They said it would end. The naysayers in Boston said the honeymoon would end. The ‘clubhouse cancer’ would show up, destroy the team and ruin everything. They didn’t say anything about failing a drug test. They didn’t say a 50 game suspension was part of the deal.
I had just gotten into work, I was logging in to my computer when I got the text from my brother-in-law “Manny suspended 50 games.” Luckily I was already sitting.
Since then I’ve been reading every last comment on Dodger Thoughts, responding to snide Facebook wall comments, buying (and then canceling) some Oliver Peoples sunglasses, bouncing emails back and forth with my Dodger buddies, pretending everything is fine, trying to find something to eat. In short, I’ve been trying to cope with the shock of news as unexpected as any since the morning Meg told me she was pregnant with our second daughter. Yeah, that was a surprise, too.
I feel like I am in high school and did something wrong and got caught doing it. That feeling of unavoidable consequences, of chickens coming home to roost. You can’t talk your way out of this one. Manny tested positive for steroids. The kids can’t hold up on their own, they need Manny even if he is being Manny (which usually looks something like this: .348, .492, 6 HR’s, 20 RBI, 26 walks through 27 games). Everything is tainted. Everything is falling apart.
But hold on. What did he test positive for? Reports are still coming in from every which way. One of my favorite writers Steve Henson of Yahoo Sports, along with Tim Brown, have reported here that Ramirez tested positive for a testosterone boosting women’s fertility drug, gonadotropin. Sources are saying it was used to deal with “sexual performance” problems. Some reports are saying this drug is used to rebound from steroid cycle. It is also reported that Manny tested positive once in Spring Training and then a second time on a more recent drug test. What do we make of all this? Let’s take a look at some of the evidence.
1. The section of the agreement under which Manny was suspended was section 8.G.2. This rules out a positive test for steroids (which is covered under a different section) and marijuana as well.
2. There is no test for HGH, and since reports are that he “tested positive” it can’t be HGH (not to mention players in the past who have been caught receiving shipments and not been suspended).
That doesn’t get us very far. If we take Manny’s story at face value, it’s fairly encouraging. We’d all like to think that this was just a formality mix-up. That Manny didn’t get the right permission slip filled out and turned into MLB. That’s a tough pill to swallow (no pun intended), especially after one major leaguer after another comes up with a story that includes, “I swear I didn’t know,”, “it was prescribed”, or my favorite, “I didn’t know. It was prescribed, and I swear this was the first time I’ve ever done it.” Sounds like a teenager who got an MIP to me.
If we assume he’s been caught in a lie and trying to spin the PR, where does that leave us? Worst-case scenarios could include that he’s been taking steroids since puberty and before that couldn’t even walk straight. Is it somewhere in between? Let’s assume that Manny was using some sort of performance enhancing drug. What does that even mean, anymore?
I realized for the first time that my view on ballplayers using PEDs had shifted when the stories about Alex Rodriguez testing positive came out. He is the game’s highest-paid, and so-called best player. I should have been shocked. I just wasn’t. After Bonds, Palmeiro, McGuire, Sosa, Clemens, and pretty much everyone from that era was implicated, there was no name that I could hear that I would be shocked by. No name that would lead me to bitterly declare, “Not you ____ ____. Not you. Anyone but you.” with the stoic look on my face on the verge of cracking. Especially considering the fact that there is no test for HGH, and there’s a lot of money to be made by those selling PED’s if they can stay ahead of the testing curve, I just assume that pretty much everyone is using something.
Add to that the gray area that comes with us not knowing whether some of this stuff is even bad for us (not the steroids, of course, but some of the other energy/recovery type supplements), and I just can’t get up in arms about “destroying the game” and all that. On the other hand, I’m glad my two year old daughter isn’t quite big enough to realize he’ll be gone. I still don’t like the idea of having to explain to her that Manny has to sit out because he cheated.
Ok. It happened. The sky fell on our 13-0 at home, best record in the big leagues party. Everything has changed. But once you get through the shock and the scare of the “What are we going to do without Manny?” moments, things get interesting. How much have the kids grown up? Can Ethier keep leading this team in RBI and HR? Has Furcal found his way out of his slow start? Will the O-Dog take this opportunity to inspire unity and lead the clubhouse? Will the front office use the newly available $7 million to get a much-needed pitcher? What will tonight’s lineup look like? Will Matt Kemp and James Loney take this opportunity to step up their games? Is there any way we can still not play Juan Pierre?
The biggest question I have is this: How will this team react? Tonight the Dodgers play the Washington Nationals. A fine team to prove their grit against. Will they be able to settle in? Who will emerge as the leader of this outfit? Will they put a chip on their shoulder and make this the “It’s us against the world!” season? Or will the stomach punch knock them down. If I see a numb look, or an uncharacteristic failure, I’m going to be nervous.
If the Dodgers go .500 for the next 50 games without Manny Ramirez their record will be 45-33. That’s still pretty good, especially in a weak NL West (I’m talking about you Giant fans! Take all your cracks today, you’re still weak!). Things aren’t going to go according to the plan we had yesterday. The Dodgers probably won’t win all 81 home games. It’s not the end of the world, it’s a test. And a little adversity is just what this team needed to show what they’re made of.
And just in case you were wondering, on July 3 I’ll be cheering my head off for the Dodgers like usual, including Manny B Manny. The honeymoon may be over, but that doesn’t mean the marriage will end badly.
Tags: baseball, Dodgers, stories
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