Hey, remember when Ryan Braun appealed his 50-game suspension and won the appeal, which had never happened before? And how the arbitrator's written decision was eventually going to be released to the public?
Well, maybe not so much:
There may never be a written decision explaining why Ryan Braun's drug suspension was overturned.
The arbitrator who threw out the 50-game suspension of the NL MVP has been asked by the players' union and management to hold off giving his reasoning while they negotiate changes to their rules for collecting specimens, people familiar with the case told The Associated Press.
If players and owners reach agreement on the changes, the Feb. 23 decision by arbitrator Shyam Das to overturn the penalty for the Milwaukee outfielder could be allowed to stand without any written explanation, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the process is designed to be confidential.
Just to be clear, there already is a written decision explaining why Ryan Braun's drug suspension was overturned. There has to be, right? At least two copies, one in New York and one in the secret files of the Players' Association?
Apparently MLB doesn't want everyone to know where somebody might have screwed up, and Braun doesn't want everyone to know that the theoretical screw-up might not go a long way toward explaining why he actually failed the drug test.
None of it's any of our business, really. But if you're interested in the Truth, this seems something of a blow.