Manny Ramirez*

[IHateMarkMay]

Add him to the list, supposedly using Performance Enhancing Drugs... Suspended possibly 50 games.

Report: Manny Ramirez of Los Angeles Dodgers tests positive for PEDs, will be suspended 50 games - ESPN

Major League Baseball is expected to announce Thursday that Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez has tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and will be suspended for 50 games, The Los Angeles Times is reporting.

Ramirez's suspension is expected to be announced Thursday, The Times said.

Triple-A outfielder Xavier Paul has been told by the Dodgers that he will be promoted later today, according to The Times.

 

[TDHeysus]

"Scott Boras, Ramirez's agent, told ESPN's Peter Gammons that his client did not test positive for steroids, but for a drug that was prescribed by a doctor for a medical condition."

Say it isnt so Maniaco, say it isnt so.......Just when the Doyers were starting to roll too

 

[jason_h537]

Ain't this a bitch. We were on fire, lets hope Ethier can keep it up.

 

[GOLDENISTHYTATE]

As a huge Angels fan I find this hilarious and fantastic. What's more funny is that I met him last night at a bar in Pasadena, CA and I just kept wondering why he was out drinking when he's playing baseball right now.

I think he might have already known what was coming haha. Either way, go Angels!!!

 

[TDHeysus]

From what I have heard on the radio, Maniaco was taking a female fertility drug to bring his testostarone levels back up to normal. ALot of big leaguers are still doing this toady, but the Dr. apparently gave him too much and it was caught by the MLB drug screening process.


Apparently he has low testostarone from years of steroid abuse (Jose Canseco said the same exact thing happen to him, that after years of steriod abuse his body did not produce enough testostarone even to the normal lvl it should be at.) Canseco said there are players still today, who have given up the 'riods, but still get Testostarone presciptions to get the Testostarone levels higher. He says this too has been abuse and players and getting the absolute most amount of these drugs they can take without getting caught by the MLB drug screen process.

When Canseco published his books on the 'riods stuff, everyone thought Jose Canseco was an idiot, fool, and a liar about all of these steroids allegation. He was labeled a disgruntled, blackballed player. He may be alot of those things, but a liar is definetly not one of them.

 

[ACamp1900]

I'll be prefectly honest... I side with Manny (for now)... the things that can bring a positive test right now are just crazy... half of shelf stock at GNC will get you banned...

and let's not forget J.C. Romero... how the hell that guy gets suspended is beyond me... Unless proof comes that states otherwise I buy Manny's story and the punishment is far far to great for the crime


btw, I grew up hating the Dodgers, am a life long Angels fan and have never liked Manny... just calling it as I see it

 

[TDHeysus]

I'll be prefectly honest... I side with Manny (for now)...

I side with Manny too, However it makes no sense to me why Manny would not fight this suspension. If this was just a prescribed medication mix up, why not fight the suspension? Manny, thru Scott Boras, has acknowledge the suspension, and has said he is not going to fight it. that part has me asking questions. I find it hard to believe manny would just leave $8million on the table if this was 'just a mix up'

 

[NDinL.A.]

I'll be prefectly honest... I side with Manny (for now)... the things that can bring a positive test right now are just crazy... half of shelf stock at GNC will get you banned...

and let's not forget J.C. Romero... how the hell that guy gets suspended is beyond me... Unless proof comes that states otherwise I buy Manny's story and the punishment is far far to great for the crime


btw, I grew up hating the Dodgers, am a life long Angels fan and have never liked Manny... just calling it as I see it

Sorry ACamp, but I ain't buying it all. Maybe Manny's a victim of everyone else in the past lying about steroid use, but I'm not falling for another "I didn't know what I was taking" or "it was given to me by my physician", or any other crap-ass excuse. I'm done with it.

