Ramirez Flunks Drug Test, Draws 50-Game Ban

MLB closing investigation into whether he lied

(NEWSER) - MLB will not discipline Alex Rodriguez after investigating whether he lied to baseball officials about using steroids, the New York Times reports. In March, Rodriguez admitted to investigators and the public that he had used performance-enhancing drugs, but only from 2001 to 2003. After a book published in April suggested he continued using well after that, baseball officials opened an investigation into A-Rod's truthfulness. More»

'Real victims' of performance drugs are those left behind

(NEWSER) - The steroids-in-baseball "shame game" shouldn’t be limited to A-Rod and Barry Bonds, writes Mike Wise in the Washington Post. To keep mum on the others who cheated the game is to ignore the "real victims": The regular players who "chose correctly between right and wrong" and never made it beyond the minors. Officials should release the names of all known users so that we can celebrate those who aren’t on that list. More»

During MVP 2003 campaign

(NEWSER) - Alex Rodriguez tested positive for anabolic steroids during his 2003 MVP season, sources tell Sports Illustrated. A-Rod was one of 104 players to test positive that year, in a survey test conducted to determine whether the league needed tougher drug policies. Asked about the results this week, Rodriguez replied: “You’ll have to talk to the union. I’m not saying anything.” More»

With Dodgers in NLCS, only Philly-Colorado remains up in the air

(NEWSER) - The Yankees wrapped up a sweep of the Twins tonight in Minneapolis, getting homers from Jorge Posada and suddenly clutch Alex Rodriguez in a 6-1 win. They advance to face the Angels, who mounted an unlikely ninth-inning comeback this afternoon, scoring off Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon three times and hanging on for a 7-6 victory and their own sweep in Boston. More»

(NEWSER) - Insiders say both Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz are on “the list” of baseball players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003, the New York Times reports. Ramirez recently finished a 50-game suspension for taking a banned drug; it’s the first time Ortiz—Ramirez’s teammate on two World Series-winning Boston Red Sox squads—has been linked to such substances. More»