The streets were first introduced to the term “hasa” in the classic drug-flick “Scarface.” Tony Montana referred to his boss Frank as such, after he tried to get Tony merked in some dirty dealings. “Hasa,” as Tony explained, is “a pig that don’t fly straight.”
Well, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Ryan Braun’s MLB brethren—especially his fellow “Juice Crew” members—see him as a hasa right now.
By looking out for himself and negotiating a 65-game suspension with the MLB, Braun has violated the unwritten code of silence and disrupted the course of due process by basically doing what a cartel rat does.
The ‘11 MVP created a softer-landing for his busted butt, and crushed his co-defendants’ chances of beating their PED accusations by giving credibility to Biogenesis head Anthony Bosch’s claims against guys like A-Rod and Texas’ Nelson Cruz.
Baseball’s PED drama has many villains. A-Rod is a popular whipping boy for the PED police, but Braun’s deceptive, malicious and blatantly foul actions over the past two years is just lame.
After testing positive for PED’s in ‘11, Braun was suspended but adamantly denied using. He went as far as to destroy the career of the sample collector to prove his innocence. That's Lance Armstrong-level foulness.
Braun claimed his sample was mishandled by the collector, who took it home for the weekend instead of bringing it to Fed Ex to be sent off to the lab in Montreal. The mishap allowed for a technicality that got Braun’s positive test thrown out.
At the time, it was seen as a victory for players in the constant battle against PED allegations, but it infuriated baseball. All he really did was taunt a sleeping giant. MLB went hard to finesse Braun’s admission and “plea deal,” making it clear that Braun is the biggest liar. And maybe, at one time, he thought he was the smartest guy in the room. Now, Braun is a walking disgrace, whose dishonesty has done more than taint an illustrious career. It’s pissed off anybody who has ever believed in him.
