Braun breach 'isolated' case

THE PLAYERS' association believes the leak of NL MVP Ryan Braun's drug test was an isolated occurrence.

ESPN reported in December that Braun tested positive for elevated testosterone. Representatives of the Milwaukee outfielder argued during a grievance hearing that specified procedures for handling the sample were not followed, and arbitrator Shyam Das last month overturned the 50-game suspension Braun faced.

"Everybody associated with the case is extremely disappointed that it leaked out," union head Michael Weiner said yesterday at the Brewers' training camp. "The leak was specific to this case. It does not threaten the confidentiality of the program.

"As I have said to players who have asked about that, confidentiality is important as any aspect of this program. The program has a bunch of different goals, but confidentiality is critical. If we felt that there was any systemwide problem with respect to confidentiality, we really would have a problem. And, that's not the case."

A day after Das issued his decision on Feb. 23, Major League Baseball executive vice president Rob Manfred said "we are convinced that the leak did not come from the commissioner's office" and Weiner said "we are confident that it was not caused by the commissioner's office, the MLBPA or anyone associated in any way with the program."

Yesterday, in his spring training debut, Braun struck out in his only two at-bats in the Brewers' 1-all tie against a split squad of the San Francisco Giants. Although Milwaukee was the home team, about half the crowd of 6,619 cheered for the Giants and they countered the Brewers fans' standing ovation with catcalls when Braun went to bat in the first inning and serenaded Braun with chants of "Ur-ine Sam-ple!" His second time up, Braun was greeted with chants of "Cheater!" before looking at strike three.

* Oft-injured reliever Joel Zumaya has told the Minnesota Twins he'll have reconstructive surgery on his right elbow in his latest comeback attempt.

* Atlanta pitcher Julio Teheran, vying for a spot in the Braves' rotation, allowed six hits, all of them home runs, in two innings of work against the Detroit Tigers, who hit a total of nine homers in the 18-3 rout.

* Milwaukee Brewers' rightfielder Corey Hart needs surgery on his right knee that will sideline him for up to a month.

*  Colorado Rockies pitcher Alex White apologized to his teammates after being briefly jailed following an arrest on suspicion of drunken driving. White was arrested Saturday while in Arizona at spring training.

*  New York Mets first baseman Ike Davis says he feels fine despite being diagnosed with valley fever, a fungal infection released from the dirt in desert regions of the Southwest that can cause extreme fatigue.

*  Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes worked out with the Oakland Athletics for the first time, taking batting practice with Manny Ramirez.