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| Baseball will survive this
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Some initial thoughts on Manny Ramirez's positive drug test:
Manny, WTF?
One wonders how, after all we've been through in the past few years, a player like Manny Ramirez -- a man whose financial future and roster spot have long been secure -- could continue to take performance enhancing drugs. The quick answer is "well, he's Manny, and Manny isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer." Sorry, not buying it. For one thing, Manny is very smart when it comes to baseball. "Manny being Manny" is a media construction. With the exception of his shameful, contract-related sitdown strike last year, he has always been prepared, physically and mentally to do what he needs to do on the field, and in this day and age, being clean is a prerequisite to being ready to do what needs to be done on the field. More to the point, Manny is a very well-advised man. His agent is Scott Boras, and Scott Boras is not the type who just sits back until it's time to negotiate contracts again. He may not be with Manny all of the time, but I have a hard time imagining that he doesn't play a large role in putting together the trainers, nutritionists, etc. that keep Team Manny up and running. In light of all of this, the fact that Ramirez was in a position to be taking performance enhancing drugs is inexcusable.
What does this mean for baseball?
Though I fully expect that we'll see a week's worth of over-the-top hyperbole about how the game is shamed and sullied and what have you, on one level this is a good thing, isn't it? It's a validation of the testing system. It represents something close to instant justice in that the suspension starts tonight, rather than be subject to litigation and appeals and high drama. It's proof that the new PED regime is not, as some have suggested, geared towards catching poor Dominican minor leaguers taking decidedly non-designer 'roids. If Manny Ramirez, one of the biggest stars in the game, can be caught, anyone can. In light of this, doesn't this news, in its own perverse way, give us greater confidence about the current state of drugs in baseball?
Not that I think anyone besides me and a few other like-minded nerds will pick up and run with that line of thinking. Garments will be rent and guys who have no skills other than writing about baseball for major daily papers will claim that now is the time for everyone to turn their back on the game. Then, three days later, they'll be writing about how their team's shortstop isn't clutch enough or what have you. Ultimately, however -- and quite soon --the sheer mass of baseball games (15 tonight, tomorrow, Saturday, Sunday and just about every other day) will cause people to quiet down sooner than normal. People will be talking about James Loney and Andre Eithier this time next week, not Manny Ramirez. And if you don't believe me, just recall that a little over a year ago we were all thinking that the Mitchell Report and the Roger Clemens freakshow would eclipse the game for years. That receded by the time pitchers started being thrown in anger last April. This too shall pass.
What does this mean for the Dodgers?
Aaron will have more on this a little later, but it doesn't take a genius to realize that it will mean some pretty bad production from whoever deigns to replace Manny in the lineup. But I think the Dodgers will survive this. They currently have a healthy lead, the Diamondbacks and Giants have some serious issues, and Manny will come back July 3rd. Last year the Dodgers were several games behind the Diamondbacks, Arizona was a better team and L.A. didn't get Manny until July 31st. Sure, things would be easier with him, but I think Big Blue will survive. If anything, Ramirez's legs may be fresher for the stretch run.
Hey, how about that Mitchell Report!
Between Manny and Alex "boy, I couldn't be happier about this news" Rodriguez, can we now finally all admit to ourselves that the Mitchell Report was a sham? A public relations piece that failed to do anything other than convince the weak-minded that it approached comprehensiveness or represented finality, when it clearly did not? Alex Rodriguez's name wasn't in it, and based on even his own admitted timeline it should have been. Likewise, unless you believe that Manny Ramirez only came to performance enhancing drugs last Tuesday, there's a good chance his name should have been in it too. That is, if the thing was worth a damn, which it wasn't.
Any other thoughts, smart guy?
Just this, which echoes what I had to say back in February when A-Rod was busted: though I think it's inevitable, I hope that everyone who is about to come out of the woodwork to demonize Manny Ramirez and baseball stops to realize that each time a new player -- especially a superstar -- is pushed out of the PED closet, it means that the era in which we've been living is, ironically, less illegitimate than we previously believed. Why? Because the more players who are found to have used PEDs, the less accurate it is to say that anyone truly had an unfair advantage. Sure, on a matchup-by-matchup basis there were users facing non-users, but the caricature of a small group of cheaters ruining it for everyone else in the game grows more ridiculous as each new name surfaces. Many, many ballplayers have used PEDs in recent years. So many, I'd guess, that a blanket of soft presumption of PED use should be in order for the players of our age. Instead of judging these guys as harshly as we have been, perhaps we should simply grade their characters and accomplishment on a curve just like we do from players in the pre-integration age and pitchers from the deadball era. Different, lamentable, but not illegitimate or evil.
