Time for Braun to talk

While I still believe Matt Kemp should have been named NL MVP, it was OK when Ryan Braun received the honor instead.

After all, Braun led the Brewers to heights they haven't seen since the days of Cecil Cooper, Gorman Thomas, and Robin Yount. Braun has always seemed like a good guy -- intense, a hard worker and competitor, but still a class act who does things the right way. Teammates and opponents like and respect him.

So like many people, I was fairly shocked at the news in December that Braun had tested positive for a banned substance. My initial reaction was, "There's got to be some mistake."

Quietly, from the start, there have been denials from the Braun camp. When the report first hit ESPN, a spokesman for Braun said there were circumstances supporting "Ryan's complete innocence." Since then I've been waiting -- the baseball world has been waiting -- for Braun to emerge from the fog and present this evidence.

With each passing day, as Braun's baffling silence continues, my support for him fades a little. I understand he wants to "lawyer up" for his appeal to MLB, and that the media will take anything he says and run miles with it. Regardless, Braun owes the fans an explanation if he expects continued backing in this matter.

Saturday night is Braun's time to talk. He will accept the Most Valuable Player award at the Baseball Writers' of America banquet, facing the very writers who voted for him as MVP, and the organization that decided it would not strip him of the honor in spite of the positive test.

Braun will only speak at the dinner, not take questions; thus, it's the perfect time to tell his side of the story. Tell everybody how the test was flawed, equipment malfunctioned, there's a natural phenomenon in your body that caused the positive outcome. ... Tell us something. Anything.

There's a lot more at stake for Braun than just a 50-game suspension and nearly $2 million in lost salary. It's funny to say, but at age 28, Braun's legacy is on the line.

Regardless of the outcome of his appeal, Braun will be lumped by some people with other "cheaters" such as Manny Ramirez and Barry Bonds. Every time he hits a home run, someone in the crowd will make a snarky remark about steroids. Even if he continues to produce big numbers that are deemed worthy of Cooperstown, some voters will reject him based on the simple suspicion of cheating.

Others of us are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, for the time being. Now Braun needs to meet us halfway -- and tell us why we should.