This one caught me by surprise. The evidence strongly suggests that Manny Ramirez is a steroid user and he has been suspended by MLB for 50 games in accordance with their banned substance abuse policy.
Who's next? Jeter? Youk? Santana? Is anyone legal?
My reaction to this story is the manifestation of MLB's worst nightmare. I have lost my ability to believe that the game is mostly clean. Now I think cheating is the norm.
I have written that I don't think steroids make a major impact on hitting and I stand by that. But I do think that using them is cheating and it changes my perspective on the game if it appears that a high percentage of the game's stars are cheaters.
Oh, thats just Manny being Manny. He's so cute and lovable.
ReplyDeleteI agree- you can't say for certain whether anyone is clean or not. Jeter-- Pedroia...yes you would think so by how they carry themselves and "play the game right". But if anything surprises you, you haven't been watching.
ReplyDeleteBill Simmons, my favorite sports columnist, summarized it perfectly:
ReplyDeletehttp://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090507&sportCat=mlb
All of us who suffered as Sox fans for years, and experienced the euphoria of the '04 ALCS and Series ride, now have to wonder if it was all somehow tainted. Was everyone else cheating too? Probably. Still doesn't feel great....