12.19.11
Former Tower Of Power Bassist : Braun Is Dead Meat
BALCO founder Victor Conte (above), relishing his contemporary pundit status, chatted KNBR’s Garry Radnich and Larry Krueger last Wednesday, and sure enough, the subject of reigning NL MVP / alleged HGH cheat Ryan Braun was raised. Conte — who also discussed his recent supervision of Marlon Byrd — wasn’t very optimistic about Braun’s odds of avoiding a 50 game suspension (transcript taken from Sports Radio Interviews, link courtesy Repoz and Baseball Think Factory).
Were you surprised that Ryan Braun tested positive?:
“No, I was not surprised. In fact, three weeks before that, I was in Vietnam and I was interviewed by somebody from the New York Daily News. It was when the growth hormone testing was being introduced. And I don’t think growth hormone is effective as a performance enhancer. At that time, I basically said that what they’re doing is using fast-acting testosterone — creams, gels, orals, patches — and they clear so quickly, sometimes in a matter of hours. … They could conceivably, after a game, use testosterone to help with tissue repair and healing and recovery and by the time they’d show up at the park the next day, their PE ratio would be normal. I always knew there was this giant loophole that you could drive a Mack truck through.”
Do you think there will be another player implicated in this after Braun’s situation is over?:
“This is a wake-up call. … I’ve been pitching this before this Ryan Braun case broke … I said here’s the loophole: They’re using fast-acting testosterone; they’re not using anabolic steroids. … You need to use carbon isotope ratio testing and you will bust lots of people. I said a significant number of players would test positive. … Three weeks later, here’s a positive.”
What argument can Braun’s people make to win their appeal?:
“The first thing I hear that they’re saying is it’s an extremely high level, the highest that’s ever been recording. Are they talking about in baseball or are they talking about in general? … I’m not sure about that, but this is a double-whammy for him. Unless there’s some chain-of-custody issue, other technical problem during the collection and transport process, he’s basically dead in the water. … I believe he’s going to serve the 50-game suspension.”