Have any of you ever read "Game of Shadows?" It's not just about Barry Bonds, it actually also has a lot to do with the track athletes and all their drama w/ steroids. And oe thing you'll notice is as soon as they test positive, their publicists and/or agents come up with crazy stories to excuse their positive tests. ("It was in a sleeping pill", "I have narcoplepsy, so it was in the medicine", or my personal favorite, "someone spiked my water bottle!" And all proven to be admitted bullshit.

Anyways, in defense of Manny, guys, sooooooo many of these dudes are juicing, it's not even funny. My fiance's best friend at ND was a starting pitcher (same staff as the Shark), and he had a cup of coffee in the minors in the Tigers organization, and he had some great stories about guys on the juice in both the minors and the majors. And other baseball coaches I know all say the same thing. Of course they're all on HGH, because THEY STILL DON'T TEST FOR IT!!! I'm sure it's declined since the heyday of the early 2000's, but don't be naive enough to think it's anywhere NEAR a clean sport. (Even worse in football, but I digress.)

* I won't divulge all the names my lady's friend told me, but my favorite story he told me was about Brady Anderson. The year he went off for like 52 HR's, his back acne was so bad that he had to wear like a flack jacket under his uni to absorb all the puss from his acne. It was so bad he had to change it mid-game, every game!!! Now that's friggin' nasty. Why do you think his production dropped off after that? He didn't want to go through all that again...

 

[ACamp1900]

two things, they don't test for HGH because there currently is no test... no sport has one as yet... and you are right, this is not a baseball problem this is an competitive athlete problem... NFL included...

I def. see the point that they ALL say well I didn't do this or that, or I flat didn't know it was steriods... but as of now all info that I have seen states clearly Manny did not test positive for roids and both the MLB and Manny acknowledge that... SO to bring roids into this is a bit off in that regard... NOW, if tomorrows headlines change all that... then I'm not standing by Manny... but again, this was a perscription... not roids in the way we have become to understand their use in the sports world

I would say that Manny and Boras are no dummies,... if JC Romero is told by parts of the baseball establishment he can take a certain supplement, then takes it and gets poped for THAT VERY supplement and the guy STILL can't get out of his suspension then obviously baseball isn't letting ANYONE wiggle out of any kind of positive test... so why fight it??

I don't know... I am as pissed off about the roids scandal as anyone I can promise you that... my parents had thier honeymoon in Anaheim and went to two Angels games, met on a ball field, named me after a hall of fame baseball player and our family time consists EXCLUSIVELY of watching baseball games of some kind... it's that real with my fam. so yeah anything that indangers the sport really pisses me off... but I still try to take it case by case... if a player never has the obvious Brady Anderson peak and never changes his physical apperance, always passes his test and then gets hit and screams he has no idea how it happened... I may think there is a CHANCE it was a false positive and the guy is a victim of a roid witchhunt... in Manny's case... dude should have looked into the meds further and for that he deserves to get poped... but for 50 games???!!! For taking the doctors orders??? If that's true, and right now it does look factual, that is BS...


sidenote--- I read game of shodaws... interesting read... I liked Kirk Radomski's book better though... showed it all in a more hands on light... I'd check it out if you haven't

 

[TheMightyQuinn10]

Manny goes where the $ is...Cant blame'em as a SOX red I might add...but hes a jackass...Its not 1930 anymore...the way I see it...arghh nvermind.....

 

[IHateMarkMay]

I have always felt that as a professional athlete you should know what can go in your body and what cannot, any questions, ask a certified MLB doctor. I don't feel bad for him at all.

 

[jason_h537]

I find it funny to hear angel fans talking after they signed gary mathews jr. Pick a city to represent, then talk

 

[ACamp1900]

I find it funny to hear angel fans talking after they signed gary mathews jr. Pick a city to represent, then talk

SCREW THAT... I have defended Manny... and how many damn teams throughout the years have represented a city they don't actually play in??? there have been quite a few... and it wasn't the Angels who made that stupid name... they wanted the LA Angels... period... but the city of Anaheim's lawsuit forced them to include Anaheim in the name, so there you have that... GM Jr.??? HORRIBLE HORRIBLE signing... one of the worst over the past five years... but you make it sounds like the Angels are the only team to sign someone who had one peak year then get poped for something... it's happened to just about every single team in the bigs over the past ten years...

whatever...


