After baseball writers call his name and ask Ryan Braun to accept the NL MVP Award at a banquet on Saturday night, the only thing he should say is "No, thank you."
Or, to ratchet up the drama, the Milwaukee Brewers slugger could do a Marlon Brando and send Bernie Brewer or a Racing Sausage to the podium with a note politely declining the honor. No matter how, he should not accept the trophy. It is not his to win. Following Dodgers manager Don Mattingly, another leading authority has come and and said so.
Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Joe Saunders, whose team was eliminated by the Braun's Brewers in the NL playoffs, said Braun should be ashamed of himself for cheating — if his appeal for failing a drug test gets denied, that is.
In an interview with Burns and Gambo on AZ Sports 620-AM in Phoenix, Saunders wouldn't expressly admit it bothers him that an alleged cheater beat his team. But clearly, it does:
"You know, he has to deal with that. If that's true, he's got to live with that. And if it is true, he's going to tarnish great players. Hopefully it doesn't happen. Hopefully it was a mistake [in testing]. But if it is[n't], shame on him. What are you going to do?
Though he hasn't said much since the news leaked, Braun has insisted his innocence, and that he was flagged for testosterone only because the test was flawed. Come Saturday, a spokesman says, Braun will be on hand to collect his trophy and give a short speech.
The only way that speech will have meaning is if Braun says he's dropping his appeal and declining the trophy. Not because he wants to, or even because it's the right thing. It's simply the only way for him to save his reputation.
As I've written before, I don't think much of the anti-PED crusade Major League Baseball has undertaken these past few seasons. I have many doubts about what steroids can give a major leaguer that he already doesn't have. I'm certainly not sure whatever that is, is "bad."
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