Ryan Braun: Mob Mentality and Why He Is Not Guilty in My Mind

We all do it. That little judge in our minds bangs the gavel and declares, "Guilty!" when the words "tested positive" flash across the computer screen. Case closed. We decry. We smirk. 

Mob rules.

Ryan Braun's suspension over a positive PED test was overturned by an arbitrator, and a ruckus has been raised by the mob as a result. The results did not sway the mob, as the Brewers slugger appears to have been exonerated on a mere technicality. 

It helps to begin by saying the arbitrator's decision was not based on a simple technicality. Chain of custody is vital to preserve the integrity of collected samples, and the sample collector certainly did not follow protocol. Whether he put the sample in his refrigerator or left it sitting in a tupperware bin on his desk, the chain of custody was compromised and the tested sample could no longer be trusted.

Was the sample tampered with? Did the sample somehow degrade because of poor storage conditions? These are important questions that arise when the chain of custody is broken, hence the arbitrator's ruling.

Skeptics mock Braun, saying he tested positive and that is the only truth in the matter. That is far from the truth, however, at least based on our knowledge of the situation. That we do not know what happened to his sample between collection and testing means we know squat about whether Braun tested positive or not. 

And what of Braun's measurables and metrics? He claims he has not gained a single pound or decreased his base-running splits by one-tenth of a second. I will trust him on that count—with a grain of salt, of course—since I do not have access to that week-to-week data. I do have access to his career numbers, though, and here is how they pan out:

Year	G	PA	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
2007	113	492	451	91	146	34	97	15	29	112	.324	.370	.634	1.004	154
2008	151	663	611	92	174	37	106	14	42	129	.285	.335	.553	.888	130
2009	158	708	635	113	203	32	114	20	57	121	.320	.386	.551	.937	146
2010	157	685	619	101	188	25	103	14	56	105	.304	.365	.501	.866	131
2011	150	629	563	109	187	33	111	33	58	93	.332	.397	.597	.994	166

Setting aside that he has great career numbers, has Braun been taking PEDs throughout his five-year career and managing to get away with it this whole time? He has been consistent thus far in his career, and he is just now hitting his prime. I expect that to continue, even if he has an abnormally good or bad season because of this whole mess.

Is this proof he is not doping? No, it is purely circumstantial. Neither is an aberrant, morbidly positive test on a mishandled test sample proof that he is juicing, however. We are in the court of public opinion, not a federal court room, but there exists here more than a reasonable doubt.

Healthy skepticism is a good thing; without it, science would stagnate. This is not a question of science, however, not when it comes to judging a man guilty for a transgression nobody can ultimately prove. 

True, he may have simply beat the system and fooled the likes of me in the process. While it may be naive to take Braun on his word, though, I suppose I tend to see the sample cup as half full. At the very least, judgment has been reserved for another day.