I will say this to the original point... the more I hear the less I side with Manny... it don't look good

 

[donjuan]

While the drug in question wasn't a "steroid" per say, it is a known testosterone booster which is also used to bridge the gap between PED cycles. It helps prevent the gynecomastia (bitch tits) that usually translates during the down period until the PEDS are restarted and the testosterone level is back to "normal". It also is a known masking agent.

Having read all of this information, and hearing about baseball's exclusionary clause which enables athletes with doctor-prescribed, sexual problems; to take HCG (womens fertility drug), it amazes me to read that Manny had no idea. Instead he get's caught having the high levels of test in his body, and then when further testing finds the HCG, he says it's for a personal problem. Hmm.. Makes you wonder why someone would take the risk instead of just alerting MLB and using the clause as protection. 8 million dollars does not assume a doctor knows what's on the banned list--he knew.

Peter Gammons also questioned why he wouldn't appeal it if he were truly innocent.

My guess is that he was on steroids, and that he was using this like it's been misused over the years, as a bridger until he could start his next cycle. The testosterone level is a prime indicator of PEDS, and if your level is high (which means really high), you're either a horse or a MLB'r on the juice. IMO, he knew.

 

[ACamp1900]

yeah I am tending to agree now

 

[Honey Nut Irish]

I really think its time for the MLB to adopt the olympic drug testing system. The current policy in baseball is still a joke. The players association will never let it happen though.

 

[ACamp1900]

all of the big four drug policies are a joke imo... the nba would ban half the league if they went hard core after rec. drugs... football is so glad baseball is taking the heat off of their obvious HGH problem... and god only knows what stimulates and such may be going on in hockey

 

[donjuan]

As far as I know the testing for HGH is more of a secondary test, in which a bonded chemical will attach itself to the HGH, and then the bonded agent will be discovered.

Since there is no test currently for HGH, scientists look for these agents that have no business being in male athletes (HCG), and then make the determination off of that. It's a complicated testing process but usually athletes mix, leaving authorities with a much better chance of identifying the PED. If they didn't mix, there could be some serious side effects. I know that if the level of PED-taking is down due to testing, the level of injuries is up. It's an ironic thing to take a roid to help get through an injury, while if you abuse it for your own personal gain, you could also injure yourself permanently. i.e. - hamstrings, over-extensions, hyper-extensions, mainy soft tissue injuries

 

[Clausen2Kamara]

Yea I totally think Manny took steroids....This drug is for users who need extra testosterone after a steroid cylcle...The above poster is absoulutely right...if Manny thought he was so innocent why wouldn't he appeal? It just pisses me off knowin Manny was probably on roids in the playoffs last year...

 

[jason_h537]

It just pisses me off that McCourt finally decides to open his wallet up, and this happens. DAMMMMMMIIITTT, Ethier was on fire too. Gotta hang my hopes on Billingsley and Kershaw now. Lets go DODGERS!!!!!

 

[ACamp1900]

Yea I totally think Manny took steroids....This drug is for users who need extra testosterone after a steroid cylcle...The above poster is absoulutely right...if Manny thought he was so innocent why wouldn't he appeal? It just pisses me off knowin Manny was probably on roids in the playoffs last year...

Or the two playoff years with Boston... I have said for years at least two other key members of those clubs are/were OBVIOUSLY roided or on HGH... we'll leave it at that

It just pisses me off that McCourt finally decides to open his wallet up, and this happens. DAMMMMMMIIITTT, Ethier was on fire too. Gotta hang my hopes on Billingsley and Kershaw now. Lets go DODGERS!!!!!

no shit... sucks for LA baseball Halo fan or not

 

[jason_h537]

Sorry but there is only one baseball team in LA, and they dont wear halos

 

[ACamp1900]

Sorry but there is only one baseball team in LA, and they dont wear halos

I am aware of only one team that is actually FROM LA... and yeah they wear Halos... and they don't have a trolley sided chip on their shoulder towards their neighbors either...

