Rob Long: Gotcha! Ryan Braun Suspended
So I got up this morning and I went through my usual routine of turning on MLB Network to catch what I missed around the baseball world.
The top story, of course, was Ryan Braun and his suspension. Immediately, I thought about how he vehemently denied his use of performance enhancing drugs. Not only did he deny it, he waved the fact that he won his appeal in the face of Major League Baseball. If you don't remember, YouTube it. He did it in front of cameras.
That was then, this is now. Braun released a statement in which he apologized to his fans and his teammates. He also wrote, "As I have acknowledged in the past, I am not perfect." That's a far cry from the confident player that stood in front of the media over a year ago in Milwaukee.
Braun has yet to hold a press conference admitting his guilt. So far, he's just issued a written statement. Braun said, in his statement, that he's made some "mistakes." He never truly named what mistakes, only that he actually made some.
I'm not here to cast judgement on Ryan Braun or anyone else for what they've done. That comes from a pay grade higher than mine. However, I do find it peculiar that Braun was eager to get in front of a camera to proclaim his innocence last year but, so far, has only issued a statement. In fact, Braun once tweeted, "Can't wait until my innoccence is proved and you can see that is the truth."
This to me is more about players treating fans like fools. How are you we to believe what we're seeing? How are we to believe what we're hearing? You simply can't. I remember when Rafael Palmeiro became the fourth player in MLB history to surpass 500 home runs and 3,000 hits. A good friend of mine asked me to name the other three players. I named Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray. My friend replies, "Where does Palmeiro belong?" He didn't. I saw Eddie Murray and Palmeiro was no Eddie Murray. My friend, who was older said he was no Mays and Aaron.
That's a tough barometer but that's what it's come to. Trust your own eyes and not what you're spoon fed. I use to argue that with several players in baseball. I would say that their numbers did not make sense. After baseball cracked down on testing, some of the numbers of those players began to fade.
