Suspended Manny Nears All-Star Spot

(NEWSER) - Manny Ramirez has tested positive for a banned substance and will be suspended for 50 games beginning immediately, the Los Angeles Times reports. Reports have identified the substance as HCG, a drug commonly used to treat female infertility but also taken to raise testosterone levels at the end of steroid treatments. The substance is intended to boost sex drive and "is not a steroid and it is not human-growth hormone," a source told Yahoo Sports. The suspension runs through July 3 and will cost Ramirez nearly $8 million. 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»

All-Star rips 'guilt by association' with A-Rod

(NEWSER) - All-Star Albert Pujols is miffed over suggestions his latest enormously productive season comes thanks to drugs, USA Today reports, and says he’ll submit to testing every day—and pay the St. Louis Cardinals back if one comes back positive. “I can understand people being disappointed with A-Rod and Manny” Ramirez, Pujols said today. “Just because A-Rod made a mistake, now I have to pay? Oh, guilt by association? That’s wrong.” More»

(NEWSER) - Manny Ramirez ducked questions about drug use and praised the Lord hours before his scheduled return to the major leagues, MLB.com reports. "First, I want to say that God is good and good is God," Ramirez told reporters in San Diego tonight. Asked about the banned substance that earned him a 50-game suspension in May, Ramirez whiffed: "I don't want to get into" that, he said. "I've already said I'm sorry." More»

Ramirez heads to triple-A Isotopes

(NEWSER) - Manny Ramirez may play for the Albuquerque Isotopes tonight, and droves of locals are planning to be there, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Triple-A team sells 7,715 tickets for a typical game; tonight it expects up to 15,000. Fans aren’t much concerned about the slugger’s suspension for using a performance-enhancing drug. “He’s a cheater,” one told the AP, “but I want to see him play.” More»