So if the Fed Ex offices are closed after 5 pm on a Saturday why didn't MLB and the PA have it in writing that they did not want any samples taken after noon on Saturday until 9 am on Monday? If they were a little clearer in their instructions there would not be a second one of these improperly handled cases this year.

Which brings up another issue, different substances have longer/shorter shelf life in the body. I wonder if some players have learned if they take a substance on Friday afternoon that the residue will be gone by Monday morning?

Originally Posted by: wpr 

Most substances are cleared out of the system by the kidneys, if someone takes a substance Friday morning and pee in a cup Friday afternoon, I'm not aware of any substances that would just go away in a pee cup by itself by Monday.

Originally Posted by: Porforis 

On the note of the arbitrator, I don't get why MLB or the players association alone have authority to fire him... Reeks of backlash to me, if they want someone to arbitrate fairly then they can't just off and fire the guy when he rules against the league and puts them in a bad spot by highlighting issues with the current testing process. Sure, there could have been more to it but we only have the facts we've been given.

Originally Posted by: Porforis 

Didn't say anything back then, but there are reasons for "chain of custody" and other courtroom rules of evidence.

They usually aren't just technicalities. They are there because the details can really matter; and in a trial courtroom, as opposed to the "court of public opinion," the evidence doesn't just get let in based on who might be able to finagle access to a mike or a blog.

I have no idea whether Braun did or didn't. But I do think anyone bases their weighing of evidence of this sort by trying to perceive the truth of the matter via public babblings of talking heads and sports personalities not constrained by state/federal rules of evidence ... well, I think you're a pinhead. Or to quote the eloquence of DakotaT...you're a dumbass.

Originally Posted by: Wade 

Exactly my line of thinking on this deal.. the process is in place for a reason, if the tester fails to follow the process then what good is the test?

Simply put, they have shown that there were a number of FedEx locations open in which the tester could have fulfilled his duties. He did not. In which at that point, whether the seal was intact or not, it brings along with it a number of questions that cannot be decisively answers to fact. What else can one do, but void the sample?

And I care less if it is Braun or someone like A-rod.. it is what it is, a blown test.

MLB and PA have a problem.. and they have to fix it. Firing someone for doing his job isn't a viable path in fixing the problem. I look for more of the story to start coming out now that he is not bound to his job.

Originally Posted by: Pack93z 

maybe not. While he does not work for MLB any more, he still works with the NFL. If he does a "tell all" episode that might hurt his chances of staying in an arbitrator position.

Originally Posted by: wpr 

Correct... but that doesn't mean a Senator, looking for attention, will not summoned him to testify to the holes he sees in the process and why it was overturned. Although, maybe they have moved past that whole deal for the publicity of it all.

Originally Posted by: Pack93z