or fridge isn't considered a "secure" location.
this is a good write-up on it as well.
http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/2/24/2820524/bra...
Is Braun innocent? We don't know. It's been reported that Braun provided a urine sample and a testing laboratory determined that the sample contained high doses of testosterone. But we don't know precisely what the collector did with the specimen during the 48 hours in question. And we don't know how the specimen might have become degraded in that time.
Re: TCR Friday Notes
Braun did NOT argue with test results so degradation (how could degradation produce massive amounts of testosterone in the sample) isn't an issue.
Braun also did NOT argue that the sample was tampered with.
What they did argue was the sample wasn't shipped ASAP. And since the latest Fedex picks up in Wisconsin is Saturday at 4 PM in one location, the question is, could it have been taken to that location in time? Was protocol understood to be that they would whatever the expense?
As for chain of custody, if that's an issue then the ONLY way to ship it would be registered US mail. They keep a registry of the chain of custody. Fedex doesn't.
But Braun isn't innocent. He's guilty as hell. It's his urine (he even withdrew his offer to have his DNA tested), no one alleges it was tampered with and it tested off the charts.
Re: TCR Friday Notes
Braun has been very vocal about his innocence. The test results are meaningless if the protocols are not followed. It is not Braun's responsibility to explain how he tested positive for a banned substance if the test itself can not be relied upon.
MLB and the Players Association agreed on certain protocols for drug testing. If those protocols aren't followed, then the test results (whether positive or negative) completely lack credibility.
When you say that Braun is guilty, what evidence do you have, other than a tainted urine test, to support your position?
Re: TCR Friday Notes
"Braun did NOT argue with test results so degradation (how could degradation produce massive amounts of testosterone in the sample) isn't an issue. Braun also did NOT argue that the sample was tampered with."
Let's not forget that Arbitration is still a legal proceeding which means that what matters is what you can prove. This means that even if the sample was tainted or tampered, there was no way Braun's defense could prove that it was. What they could prove is that the chain of custody was NOT followed and so that is what they argued and WON.
Re: TCR Friday Notes
I even go a step further. Braun never claimed that the urine sample was degraded or tampered with because it was unnecessary. The chain of custody was flawed making the test results flawed.
Re: TCR Friday Notes
If the reporting is accurate, the question isn't whether or not it was shipped on time. The question is "was the sample stored in a secure place so it COULD NOT BE TAMPERED WITH? And the answer is NO, it was not.
It is not necessary to prove that it WAS tampered with. It is enough to show that it COULD have been.
I suspect that Braun cheated. Doesn't matter. It can not be proven.
Re: TCR Friday Notes
Completely agree. If anything, Braun's test proves the fairness of the system within which the test was conducted. The rules put in place were not followed, period. Even if Braun was more juiced than a jug of Minute Maid, he could not reasonably be proved guilty due to the faultiness of the testing procedure.
Whether or not he is guilty in the court of public opinion, he could not reasonably be proved to have been using steroids, therefore in the eyes of the rules set in place by MLB (which follows the same presumptions set by the U.S. legal system, wherein you can't convict someone without reasonable evidence to support the conviction), he can't be punished.
If MLB wants to complain that they THINK Braun was guilty, they're being hypocritical and their anger is being mis-directed; they should focus their energy instead on the person (people?) who did not follow the procedures they set in place for drug testing.
Re: TCR Friday Notes
Navigator -- I'm surprised at your reaction. So the entire MLB drug testing program hinges on FedEx's schedule? That's one screwed up testing program.
There's too much riding on the results of the drug test to allow a urine sample to sit in some guys refrigerator (or on his desk) for two days waiting for the FedEx office to open. If MLB can't get the sample to FedEx before they close, maybe they should not do any tests late in the afternoon on Friday. That is in MLB's control and the safeguards built into the process should not suffer because the league didn't think things through.
Not only do I disagree with your perspective, but in my mind it is unconscionable for MLB to come out after the arbitrator's ruling and say that they "vehemently disagree" with the decision when it was so obvious that they didn't follow their own procedures. In fact, considering the fact that MLB didn't follow their own procedures, they should have thrown out the test results initially rather than allowing this to play out and ultimately make them look foolish. I don't blame Braun for blasting MLB and the drug testing program today. His reputation has been damaged unnecessarily and it is MLB who is to blame.
Re: TCR Friday Notes
If the MLB did not follow proper procedure the case should absolutely be tossed out. I think this in criminal cases too where it's pretty obvious the person is guilty. Procedures are there for a reason, to ensure the police remain honest and don't start thinking they are above the law. Sometimes this means a guilty person goes free but it's better then the alternative of innocent people put in jail.
That said, let's not confuse Braun's case getting tossed out because of messed up procedures with that proving he was clean.
Re: TCR Friday Notes
You raise a good point. We'll never know for certain if Braun is guilty or innocent because the test was flawed. Once it was determined that the agreed upon protocols weren't followed, the results of the test became meaningless. That's why I said that the test results should have never been used by MLB to suspend Braun. MLB knew that the protocols had not been followed, yet they knowingly took action that harmed Braun's reputation. Even though Braun proved that the test was flawed, he is left in the unenviable position of winning the appeal, but still suffering damage to his reputation.
Re: TCR Friday Notes
"Braun said that his legal team discovered that five Fed Ex offices were open until 9 p.m., including one that was open 24 hours."
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/daily...
Re: TCR Friday Notes
It's the right choice. Protocols exist for a reason. If the protocols weren't followed, or even if they were impossible to follow, Braun shouldn't be penalized.
Re: TCR Friday Notes
Jon Stewart? Really?
Re: TCR Friday Notes
Well at least his writers. What am I missing?
Re: TCR Friday Notes
That I think he's a tool.
Re: TCR Friday Notes
You are no Internet friend of mine.
the cost for Longoria just doubled.
Re: TCR Friday Notes
Doubled from what I was offering or what you'd take? You know I won't think twice about doubling my standard initial offer.
Re: TCR Friday Notes
Trow in some bubble gum and a picture of Dutch Rennert's strike call. He will cave...
Re: TCR Friday Notes
You're dealing Longoria? I'll give you Mike Morse.
Re: TCR Friday Notes
I'll give you TWO Mike Morses!
Re: TCR Friday Notes
Was the dumb fuck sample gatherer ever named?
Re: TCR Friday Notes
/grabs pitchfork and torch
Re: TCR Friday Notes
haha. assembling the posse now.
Re: TCR Friday Notes
From what I've read, didn't the sample gather follow standard operating procedure?
Wasn't the technicality, that what he did (storing in a refrigerator on a saturday night), wasn't completely spelt out, word for word, in MLB's drug testing policy.
It was my impression, from what I've read, that the keeping in their home, in a fridge, is completely acceptable in any other sport's guidelines.
Re: TCR Friday Notes
Don't know. Just like acknowledging incompetence.
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