When Does The Real 2012 MLB Season Begin?

When does the real 2012 MLB season begin?  It depends how you look at it.  Believe it or not, the season has already begun even though it seems that MLB is promoting April 4th as the official start of the baseball season.

You see, technically, the 2012 MLB season has already begun.  On March 28 and 29, the Ichiro-led Seattle Mariners played the Oakland Athletics in official MLB games in Japan.  The Mariners won the opener 3 to 1 in 11 innings but the A's won the next, 4 to 1.

The first 2012 MLB game of the 2012 season to be played in the United States is scheduled for this evening, April 4, when the 2011 MLB champion St. Louis Cardinals play the Miami Marlins in the Marlins new ballpark. 

What's odd about the Mariners and A's playing these 2 official games, they both came back to the states and went back to playing spring training games.  They resume the 2012 MLB season on Friday, April 6th in the rubber game to be played in Oakland.

The rest of the MLB season kicks off on April 5 with the following 7 MLB games:

Boston Red Sox vs Detroit Tigers @ 1:05pm ET
Atlanta Braves vs New York Mets @ 1:10pm ET
Philadelphia Phillies vs Pittsburgh Pirates @ 1:35pm ET
Washington Nationals vs Chicago Cubs @ 2:20pm ET
Toronto Blue Jays vs Cleveland Indians @ 3:05pm ET
Miami Marlins vs Cincinnati Reds @ 4:05pm ET
Los Angeles Dodgers vs San Diego Padres @ 7:05pm ET

Braun*s Urine Collector Says He Followed Protocol

There's two sides to every story. We've already heard Ryan Braun's side regarding his urine sample testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone. Now, we're hearing from the other side, from the person who collected that very sample.

Ryan Braun claimed that the MLB drug testing protocol was not followed because the delivery of his urine sample was delayed 44 hours. Yesterday, the person who collected Ryan's sample said there was nothing wrong with the process and that he followed the collection program's protocol.

Last week, In addressing the media after winning the appeal of his positive drug test, Braun stated, "We have no idea what happened to it in that 44-hour period...", "...I am the victim of a process that completely broke down. - We're part of a process where you're 100 guilty until proven innocent".

Dino Laurenzi Jr., the MLB urine sample collector, confirmed he handled Ryan Braun's urine sample following a playoff game on Oct 1, 2011.  "At no point did I tamper in any way with the samples", Dino said. 

Laurenzi claims he stored the urine sample at his home because he could not locate an open FedEx office within 50 miles from the playoff location, Milwaukee's Miller Park,  that would ship packages that day or Sunday.

In response to his comments, Braun said there are at least 5 locations within 5 miles of the stadium that are open until 9:00 p.m. and one that was open 24 hours a day.

"There have been other occasions when I have had to store samples in my home for at least one day, all without incident," said Laurenzi. He made his comments public "to set the record straight".

Did Laurenzi follow protocol? Will his admittance he's held other urine samples overnight lead to other MLB drug testing protocol appeals?

Braun*s Brains Win Drug Test Appeal

On Thursday, reigning NL MVP Ryan Braun won the appeal of his positive drug test.  But let's get it straight, it was his legal brain trust that found a loophole in the drug testing protocol that got him off.

Friday, Braun was quoted as saying "We won because the truth is on my side", "The truth prevailed".  But is he telling the whole truth?

Don't you find it odd that at no time did Braun deny that he was taking Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs).  Wouldn't you think if he was truly innocent he would have vehemently denied them from the get-go? That never happened.

Ryan Braun's October 1 urine sample tested positive for elevated testosterone levels.  Levels caused by a performance-enhancing drug, according to two un-named sources. The Daily News quoted a source as saying that the test results were "insanely high, the highest ever for anyone who has ever taken a test, twice the level of the highest test ever taken".

So, how did Ryan get away with winning his appeal? It came done to a technically where Braun*s lawyers argued that the protocol of MLB's testing drug testing policy was not followed.  Instead of bringing Baun*s urine test immediately to a FedEx store to be shipped to the lab, the collector brought in home, believing FedEx was closed on Saturday, delaying delivery by 44  hours.

"We have no idea what happened to it in that 44-hour period" said Braun "I am the victim of a process that completely broke down. - We're part of a process where you're 100 guilty until proven innocent".

Braun's statements about the process completely breaking down just doesn't hold any weight.  Every step in the process was followed perfectly, except for the immediate drop off of the urine sample for delivery. 

Do you believe in conspiracy theories?  Braun's appeal is the only successful appeal of an MLB drug test - EVER. Oh, and he plays for the Milwaukee Brewers, formerly owned by MLB commission Bud Selig.  This is an interesting tidbit (I first heard it from Craig Carton during WFAN's Boomer and Carton in the morning) but carries zero weight.

Braun*s brains never questioned the validity of the specimen, never questioned the science of the testing and never questioned the integrity of the specimen (that it was never tampered with).  In other words, they had no defense again what the test results showed. He beat the rap due a technicality.

Now, with all that said, Braun's appeal is valid because protocol was broken. What you need to understand however, is that the 44 hour delay in the delivery of the drug specimen had zero (zilch, zero, nada, none) effect on the specimen quality.  Drug testing experts agree there is no way that testosterone levels would be escalated by the delay in delivery of the urine specimen.

While Braun is happy with the outcome, the opposite can be said for MLB.  The league's reaction can be summed up by MLB executive vice president Rob Manfred who said, the league "vehemently disagrees" with the outcome.

Through it all, the Brewers get their MVP back from a 50 game suspension and Braun continues to earn his full salary @ 8 yrs/$45M. 

However, Braun will forever be associated with the * (asterisk), the mark of shame in major league baseball. 

That's why he deserves the headline "Braun*s Brains Win Drug Test Appeal".

sources: WFAN -Boomer and Carton In the morning, NY Post, NY Daily News, MLB.com, wikipedia.com