But whatever we do -- and however loudly the talking heads wail in the wake of this news -- baseball will survive. It always does.
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First the Swine Flu now this
Firts the Swine Flu, .now this
The reason this is good for baseball is that it is finally coming full circle. As more and more of the games best players are caught, all the idealists out there grow more and more silent.
What does Schilling have to say now that one of his former teammates and major contributors to the Red Sox recent success is a "cheater"? Inevitably, Manny, Arod, McGwire, Sosa, Clemens and maybe even Palmeiro will make the hall. When the dust settles, are we really going to be rallying around the 10th best hitter in baseball in terms of production during this era as the best of the best? (whoever that is) Is it right to assume that just becaues you weren't caught, you must have been clean? (IE Pujols, Ortiz, Beltre) I don't think so.
Weird as it seems I agree with you! I just hope its a long time before their induction. Furthermore, they(mlb) question Pete Rose about his crimes against baseball and his sentence was a lifetime ban. Their claim was that he was betting on baseball and ultimately changing the outcome of baseball games. As bad as I hate to admit this Manny did just that so many times when he was a Redsox. He changed more games than the few Pete Rose has admitted to gambling on. SO my question is this why punish one so harshly and the other with 50 games. Baseball in general needs to get there S#$& together if they want to change the game. There is no respect for Bud Selig and his proposed Steriod plan. And isnt it funny the "DR" always does this. Just know if im being paid 25 million better yet 1 million to PLAY a game. Your DAMN RIGHT im gonna make sure im not in the wrong. But hey, its not gonna change anytime in the near future. the Roid players bring in too much income for baseball....Look at all the names in question and see what they have done in the past...IE, Bonds,Sammy and McGuire, A-Rod, Giambi, Pujols, Clemens, Manny, Palmerio. They have all made MLB lots of money and each Have changed the game in ways the good CLEAN guys in baseball will never be able to surpass.....
Where did this ever say he was taking performance enhancing drugs? Maybe get your facts straight. It was an undisclosed drug and people like this idiot writer decides to say it is.
Check you facts first, get your story straight and then write a real story. Thanks
An undisclosed drug? What, he made a mistake? What, his doctor said it was alright to use? That's just not credible. He makes how much and his employer allows him to use a doctor that doesn't know enough about either baseball's banned substances, or the pharmaceuticals he prescribes, and he gives Manny bad information? His agent was doing... what? The man risked his salary, not to mention his career, because he didn't think to ask the Dodgers what they thought of the "undisclosed drug"? It's mathematically impossible for Manny, the Dodgers, and all the people that surround him to be that stupid. The only credible explanation is that at least two people (certainly not his employer) knew what they were doing. The puzzling thing is that the man apparently doesn't employ his own pharmacist, who would have told him that he'd be caught. I'll recheck the math, maybe it's not impossible for everyone to be that stupid. Oh, the nature of the "undisclosed drug" is irrelevant isn't it?
If Manny, Arod, McGuire and Clemens all make the HOF... why not Pete Rose? I don't like Pete Rose, but he bet on baseball games...he gambled... those other guys cheated. Are they just as at fault as Rose? He gets a lifetime ban from the HOF and they all get a slap on the writst...dont do it again lecture!! and we forgive em...
I am in NO WAY advocating Rose for the Hall... but look at the irony here for a minute. I can't stand Manny. I didn't like him when he was in Cleveland and then with Boston... and I cant stand him now.
Now that he wont be there, let's see how powerful their lineup is. Say goodbye to the home winning streak and the Nats are the ones who are gonna break it...the worst team in baseball beating the best team in baseball....
HA HA!!!!
Manny was given a day off last week. The Dodgers still won. The streak will go on! And if it doesn't, they'll begin a new one. I wasn't a fan of Manny until he showed up in a Dodger uniform and I learned more about his amazing talent for hitting the ball. 50 games is a big hit and sends a big message. Manny will be back and he'll continue to be one of the greatest hitters in Baseball.
Pete gambled on games, wich COULD mean he threw games. That would deserve a ban. But these juicers are trying to do nothing but win. Just imagine for a moment if all steroids were legal in the game and noone cared, baseball would reign as the most exciting and entertaining sport of all. But all we do now is complain and complain. You can't even have a conversation about the game without it being polluted of all this "fairness" talk. And were just couch jockeys who watch the game and ourselves getting fatter.
I love Manny but if as he said the doctor gave him a medicine that was in the MLB's list of "NO-NO" then let suit the doctor.
Let say that a doctor gave me a prescription from what I died.... My family, the media, everyone would look for justice, and accountability... Please Manny just forget about the union and lookup for your legacy... Go in front of the cameras and challenge this situation.
