Posted: Thursday, May 7, 2009, 1:57 PM | 35 comments |
 

Manny and the absence of shock
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New item: Manny Ramirez tests positive for a banned substance and receives a 50-game suspension from Major League Baseball.

Reaction: a curious shrug.

It is hard to get worked up about this stuff anymore. You get numb to it. Ramirez' disappearance from the lineup will affect the Dodgers, clearly, but it does not have the ability to ignite anything approaching outrage. Ramirez has adopted the familiar defense, that he didn't know what it was that he was putting in his body. It is the same defense employed (and swatted down by MLB) by the Phillies' J.C. Romero. I believe Romero. I believe Ramirez, too. It doesn't matter, though. You cannot have a drug policy that is meaningful if a valid excuse for violating it is, "I didn't know." That's just the way it is.

There is prurient interest here, for sure. Ramirez said he was taking something on the advice of a doctor to treat some unstated personal medical condition. Well, you're damn right that everybody is dying to know what the medical condition is and what the substance was that he ingested. Again, though, that's just human nature -- to want to know other peoples' private business. And we will know pretty soon because that's the way the world works anymore. Privacy ain't possible, not anymore.

So we will be titillated, and we will gossip about this a little bit, and high horses will be mounted, and stern lectures will be delivered, and then we will all  go about the business of really not caring what any professional athlete ingests as long as they don't get caught.

Nobody, though, is shocked. We're way past that. 
Posted by Rich Hofmann @ 1:57 PM  Permalink | 35 comments
35
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:19 PM, 05/07/2009
    cheater!
    — kookybeez
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:27 PM, 05/07/2009
    Indeed
    — Andrewsgvl
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:28 PM, 05/07/2009
    What doctor (other than a shady one) is going to put his reputation on the line by prescribing something illegal to such a high-profile person as a pro athlete? The whole "doctor's defense" is garbage. I cut Romero more slack because at least he owned up to buying and using it and has gone so far as to sue the makers. Think Manny will be doing that? Doubt it.
    — echosmyron
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:36 PM, 05/07/2009
    No one said a doctor prescribed him anything illegal. Manny's saying that he was prescribed something that contained a substance banned by MLB's drug policy. Just because MLB bans it doesn't mean it's illegal (under US law).
    — Potus415
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:48 PM, 05/07/2009
    ESPN is now reporting that he took HCG, mainly a women's fertility drug, but also used by steroid users to restart their natural production of testosterone after ending a cycle of steroid use. So unless Manny was having difficulty getting pregnant, he's got no excuse - doctor or not - if that turns out to be true. ESPN is also reporting that he didn't fail a drug test but red flags went off when Manny had a very high testosterone result in one of his test and, then, after investigation, MLB obtained documents showing that Manny had taken this drug. So they suspended him under one of the provisions of the drug program and Manny was going to appeal, but dropped the attempt to appeal. There is nothing about this situation which sounds "innocent" if this information turns out to be true.
    — JimG
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:52 PM, 05/07/2009
    Punishing people for taking something they didn't know they were taking is just as wrong as intentionally taking something.
    — libertyof76
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:55 PM, 05/07/2009
    Can we move his suspension to cover September and October?
    — JingoGuy
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:01 PM, 05/07/2009
    My only "devil's advocate" question is what if someone spikes your drink without your knowledge, causing you to test positive for a controlled substance? I'm not at all saying that is what's going on here, just a question for debate.
    — davesju93
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:07 PM, 05/07/2009
    whether innocent or not, after Romero's suspension the "I didn't know" excuse flew out the window. MLB made it clear that anything you take should be aproved by them. In other words, pick up your phone and check before taking an asperin. Manny deserves to be suspended if for no other reason then being stupid...I mean being Manny
    — jeff gross
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:23 PM, 05/07/2009
    just manny being manny....he was taking horse tranquilizers to subdue his hyperactivity.
    — mdriban
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:30 PM, 05/07/2009
    Pujols and Howard are left. When will we find out about them.
    — peteike
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:40 PM, 05/07/2009
    It may not matter under MLB's rules, but there is potentially a big difference in terms of culpability if it's a banned drug or a banned substance that was contained in something else. The actual drug he took, HCG, is a banned drug. He knew what he was taking and he should have known that drug was on the banned list or should have checked. Again, there's basically no medical reason for a man to take this drug except to boost testosterone production. The fact that he didn't even fail a drug test, but instead they found documents confirming he took the stuff, and he still didn't even appeal is very telling. They caught the guy red-handed and he knew it.
    — JimG
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  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:28 PM, 05/07/2009
    It was probably just weed
    — woogie


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About Rich Hofmann
Rich Hofmann arrived at the Daily News in 1980 for a job whose status was officially designated as "full-time, temporary." A senior at Penn at the time, he was hired to fill in on the copy desk during a staff illness. The notion of him covering the Eagles or being a columnist did not exist in anyone's imagination. It was supposed to be six weeks and out, but he never left. It is only one of the reasons why so many people have concerns about him as a potential house guest. Rich has blogged the postseasons of the Flyers and Eagles. E-mail Rich at hofmanr@phillynews.com

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