Braun Off The Hook

Ryan Braun won his appeal of his 50-game drug suspension for elevated levels of testosterone.
Today he faced the media and one of the things that struck me was his comment, "
I truly believe in my heart and I would bet my life that the substance never entered my body at any point.”
That's a pretty strong statement. Even if he did take performance enhancing drugs and got away with it that is still a bold thing to say.
Personally, I believe Braun. He's a smart guy and his stats have been pretty consistent. His body hasn't grown to massive proportions like Sosa, Bonds and McGwire.
Major League Baseball's reaction was pretty classless too in my estimation. MLB VP Rob Manfred said that he "vehemently disagrees" with the decision of independent arbitrator Shayam Das, a guy who has been doing this for baseball for 11-years.
We've heard players before deny use of performance enhancing drugs like Rafael Palmeiro and a host of others. But Braun's denial was so strong and vigorous and when you add his high caliber reputation, you have to really wonder. How did this happen in the first place.
If Braun is telling the truth, and again I believe he is, then there is a major and dangerous problem in Major League Baseball. If a sample is taken from a player, and disappears for 44 hours as in the case of Braun, who knows who can tamper with it or what the elements, heat or cold, can do to it.
In the end I believe justice prevailed and Manfred can cry all he wants. If the suspension was upheld and Braun was truly innocent, that would have been a tragedy. As it stands now, to all players in the big leagues and minor leagues...beware.