metirish

Meanwhile the samples are what now?, still positive?

Richard Sandomir ? @RichSandomir Close Judge will rule on Summary judments in Mets/Madoff case by March 5--but he did toss experts testimony including John Maine's

Yeah, sends the wrong message to fans like us that care about shit. but hey, they scored some big money recently....

I know right, does this prove he is innocent?, no right? Heyman, the biggest lick arse on twitter is predictably proclaiming Braun innocent, great guy yyybbb and that we should all consider "Braun a clean ballplayer"

Braun won his appeal case just now..... some conflicting stuff out there, some from the AP http://www.jsonline.com/ Brewers blog Ryan Braun wins appeal of positive drug test e-mail print By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel Updated: 4:10 p.m. |(10) COMMENTS Phoenix - Milwaukee Brewers leftfielder Ryan Braun became the first major-league player to have a positive drug test overturned when he was informed Thursday that an arbitration panel ruled in his favor on appeal and decided against a 50-game suspension for the reigning National League most valuable player. There has been no official announcement of the verdict but the Journal Sentinel has confirmed that Braun won his appeal. Someone familiar with the decision said the appeal went Braun's way not so much on contesting the result of the test but the testing process itself, some kind of technicality. And it was arbitrator Shyam Das who decided to rule in favor on that technicality, making it a 2-1 decision by the three-man panel. Whatever the reason, the ruling was a tremendous boost for both Braun, whose reputation was at stake, and the Brewers, already missing free agent Prince Fielder from their 2011 NL Central championship club. Instead of having to figure out a way to replace Braun for the first 50 games of the season, the team can move forward with its original plans. Braun is expected to report to the Brewers' camp Friday on schedule, and now will not have the cloud of a suspension hanging over his head. It had become a point of noticeable nervousness and anxiety among other players and staff as well as they awaited what many feared would be a negative outcome. Braun appealed the positive test that took place in early October, at the outset of the playoffs. His hearing before a three-man arbitration panel was held in New York on Jan. 19-20, when noted attorney David Cornwell presented his case against the test result and suspension. The three-man panel included Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Michael Weiner, MLB vice president for labor relations Rob Manfred and independent arbitrator Shyam Das. The history of such hearings suggested Weiner would back the player and Manfred would support the testing procedure, leaving Das to cast the decisive vote. The MLB drug policy calls for a maximum of 25 days for the panel to render its verdict but that is considered more of a guideline than a rigid deadline. Accordingly, the panel took much longer to announce its decision. Thursday marked five weeks since the appeal hearing began. There had been speculation that the delay was because Braun already had been told he won the case and his side hadn't announced it. The commissioner's office wouldn't announce the player had won the appeal because the process is supposed to be confidential. But a source familiar with the decision said Braun was not informed until Thursday. An MLB source familiar with the history of game�s drug testing said none of the previous 12 major leaguers who appealed a positive result were able to overturn a suspension. Thus, even though successful appeals are not announced because of confidentiality, someone familiar with the process said Braun was the first major-leaguer to win an appeal. Originally, players were suspended for 10 days but that penalty was stiffened to 50 games in 2006, with pay forfeited. The burden of proof rests squarely on the player in such hearings because he must prove the banned substance was not in his system by his fault or through negligence. The MLB drug policy has a �strict liability� provision in which players are not exonerated merely because they ingested a banned substance unknowingly. Braun�s positive test reportedly included �insanely high levels� of testosterone, by far the most ever detected in a player. He requested an independent drug test a few weeks after testing positive, which was clean, but it was not authorized nor recognized as exculpatory by MLB. After ESPN reported Braun�s positive test, he immediately proclaimed his innocence, sending this test message to the Journal Sentinel: �I am completely innocent. This is B.S.� Braun indicated he wanted to give his side of the story but was instructed not to by his advisors. But his camp went on the offensive, citing �highly unusual circumstances surrounding this case which will support Ryan�s complete innocence and demonstrate that there was absolutely no intentional violation of the program.� The agency that represents Braun, CAA Sports, hired noted attorney David Cornwell to present his case before the panel. Cornwell had defended other high-profile athletes in such matters as well as other legal entanglements. Shortly after taking the case, Cornwell issued a statement saying, �Any report that Ryan ingested a performance-enhancing drug is wrong.� Cornwell limited his comments to that and the Braun camp closely guarded its defense strategy prior to the hearing. Word leaked, however, that Cornwell would attack the test finding on several fronts, questioning the veracity of the test itself because Braun�s testosterone level was more than twice as high as any previously recorded. A source familiar with MLB�s drug policy indicated there were only a few ways to overturn a positive test, such as proving a chain-of-custody issue, a flaw in the collection process or providing proof that the player�s team signed off on the substance. Otherwise, the �strict liability� aspect of the policy makes it extremely difficult to exonerate a player. Apparently, Braun won his appeal by contesting something in the process itself. Braun claimed 20 of 32 first-place votes for NL MVP after batting .332 with 33 home runs, 111 runs batted in, 109 runs scored and 33 stolen bases in 150 games. He led the league with a .597 slugging percentage. Braun has done a lot of amazing things during his big-league career, but considering the history of the drug program and its appeals, some might consider his biggest accomplishment.

