Dodgers won’t add an MVP, no matter what happens to Ryan Braun

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Take a deep breath. Count to 10. Think of meandering mountain streams.

Before there is any further development in the Ryan Braun-tested-positive-for-performance-enhancing-drugs story, all indignant fans, writers, agents and stat wonks certain Matt Kemp was wronged in losing the 2011 National League MVP should know this: No matter what happens with Braun, his MVP is not going to be stripped and handed to Kemp.

The award has been issued now, and the Baseball Writers Association of America is not going to have a do-over or suddenly announce it’s taking back its MVP from Braun.

Nor should it. It’s done, and however tarnished it might become, there’s no taking it back. A little something USC and the Heisman Trophy Trust should have considered.

The news that Braun had tested positive for a PED was first reported by ESPN, and then quickly denied by Braun, who quickly disputed the results. ‘It’s B.S.,’ Braun told USA Today.

Hey, maybe it is. It doesn’t help Braun’s case that the public has been hardened to this news and more than familiar with the claim of ‘unusual circumstances’ surrounding his case.

Baseball thought it had put all this steroid misery behind it, and what does make Braun’s case compelling is that you have to be pretty stupid to use steroids in this era of testing, and Braun has always seemed exceedingly bright.

But if the worst should happen, if Braun’s test should be upheld and he is banned for 50 games, that will be his punishment. That’s the way it works. There’s no going back. Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi and Ken Caminiti never had their MVPs revoked, and neither did suspects Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens or Sammy Sosa.

The timing of the news leak is interesting, though. If Braun had been found guilty of using PEDs before the season ended, there’s no way he would have been awarded the MVP. Kemp would have won, probably in a landslide.

Now if the current finding is upheld, Braun’s award will forever be tainted. But it will be his, and no amount of outrage is going to change it.

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-- Steve Dilbeck