It's time for the Los Angeles Dodgers and baseball fans everywhere to pucker up and embrace the backside of Manny Ramirez. The good he's done them by doping will make this week's teeth-gnashing and sports radio hollering seem silly by mid-summer.
True, he broke the rules by taking a banned fertility drug. And his explanation that a doctor issued it to him for a "personal health issue" seemed just a little weak.
"He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was okay to give me,"
Ramirez said —which only makes sense if he "wanted to get pregnant or had some other legitimate reason for taking a female fertility drug," as
one analyst put it.
But consider that Manny has finally added teeth to baseball's steroid testing policy. The only other player to serve a suspension this year is relief pitcher JC Romero—not exactly a household name that lends credibility to MLB's alleged anti-drug campaign. Before that you have to scroll back to 2007 to find a player who failed a drug test.
After a force as mighty as Congress pressed for better testing, only 22 players have been suspended in all. Now, thanks to Manny, MLB's steroids policy is no longer the joke of the sports world.
Fans can sit back and believe in all those homers again.
Manny's reputation may be tarnished, but he's taken one for the team—the all-steroids team that fueled fans' love of baseball for years. Jason Giambi. Gary Sheffield. Mark McGwire. Eric Gagne. All linked to banned substances by the Mitchell Report. Most of us figured they weren't naturally that bulky, but hyped up on caffeine and prescription drugs as we were, we chose to let it go.
And as Giambi showed, all a player has to do is cooperate, give time to charity, and be near tears when he apologizes if he truly
wants forgiveness.
Maybe Manny could study with a Hollywood acting coach to get those waterworks flowing when he gives a public apology? Spending some of his newly free hours helping the unfortunate wouldn't hurt either. And by unfortunate, I don't just mean those earning less than $25 million a year.
As for the Dodgers, they're sitting pretty. True, they've lost a couple without Manny, but they're nearly $8 million richer thanks to his suspension. Soon after he's back, the Boys in Blue will be able to afford the pitcher they desperately need for the playoffs. You'd almost think they planned it that way.
As for baseball's angry fans… Well, now they have yet another reason to love to hate the thing they love most—the game itself.