Mike Francesa told Alderson that it's too much for Tejada to be the everyday SS and lead off hitter...." too much, just too much for him, he's a young guy, too much".... Francesa talks so it must be so

Awesome pic Mets pitcher Daniel Herrera throws a bullpen session in Port St. Lucie, Fla. (Feb. 21, 2012) Photo Credit: Alejandra Villa even more awesomer pic Mets pitcher Dillon Gee throws a bullpen session in Port St. Lucie, Fla. (Feb. 21, 2012) Photo Credit: Alejandra Villa

I should have given the photog credit Photo credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa | Mets COO Jeff Wilpon, center, at spring training at Port St. Lucie, Fla. (Feb. 22, 2012)

Izzy to the Angels source - twitter

Yes, those hats are awful, worse that the ones where the stripes went over the ears.

Forget about the seven suckers look at the cut of Jeff's hair?

Nice list, Wharten pitched to Carter at one point.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Adam Rubin says that Buster Olney says that the Mets are one of six finalists for Kazmir. this is why twitter is great!.........

Has Zimmer ever looked scarier?

I know they have their affiliation with the HSS but do they need to fly a player from Florida to NY for what sounds like routine tests?

Kazmir could be a good fit,I imagine his first start would generate excitement. Mets need starting pitching, right now who are the backup guys if someone goes down or isn't ready for opening day?

Great idea, one thing, was Gary "the Kid" or just "Kid"?

G-Fafif wrote: Bob Lipsyte covered the first Spring Training in 1962. He covered it again the other day for the Times. Once, while I was talking to Stengel, a middle-aged man approached, dragging a sullen teenager. This was clearly a troubled son and dad. The man claimed to have played for Stengel years ago in the minors. Stengel took his time, regaled them with tales of the father�s prowess and promised the kid a Mets contract if he got as good as his old man. As they left with arms around each other, Stengel rolled his eyes at me and shrugged. He had no memory of the man. Casey's the most fascinating manager in baseball and he's been dead at the present time for nearly 37 years. that's great , look at those beautiful unis gold Alas, there were more critical numbers � the three made up an outfield with 19 children and a combined age of 102.

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No jail time?

Santana was probably using one of the Porta-Potties on the back fields.....stop stalking him Kevin.

Did you link to Deadspin and see this article from attgig's post too?

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Edgy DC wrote: This may seem obvious, but if Beltran is talking about paying for plastic surgery.... Excellent point! I wonder how that conversation comes about. I'm sure Neise got a ribbing over that nose.

I hope his career doesn't take a nose dive like Jennifer Grey's did after she had her's "fixed". looks good though.

this picture looks more like the one submitted to BG? similar mouth ?