Ryan Braun Finally Succumbs to Steroid Suspension

Well, the baseball police can breath a sigh of relief tonight.  They got him.  Ryan Braun will be suspended for the remainder of the season after getting essentially a plea deal for 65 games instead of the 100 a 2nd offense would get him.  It is breaking news, so the info is still rolling in, but it just seems like a good day for everyone involved.  MLB finally gets a guy who got off on a technicality.  The investigators now have confirmation that the Biogenesis information is factual and solid.  Even Braun should be OK with this, because we have seen that those who admit to use and take their punishment are easily forgiven by the masses (see Pettite, Giambi, McGwire as a coach), and those who choose to insist they are clean when people have proof that they are dirty (Clemens, Bonds, Sosa, and Palmeiro, which still breaks my heart) are hated.  Furthermore, Braun will not lose 100 games worth of paychecks.

It makes us as fans happy to know that Braun has been caught because of how mean and unapologetic he was when he got off on a technicality a few years ago.  He was, as ESPN's Tim Kurkjian called him, baseball's Lance Armstrong.  He was so vicious towards the man who supposedly mishandled his urine sample that we began to dislike him just for that.  Now that MLB has proven he is a liar, and now that Braun has admitted it, we can dislike him even more.

Yet at the same time, Braun is only 29 years old.  He still has a solid 5 to 10 years left in his career.  He can come back as a humbled man who has come to terms with his past mistakes.  He can be baseball's spokesman for the dangers of steroids.  He clearly has the ability to be an All Star player, but his decision to take steroid has sullied his name, damaged his reputation, and will cost him around $3 million in salary.  He should learn from Ray Lewis in the NFL.  The man did something wrong and then became the ultimate good soldier for his league.  This is the opportunity that Braun has before him.  If he can put together a decade of baseball with solid numbers when we know he is clean, as he should be after today, then he can return to the good graces of the baseball universe.

The Dog Days of Summer

Oh July, you are a cruel month.  Yes, it is in the middle of baseball season, but no other sports are going on.  On top of that, my beloved Washington Nationals have decided that they don't like scoring runs or winning, which makes sitting through 95 degree weather to see sloppy baseball an unpleasant experience.  Sure, last year it was much hotter; Probably a good 5 to 10 degrees warmer here in the DC metro area.  But winning seemed to mask all that heat.  The cool breeze of first place and a division title helped us forget how saturated our clothes and caps were in sweat and sunscreen.  This year?  Its just hot, and we can feel it.

The problem with warm weather, bad baseball, and not living up to expectations is that the combination causes great unrest.  Yes, the Nats are still better than the Marlins or Astros.  But this team, with virtually the same lineup, won 98 games last year and was one god damn strike call away from the NLCS (there were strikes thrown, ump.  Drew Storen still hasn't gotten over it).  At some point, heads have to roll and someone has to take the blame for this season so far.  Today, hitting coach Rick Eckstein was that man.  The Nats were near the bottom in almost all important offensive categories, so it seems like the logical thing to do since you can't fire the players.  But it probably won't be the last move.

There will be some major decisions coming from the Nats soon.  Do they try to salvage their season and catch the Braves by mortgaging their future, trading top prospects for another pitcher to solidify an oft-injured rotation?  Do they bring in another bat off the bench, or to replace a struggling starter?  I'm not so sold on those options.  At some point, we may have to accept that this just isn't the year.  Not every team expected to do well does.  Hell, most of the time the anointed preseason World Series favorite doesn't even get to the League Championship Series.  I don't want to ship out any prospect that can help us next year for a rental player.

No, instead of bringing in a new guy, we can just sit and hope.  Maybe this team, which has all the talent in the world, will finally start playing like everyone knows they can.  Maybe the excellent starting pitching will finally get the support of a newly-enthused offense, and the foundation of a lights out bullpen.  Maybe we have a huge 2nd half run in us, because the Braves have still left the door wide open for the Nats (or Phillies... yuck) to make a push for the NL East.  Maybe this is the first great comeback story for the Washington Nationals franchise!

Or maybe we're just a 2nd/3rd place, .500 team this season.  Its all possible.

Autumn will be here soon, and with the turning leaves and cooler temperatures will come either a glorious comeback or a relieving end to a disappointing season.  Til then, we have to suffer through the heat, through the sweat, through the dog days of summer.