Thursday, February 7, 2013

The Unlikely Saga of Ryan Braun

Just wondering...

What are the odds of Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun failing a MLB drug screen in October 2011 - with extremely high levels of synthetic testosterone in the sample...

But due to a "chain of custody" foul-up, manages to escape the mandatory 50-game suspension for testing positive...

Making his appeal the first successful one of its kind in MLB history...

And now we learn that Braun's crack legal team in preparation for that one-of-a-kind successful appeal, just happened to solicit the expertise of the guy now suspected of being the ring-leader of the latest MLB PED scandal - Tony Bosch - as a "consultant"...

But somehow the dollar amount this expert was going to charge for his invaluable consulting was never agreed upon, thus leaving an unpaid balance for "services rendered" of somewhere between twenty and thirty thousand dollars - which seems to be a bit vauge...

Oh yeah...Braun never had any dealings with Bosch prior to or after his successful appeal...

So it's just an amazing coincidence that the college Braun attended in Miami, Florida has been linked to Bosch and his "anti-aging" clinic over the years, although Braun never personally visited the establishment, or even knew the expert consultant before he got popped for testing positive in the first place.

Sound plausible?  Well...





Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Is Free Agent Lohse Now in the Cards?

The news of Chris Carpenter's recurring shoulder problem which will likely sideline him for the entire 2013 season, is disappointing, but not altogether surprising.  In retrospect, it seems the tremendous postseason effort Carp exerted in 2011 to help the Cardinals to that improbable World Series championship, was more than his shoulder could bear. 

It seems as though the team that free agent pitcher Kyle Lohse walked away from at the end of the 2012 season may now be the team that would provide the best fit for the 34-year old right-hander.  It remains to be seen whether the two sides can negotiate a reasonable contract that would be a "win-win" for both parties. 

However, Lohse remains unsigned and the Cardinals are in obvious need to fill a major void in the rotation.  This may very well be a free agent signing that is suddenly in the cards for St Louis.  You heard it here first.  Or second.  Or third.