If you are really clean do not allow to be compared to A-Roid & Barry Bonds....
Why didn't Manny go to a team doctor who would know what he could take and not take? He's not allergic to the medicine it's in his work contract not to take it. It's not the doctor's responsibility to make sure that he doesn't give him a certain medicine.
When you go to the doctor, they ask your history and this includes anything that you should not be taking.
The question is what is he trying to hide from the Dodgers that he couldn't go to their doctors. They are trained to make sure that he doesn't take a banned substance and if he had used them for his "personal health issues" then we wouldn't be having this conversation.
I don't think it's medical malpractice for a doctor to prescribe a medication that the patient's employer doesn't permit him to take for non-health-related reasons...comparing it to your own death is a little extreme.
It's Manny's responsibility to monitor what goes into his body, not the doctor
Good points...
I is disgree, me think manny innocentt and you gringos all wrong and guilty of make manny do things bad, yes?
Adam what chu say? Habla bien pendejo!
So this leaves Barry.....where? Is the HOF still too gilded a palace for the likes of the best hitter of our time? It has to be either NO Manny, ARod, Schilling, Clemens and god knows who else coming down the pipeline (& good point, BTW, about the Mitchell Report missing such prominent names that should have unquestionably been included. Sham indeed), or Barry's a part of the class too. I've long agreed that this is an asterisk-laden era, have long felt that the, ahem, playing field has been far more level than has been suggested by all the uproar of unfairness over the last 10 years of the PED debacle. Good article, reflecting sane thinking, such a rarity...
good thing selena roberts rushed that book out, huh?
The only thing hurt here is the ball players' egos. They will still be very very wealthy at the end of their careers. That's all they and Scott Boras care about, not how they are looked at in history or the Hall of Fame. It's all about MONEY!!!
Absolutely about money! I haven't been to a baseball game in 20 years, and probably never will in the future. I don't care about the drugs, just the money. No way I can take my kids or grandkids to a game...I'd have to take out a loan!
As a D Backs fan I have only one thing to say. Is that doctor taking new patients ?
Adam-1975, your comments are moronic.
I think that was Manny being Manny! ;-)
Time to test Papi and Beckett ... Great news for the NL West though. Guess the dodgers are free to lose some home games now.
And Beckett? Are you kidding me?
Mitchel claimed no redsox did steroids and they won a world series
after 90 years 2 in 4 years, papi breaksdown, veritek ..............
yeah they are clean, wanna buy a bridge ???
I'm a Dodgers fan but honestly who cares if barry BonRoids, A-Roids, Manny RamRoids, or Mark McRoids took performance enhancing drugs. Legal or illegal there are many drungs that are performance enhancing, even the ones you buy at GMC will give you an upper edge if used correctly. So the Babe, Aaron, Clemente, or Williams didnt take performance enhancing drugs but hey they were the best at what they did for their generation and if they knew that by taking drugs and getting fit they could make $80 million I think they would have taken it. I say let them take it, let them be at the top of their physical game because at the end they are still entertainers, they are not politicians (who do a lot worse), they are not clergymen/women, they are not teachers, or nurses. Let them risk their lives like Lyle Alzado for the glory of entertaining us and making millions.
What about a fair caparison of stats though? Isn't that the real problem? If a collective They are going to break records of guys before PED's then put 'em in the Hall, just add an Rx by their name.
Well times change, there are feats that pitchers acomplished like Cy Young that will never be match because the Dead Ball helped them out, then people Like Ruth accomplished batting feats after the balls were change in the 1920's, then we had players playing longer and harder when Cordozone came in, the we had bigger and stronger players with Roids, now we see players having eye surgery to better their vision, pitchers getting better after tommy john surgery, the next trend to hit sports will be medical enhancements so we will have to rewrite the records because in the future players will be half cyborgs.
I will use spell check next time
jose canseco is now looking like a hero. he told you about all the people that were using roids and everyone said he was full of @!$%#. now he is truly vidicated...who had the last laugh...ha, ha, ha baseball.
When are the boneheads that run this game and that play this game going to realize that blaming someone else and not taking responsibility is not the way to go? Every contract, including the union's basic contract, needs this simple clause - "If it's not pre-approved by the team physician and MLB, you can't take it - period. Failure to abide means immediate suspension - period - even if it's an aspirin. No excuses!" Get a clue, bozos! That whooshing sound you heard is my remaining Dodgers tickets going on e-Bay.
Your clause is a great idea. But don't give up on the Dodgers. When Mike Piazza was traded I almost did that. Then thought better of it. What are you going to do, root for the Giants?!