 

[jason_h537]

Neighbors? There not even in the same county.

Maybe the new name could be the San Diego/ San Francisco/ Los Angeles Angels of Anahiem. That would really expand the base, and makes about as much sense as the current name.

 

[ACamp1900]

lol... good luck with the rest of the year...

 

[jason_h537]

This is not over... THIS IS NOT OVERRRR!!!!!

 

[NDinL.A.]

Dude Jason, you sound just like all my Dodger loving friends friends who are EXTREMELY jealous of my Angels. I mean, our manager is a former Dodger legend that we stole, our hitting coach is a former playoff God from the Dodgers that we stole, we stole your SoCal winning baseball tradition, and now we stole the name of your city LOL! I always tell my Dodger buddies, be careful or why might steal your wife too!

Just kidding J. Unlike many Angel fans, I don't hate the Dodgers. When I moved to L.A. county I started to root for the Dodgers, just not as hard as I do my Angels. Oh, and I wanted to respond to this quote by you Jason earlier but I didn't have the time, but here goes:

Pick a city to represent, then talk

We have picked a city to represent...Los Angeles baby!!! Ha ha!

Anyways, it's all about marketing, and it's all good. Just having some fun with you. The Angels have owned baseball in Socal the last 8 years, and it's been nice. The Dodgers have definitely turned the corner though, and they looked good, until this crap happened. But like I tell people here in L.A, chill, the Dodgers are in a HORRIBLE division, and they'll be fine. When Manny comes back, they'll pick up their mojo and they'll walk away with the West. Mark my words.

And ACamp, I told you Manny's excuse was B.S. the day it came out, and I'm glad you're starting to come around. So many of these guys are juicing, it's not even funny. Manny just was stupid enough to get caught, that's all...

 

[NDinL.A.]

Soap Box time:

One more thing on Manny and Roids. Manny's Dominican, and I'm half Dominican. I've been to the Dominican, and all I can say is, you can't understand how bad it is in the D.R. until you've been there. Many kids, all they have is baseball. If they're not good at enough at baseball, then they're working the fields by the age of 10, period. My point is, they'll do ANYTHING to get ahead. ANYTHING. That means lie about their age, and of course, do any type of performance enhancer they could get their hands on. And I'm not talking about the disigner steroids they gave Barry BondsThey put shit in their body that they give horses and cows. Whatever they think will work, they'll do it.

Now, I know Manny is from New York, so this really might not apply to him so much, but a ton of Latin American players take this stuff from the time they are 16, some earlier. It's just the way it is. They don't do it just to become better, they do it to SURVIVE.

Whites, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Blacks, etc, they're all doing this shit guys. It's a way to get ahead. Like Tony Mandarich said, "If steroids didn't work, I wouldn't have been using them."

Now, I've drinking all day, hanging with the fam and watching my Lakers and Tiger Woods get romped, so I'm rambling. I'll read this tomorrow and realize this has nothing to do with Dominican ball players, but oh well. Rant over. Ummmm, go Angels?

 

[jason_h537]

Jealous of the Angels?Why because you've had what five or six years of success in your franchise's history? You guys have one Championship, one hall of famer, and im jealous? When you have something for me to be jealous of, i'll be the first to let u know.

 

[Honey Nut Irish]

Well this whole thing might actually turn out well for the Dadgers. They don't have to pay him while he is suspended. Even if the Dodgers do fall apart without Manny (and I doubt it), they should still be well within reach considering the division they are in.

Manny will come back and provide a spark to the team, just like he did last season.

And by the way, the Dodgers will easily be better over the next 5 years than the Angels. I don't see much of a future for them after this season. They are starting to resemble the Giants of the last few years.