Is MLB in the Right for the Suspension of Ryan Braun?

Major League Baseball is in the right for suspending Ryan Bruan for the remainder of the 2013 season without pay for landing on a list of players that were involved with a performance enhancing drug lab out of Florida.  Some have said this is not fair, I disagree considering how he got out of a suspension back in 2011 for failing a drug test following his MVP season after a drug test from that October became public via a leak in December 2011.  The test had revealed a high level of testosterone due to performance enhancing drugs however in a 2-1 arbitration hearing he was cleared from serving a 50 game suspension when he claimed that the test was probably tampered with (and was not), a later test had normal levels of testosterone.

Due to the fact that he lied his way out of a suspension and probably stopped performance enhancing drug (PED) usage to pass a test only makes this suspension handed down to him fair.  Had he been suspended the rest of the year without losing pay that would not be acceptable to me, but because he is not making money which may not hurt him as much because he is a highly paid player but will be a warning to the MLB.  For another player who won’t be making the money Braun is may think twice about using PEDs if it means their way to make a living will be stopped for a pro-longed period of time.

Lying to get out of a suspension and then landing on a list of players linked to a lab is pretty sad because he had his chance to just own up and take a 50 game suspension but he instead lied and is now paying the price.  Bruan’s stupidity lead to this moment and he has nobody to blame but himself, I am pleased that he got the punishment he did, hopefully as mentioned this punishment will stop more players from using PEDs.

Time will only tell for the other athletes on the list linked to Biogenesis but this is a great start.

Is Michael Vick a Stopgap Quarterback?

Michael Vick is a stopgap quarterback and is not the future for the Eagles organization, the one year deal he signed just 2 years after his big deal that he inked in Philadelphia is an indication that his days in Philly are numbered.  When you look at how he has faired on the Eagles as well as the Falcons you see that he cannot stay healthy, in fact out of his 4 seasons in Philly he has not had one complete season at all.  His numbers were good his first year as a starter but after that he has fallen off. 

His stats his first season (i2010) were:

21-6 TD-INT ratio

2011:

18-14 TD-INT

2012:

12-10 TD INT

So his touchdown numbers have been dropping while his turnovers have climbed, if you include his lost fumbles the past 2 seasons he has 30 passing touchdowns to 29 turnovers in 23 games…

That is simply unacceptable, especially for someone who is supposed to be the face of the franchise, but he has been unable to stay healthy and is reckless with the ball, while the offensive line has been awful he has been making some poor throws.  One of his biggest problems is trying to pull off “hero plays” or in other words trying to force the ball when he shouldn’t be trying to make a throw or fumbling the ball while trying to create some offensive firepower on the ground. 

To add to the turnovers and inability to stay healthy the Eagles record speaks for itself, 8-8 in 2011 and 4-12 in 2012, and while Vick has only started 23 of those games it is a reflection of how poor he played, if he wasn’t so responsible he would not have had to take a one year deal to fight for his job.

These reasons are why I think Vick is a stop gap quarterback, he might land the starting job this season because he is the quarterback that Chip Kelly would like to use in his fast paced offense but I don’t think he can sustain a full season or be careful with the football.  A true franchise quarterback does not play as poorly as Vick has.

My prediction on Vick in 2013:

Vick does not win the starting spot and is traded or released by the Eagles.