I am holding out judgement on this "Banned Substance" as MLB has labeled it, is ACTUALLY STEROIDS or HGH, until one of two things happens...
1) Manny admits it WAS STEROIDS! If he takes a look back in time and sees that if you ADMIT it wassteroids, the public generally forgives you - look at Petite & A-Rod... YES they took a beating by the media, but eventually the story died off, and their honesty, I feel, was the reason. Just look at how the public perceives Barry Bonds & Roger Clemens - and even Mark McGuire - THEY HATE THEM! And THAT is because they STILL DENY THAT THEY TOOK STEROIDS!!!
OR 2) MLB comes out and CONFIRMS THAT THE "BANNED SUBSTANCE" WAS in fact STEROIDS or HGH!
THAT'S IT... until then, I am going to go with the theory that the "Banned Substance" is something OTHER than steroids! Come on people... if you read ALL of the articles like I have, you will find one thing VERY STRIKING... NOBODY - from the Players Association or MLB - have UTTERED THE WORD "STEROIDS"! Once again, it is THE MEDIA that is ASSUMING that it was, and RUNNING WITH THE STORY, HOPING TO BE THE FIRST TO GET THE HOT STORY!!!
I'm an avid Red Sox fan, so to see Manny go down would be HEAVEN ON EARTH for me, BUT there's just one thing missing here... and that is the word "STEROIDS"... Doesn't ANYONE ELSE even WONDER WHY THAT IS BEFORE CRUCIFYING SOMEONE for SOMETHING THAT THEY HAVEN'T DONE!!!
WAKE UP!!!
"I'm an avid Red Sox fan, so to see Manny go down would be HEAVEN ON EARTH for me..."
REALLY? For me, it taints the two rings the Sox won with Manny on the roster.
Really??? Tainted???....so then you must certainly agree that the Yankees most recent titles are ALL tainted as well right?
We all know who was on those rosters don't we.
Uh, Jeter?? Who was on the team that you're referring to? I HATE the Yankees but which of their key contributors was accused of using when they were winning championships?
From what I've read, the drug was a fertility drug used to throw off drug tests. Why on earth would a man be taking fertility drugs?? I think "Manny being Manny" wouldn't even go far enough to presume he wants to become pregnant....
yeah you obviously didnt listen to the end of that report. the drug that they are saying he usedis taken by men when they are on a break from steriods to boost the production of testosterone in their bodies. Its ESTROGEN....He wasnt using it to throw off test or become "PREGNANT". Its always funny how morons read stories and throw their own hook on it. Manny is GREEDY!!! Give me one reason he wouldnt do roids......FURTHERMORE do we really have to throw up that roster? I mean come on. If you yankee fans can actually believe that roster wasnt laden with steriods from the starting line up to the bullpen, you either have to be SMOKING CRACK, or worse. I mean seriously. Your most like the majority of Yankee fans who are bandwagon jumpers and have no clue what you are talking about. How about look back on their past championships and look at the names! Do the homework before you make yourself look like an idiot!!!!!
Precisely why I stopped watching this stupid boring sport. After all, "it's only cheating if you get caught" seems to be the mentality. Manny is an idiot.
...and yet you're reading and commenting about it? And they don't have the same mentality in football (where there's holding on every play and a steroid suspension is looked at as being almost exactly the same as missing a couple games with a sprained ankle or something)?
Ban Bud not Manny. Free Manny!
This is all such nonsense. Everything from a doctored baseball to a loaded bat have always been "customs observed in the breech." Steroids offer at most a 20% - 30 % gain over the weight regimen required for the steroids to do anything. But they are DRUGS. Leave baseball's "social rules" to the players. If you really want to make the game "fair" put in an laser beam "ball & strike" counter. Opps...there goes the low, outside pitch!
Only in America a man, any man who CAN hit a ball, throw a ball,
catche a ball CAN BE CALLED a HERO,
Only in America? Are you kidding? You must not watch the Olympics, The Tour De France, World Cup Soccer. Right or wrong, top athletes are heralded for their acheivements in every culture, and have been for centuries.
I just love this dumbness in baseball. These cheaters remind of a bank robber getting caught; but allowed to keep the money he stole. Throw them all out for life and get the money back. Maybe then the game can become clean again. Its a disgrace right now.
It's unfortunate and sounds like a dumb, but likely unintentional mistake by Manny and his doctor. LA should be worried about their pitching. The other 7 players in the lineup have been producing more than enough runs to keep the Dodgers at or near the top in baseball in runs scored and batting average. After they get out on the road more and start facing the Phillies, Mets, and other teams that are good, then we will see where LA really stands.