Brewers OF Ryan Braun 2012
Ryan Braun was suspended without pay for the rest of the season and the postseason. (Getty Images file)

"A black day for baseball."

That refrain was heard over and over Monday after word came down that Brewers slugger Ryan Braun, the 2011 National League MVP, finally admitted he was a cheater.

Braun accepted suspension without pay for the rest of the season for violating Major League Baseball's policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

"He's guilty. You don't accept a deal unless you're guilty. And it's disappointing. It's another black eye for our game," New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters.

But maybe, confirmation that Braun is a fraud, a liar and a cheater is a good thing. Maybe, just maybe, Monday was actually a bright and sunny turning point for our national pastime.

I scoured the web Tuesday morning to see how players reacted to Braun's suspension. It was heartening to find some real outrage.

"We're here to play baseball," Los Angeles Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson said. "That's what we want to do and the guys that are cheating or whatever are taking something away from the other players.

"They're lying to the fans, they're lying to their teammates, they're lying to their GMs, their owners, and they're going to get caught."

Yankees closer Marino Rivera echoed Wilson's comments.

"I think this is a message for whoever tries to do this again. They are going to be caught," Rivera said.

In the not too distant past, players tended to avoid the PED issue or simply to give cheaters a free pass. Think back to Barry Bonds. It was very difficult to find players who would criticize him publicly. More often than not, they gushed about Bonds' exceptional talents and then kind of mumbled around his PED use.

But things are changing within the baseball community. Players have voted repeatedly to implement and strengthen the drug-testing program. Clean players want a level playing field. They don't want to be cheated out of jobs and money by players who use PEDs.

"Braun's deal that he made or whatever, it's going to last 65 games. To me, it's not enough," Seattle Mariner pitcher Joe Saunders said. "Next year he's making even more money. I think it should have been a year's suspension, at least. Just my take on it. I don't get why guys have to do that stuff. It's almost like, really just a slap on the wrist."

Braun is making $9.61 million this season, so the suspension will cost him $3.85 million in salary. But that will hardly dent Braun's wallet. He is under contract through 2020 after signing a five-year, $105 million extension with Milwaukee in April 2011. That money is guaranteed.

Obviously, the system is far from perfect, because while Braun's image is forever tarnished, his bank account remains fat.

But times and attitudes are changing.

"For these guys still to be involved with this stuff just baffles me," Miami Marlins manager Mike Redmond said before Monday's game against the Rockies. "The education's there and everybody knows what you can and can't take. It baffles me that this continues to be a black cloud over the game.


Said Rockies manager Walt Weiss: "The PEDs in this game — they're working hard obviously to make it clean. The policies they have in place have been effective, so at some point, it'll be behind us."

More disgrace appears to be on the horizon. Braun is one of about 20 players who figure to face discipline because of their ties to the Biogenesis lab. The who's who of alleged cheaters includes stars like Alex Rodriguez, Bartolo Colon, Nelson Cruz and Melky Cabrera.

There are more dark days ahead, but maybe, just maybe, there really is light at the end of the tunnel.

Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428, or
