Well, it happened. Manny tested positive for Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED's). It was a prescribed drug for some personal treatment, whatever that means. Here is his initial public statement:
Ramirez said in a statement released by the MLBPA: "Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I've taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons."
And whatever that does in fact mean, I do know is that it's not allowed in baseball and either Manny or the doctor should have known that, should have double checked it, and probably in reality did.
I don't want to be one of the thousands of bloggers that makes another doomsday rant about the "dark age" of baseball or blah blah blah. I just want to see it done and over. I hope that guys like A-Rod and Manny can honestly learn from their mistakes. I'm just glad that my son, who is 4 and loves Manny, isn't quite old enough to know what's going on with all of that. It's a real travesty. Love or hate A-Rod, Manny, Clemens, Cansceco, McGwire, whoever...it just shouldn't happen.
As far as 2009 goes for the Dodgers, I think we'll be okay without him. I think the first week or so of the season showed that, and I think as we continue into the season, yes he has been a major contributor, but our offense isn't the problem, it's pitching (when we have a problem).
Ramirez said in a statement released by the MLBPA: "Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I've taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons."
And whatever that does in fact mean, I do know is that it's not allowed in baseball and either Manny or the doctor should have known that, should have double checked it, and probably in reality did.
I don't want to be one of the thousands of bloggers that makes another doomsday rant about the "dark age" of baseball or blah blah blah. I just want to see it done and over. I hope that guys like A-Rod and Manny can honestly learn from their mistakes. I'm just glad that my son, who is 4 and loves Manny, isn't quite old enough to know what's going on with all of that. It's a real travesty. Love or hate A-Rod, Manny, Clemens, Cansceco, McGwire, whoever...it just shouldn't happen.As far as 2009 goes for the Dodgers, I think we'll be okay without him. I think the first week or so of the season showed that, and I think as we continue into the season, yes he has been a major contributor, but our offense isn't the problem, it's pitching (when we have a problem).
By the time the 50 games are up, I think we'll probably still be in first in the NL Werst (not a typo), and when he does come back we'll be back ready for the end of summer push. The Dodgers don't necessarily need Manny, we need pitching. But we also need a fan base that is behind their team, which we've had so far this season.
Will I welcome back Manny to the club after the 50 games? Yes, I will, provided he's genuinely sorry and will move on. I like Manny and I liked him before he was a Dodger. If I could vote for him to go into the Hall of Fame, would I? Sadly, I don't know how to answer that any more.
