Manny Ramirez has been suspended 50 games for failing a drug test.
Â
When I read this, my blood ran cold.
Â
As a Dodger fan, things were going great. The team was undefeated at home, leading the way in the NL West and although there was room for improvement from some of the pitchers, the deep lineup was working well.
Â
Manny was off to a good start, hitting .348 with 6 homers, 20 RBIs and 26 walks already. Ahead of him Rafael Furcal and Orlando Hudson were setting the table for him, while Andre Ethier has been making the most of his RBI opportunities behind Manny.
Â
James Loney and Russell Martin were both homerless, but with the power provided by Matt Kemp and Casey Blake, it wasn’t too much of a problem.
Â
Things were going really well. The offseason saga of will Manny stay or go seemed to be worth it. Obviously things were going too well.
Â
I knew at some point during the year there would be some Manny controversy. Maybe he wouldn’t run out a few grounders. Maybe he’d butcher a few plays in the field or get picked off at a crucial time. But as long as he didn’t shove over Vin Scully in the clubhouse, I could live with the other stuff. I was confident Joe Torre would keep the trouble to a minimum.
Â
After hearing of Manny’s suspension, I wasn’t really sure what to think. I was angry he had failed a test. But what caused it? Was it performance-enhancing drugs? An ESPN report suggests it is a women’s fertility drug which boosts testosterone. Has Manny been juicing all this time? Was it genuinely caused by medicine from his doctor, as Manny said in his statement? If it was, how could this happen in a time when players are under more scrutiny than ever before? How long had Manny and Scott Boras known about it?
Â
Hopefully we will find out more in the next few days, but the whole thing is a major embarrassment for Manny, the Dodgers and MLB as a whole.
Â
Can the Dodgers survive without him? Yes they can. There is enough talent in the lineup to still be favourites to win the NL West.
OK, replacing Manny with Juan Pierre or promising rookie Xavier Paul is a huge power drop-off. But if Ethier can carry on playing as well as he has, if Kemp can heat up again and Martin and Loney can provide a little more pop, they should score enough runs to win plenty of games.
Â
The key man for me is Hudson. He has been absolutely brilliant for the Dodgers, hitting for a high average, with some speed and extra-base pop. All of this has been batting ahead of Manny, a great place to hit. But he has shown he is a real leader on the field and provided the right attitude to go with his Gold Glove defense. I think he is the best candidate to hit 3rd right now, using Pierre’s speed in the second spot in the order.
Â
Hudson has hit 3rd before for Arizona, and I would hate to see the rest of the lineup, which had been working so well together, jumbled up due to Manny’s suspension.
Â
In Hudson we trust.
5 comments
You know lost in all this is the fact that No scientific evidence that these substances actually work. Here is a statitistical analysis of ARod’s years in texas. The steriods may have helped him hit a grand total of 2.8 homeruns over three years. That is not helping him at all.
http://www.sabernomics.com/sabernomics/index.php/2009/02/what-impact-did-steroids-have-on-alex-rodriguezs-home-run-performance/
A lot of this “outrage” is by journalists who are upset that the records of their childhood idols being surpassed, in an era where smaller ball parks and expansion and better equipment were the real reason that offensive numbers went up. Nobody wants to hear that explanation because it is really complex. Ssteriods are a simpler explanation, but not necessarily the right explanation.
A few years ago, I wrote an email to ESPN Radio about this issue, and explained that there were other factors. After my email was read on the air, the hosts of the show dismissed my reasoning out of hand saying “It was the juice.”
What bothers me, is the fact that we have no scientific proof. In absence of proof, we have managed to convince the public that Steriods are the reason homeruns were hit. THis is a dangerous and highly irresponsible. I’m surprised no one in the scientific community has take Sports Journalist to task over this.
One of the homerun hitters who has been accused of “cheating” is Mark McGwire who was found with Androstynedione in his locker. Andro is a substance that was avialble over the counter in Nutrition Stores such as General Nutrition Centers here in the United States. At the time, Andro was not only NOT on the Banned at the time he was taking it but it was not even illegal to buy over the counter hear in the United States. Yet, Mark McGwire has been accused of cheating. I’m sorry, that’s NOT cheat. Didier Drogba or Cristiano Rinaldo diving on the Pitch is Cheating. Gaylord Perry throwing Spitballs is cheating. This was not.
This does not mean I think Steriods should be legal. I believe that health risks that these substances pose to the people consuming them is justification enough to make them illegal.
I have more sympathy with sportsmen who take recreational drugs and get banned. Any sportsman taking performance enhancing substances, whether they work or not, deserves a ban. It’s easy to avoid. I think a 50 game ban is very tame compared to other sports. Ferdinand got 8 months ban for missing a drug test! 50 games in a baseball season isn’t much. A lot of money, though, I suppose.
Once again, Manny proves to be a journalist’s dream. I liked this bit of his quote in particular:
“I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing…”
Great stuff (the writing, not what Manny was taking!).
It certainly felt like a bombshell when I logged on to MLB.com yesterday. The most interesting part for me was a quote by ESPN’s Peter Gammons. He spoke to people at the Red Sox and they were shocked by the news. They have never suspected him of using PEDs and, let’s face it, they wouldn’t exactly be desperate to defend him off the record now if they did have doubts.
Maybe I’m being gullible, but I’m minded to believe Manny’s story. That still means he should be suspended, but a lot of the media hoopla is simply a feeding frenzy rather than reasoned comment.
I think the Dodgers will be okay. The West is very winnable and they have enough good players to keep the team ticking along until Manny gets back.
Here’s the thing about the drug manny got caught with hCG; it is a Womens fertility drug. A woman’s fertility drug used to help couples who want to have children. This sadly has led to a lot of jokes about Manny getting pregnant, none of which are particularly funny.
Here is the thing, the Dodgers with out Manny are an average team at best. He alone was responsible for that surge they had last August, not their manager Joe Torre who has never been confused for a tactical Genius.