[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Synthetic testosterone treats calf injuries? I did not know that.

It was leaked that Braun had levels of synthetic testosterone in his system when tested in 2011, and that the testosterone levels demonstrated were the highest ever recorded by a Biolab in either the United States or in Canada, several times higher, in fact (per Braun's legal defense team-I take that with a grain of salt, as I don't recall the statement ever being corroborated by the lab, or MLB). He won that appeal, but the specifics were never released because of the confidentiality clause of the MLB drug testing program. Independent Arbitrator Shyam Das saw all the evidence, and ruled in Braun's favor. But his ruling opinion was never disseminated to the press. Was the synthetic testosterone finding in Braun's sample disproven somehow?

Ultimately, he was banned in 2013 for his connection with Biogenesis. I don't know how much overlap there was between MLB's original case in 2011, and what they presented to Braun in 2013. Braun voluntarily accepted his 65 game ban-50 for the substance violation, and 15 for how he carried himself during the proceedings. With incomplete information, it's hard to know what was real, and what was a fabrication by the media. If it was proven that there was synthetic testosterone in Braun's system in 2011, and that chain of custody was sound, how could Das have ruled in his favor?

I'm certainly not an expert on hormone usage, but I take testosterone cypionate, in part, to help offset bone density issues. I've also had several steroid injections to help heal damaged tissue in my knee and spine. Obviously, those are two different animals, but if Braun says he used a banned substance to heal an injury, I find his statement at least plausible. Unfortunately, we'll never know exactly what happened. We're left with part truth, part conjecture. Ultimately, my view is he screwed up--big time--and served his sentence.