UPDATE: Read the most recent comment (after one of our lengthy back-and-forths) where Sherm has posted an article with more details on the Manny suspension.
Reports are slowly trickling in that Manny Ramirez will be suspended for 50 games for violating the league’s drug policy.
Ramirez has issued the below statement:
Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I’ve taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons. I want to apologize to Mr. McCourt, Mrs. McCourt, Mr. Torre, my teammates, the Dodger organization, and to the Dodger fans. LA is a special place to me and I know everybody is disappointed. So am I. I’m sorry about this whole situation.
Now we all know that the first public statement made by a player is usually not the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Many of the players who testified before Congress, most notably the finger-wagging Rafael Palmiero, later changed their stories. Roger Clemens, Miguel Tejada and Alex Rodriguez have given gradually changing accounts of their steroid/PED use. Therefore, it would be foolish to take Manny’s statement at face value.
We know that a 50 game suspension for one of baseball’s biggest stars is not something the league is going to pull a quick trigger on. A simple misunderstanding with a doctor is not going to lose you half a season without more to the story. I don’t yet know what Manny is accused of taking, and whether it is even considered a performance-enhancing drug. I think it is too early to start drawing concrete conclusions on anything.
What I can say at this point is that I am not surprised. We live in an age of baseball where you are being naive if you are certain that someone did not use steroids or PED. This is especially true of someone with Manny’s pedigree. Statistically, Ramirez is one of the greatest hitters in baseball history. The guy has consistently terrorized pitchers for more than a decade. The guy has 162 game averages of .315, 41 HR, 133 RBI and a 1.006 OPS. A beast at the plate, no question.
Other statistical beasts? Look at the third paragraph. Can one really be shocked any more when a modern-day super slugger is accused of, or found guilty of, using PED? I say no. Would Albert Pujols, who is a mountain of muscle, surprise me? Not anymore. Would David Ortiz, who is following an all-too-familiar pattern of huge numbers followed by a sharp down-turn and nagging injuries that continue to crop up? Would Mark Teixeira, a slugger who has eerie resemblances to Giambi, really catch me off-guard?
I have written here before that I do not agree with rule-breaking steroid use. If some play the game clean, all should play it clean. I can link to the posts and comments where I have done so (for anyone who thinks I have been “cavalier” in the past). What I have taken issue with is those people who seem to hold PED/steroids in a different light than amphetamines, ball-doctoring, sign-stealing…etc. These are different forms of the same crime, cheating. I will not hold one group of cheaters any less accountable.
I don’t like Manny from what I have seen of him as a player and i find it easy to believe what I have read from reputable sources about him as a person. I don’t buy the ”Manny being Manny” crap, I see it as Manny being a preening, self-absorbed ass. I have never denied his talent though. I still believe that many of the game’s notorious cheats are some of the best players ever to play the game. Lots of guys have used steroids and sucked. Bonds, Clemens and Arod were awesome with or without the juice, but most probably better with it.
The Manny case, as much as we know about it to this point, is no worse than any other because its Manny. I can’t say I hate seeing it happen to him, but he hasn’t done worse than many others before him. Maybe I’m numb to it by now, maybe I think people should stop being surprised at this point. For now, I reserve any further judgment until all the facts shake out, if they ever do.
May 7, 2009 at 2:27 pm |
The facts will probably never be known, but I read that from the MLB classification of the suspension, he did not test positive for an anabolic steroid. The only other player (or so I read) with the same classification of suspension was Jordan Schafer of the Braves, who was suspended for HGH last year in the minors and vehemently disputed MLB’s findings. So, there might be some truth to his story, but he is not entitled to the benefit of the doubt in mind without full disclosure, release of medical records, and cross-examination via a legitimate press conference (as opposed to the sham conference held by Bitch Tits in February).
Were you among the group at NYS chanting “we want Torre” the other night? Just kidding.
As for “Bitch Tits” (as he is apparently known in the Yankee clubhouse) Rodriguez, how do you know he’s awesome without PED’s? He may never have played without PED’s, and he’s admitted to taking steroids in the prime of his career? At least with Clemens and Bonds, we know they were legitimate stars before the steroids. Steroids just made them immortals.
Got home from the Met game last night just in time to watch Pepsi serve one up to Carlos Pena, who has been carrying my fantasy team, then watched the post game where Pepsi insisted that he threw a great pitch. I don’t know if you watched the post-game, but I though he came across as a real asshole last night. Curious if you agree.
Thought you might like to know, I trade Tex in a package for DWright. Tex, Markasis and Sonnanstine for DWright, Vernon Wells and Brett Myers.
May 7, 2009 at 2:56 pm |
Yes by all means believe the account of the woman who tried and convicted all the Duke lacrosse players in the media, only to be proven wrong, and yet never recanted or apologized. I’m sure he was referred to by that name, and we should take all her reporting at face value. what do you think the Mets have nicknamed the rotation? Amazing johan and the dog-shit buffet?
A-rod admitted to using PED, but not at the peak of his career. His 2007 numbers dwarf all the others. He’s got 9 years left on his deal, and both Clemens and Bonds built huge parts of their legacy in their last 9 years of baseball.
Good luck with the trade, it is more fun to root for one of your own guys. i think Tex will have a better year, as he is a notorious slow-starter.
May 7, 2009 at 2:57 pm |
Well, I ain’t reserving judgment anymore. He’s a cheater. Reports are it was a female reproductive drug. The only reason a male would take that (other than a severe illness) is to cycle off of steroids, like Giambi with chlomid.
This is why baseball is still bullshit. They have to test more frequently, and during the offseason. And they have to take blood for HGH. Once a guy like Manny pisses for the last time during a season, he’s free to juice until a month or two before spring training, and then switch to HGH. I’m sure there are plenty of guys who juice in the Fall, and then switch to HGH. It’s bullshit. I also think that you can’t trust Boras clients. It’s fair to infer that greedy fucks always looking for the biggest contracts no matter what will do whatever it takes to get those contracts.
May 7, 2009 at 3:04 pm |
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090507&sportCat=mlb
May 7, 2009 at 3:17 pm |
The Big Papi timeline is a little off. He stopped hitting homers when they started testing? I thought his best years were 04 through 07.
May 7, 2009 at 3:34 pm |
DWright had a better year last year, and he should give me some much needed steals. But Citifield scares the shit out of me.
May 7, 2009 at 3:46 pm |
Have you ever actually read the Selena Roberts’ column in which she allegedly tried and convicted the duke lacrosse team? I am sure you have not because she simply did not do that. This is just more bullshit by A-Rod and MLB apologists. More importantly, she was not working as a reporter duty-bound to report facts, but as a columnist expected to opine. The column is posted below. It was not about any the individual Duke Lacrosse players being criminals, but the culture of male sports teams in general which often allows heinous acts to be committed in silence. She even wrote: “Maybe the team captains are right. Maybe the allegations are baseless. But why is it so hard to gather the facts? Why is any whisper of a detail akin to snitching?”
When Peer Pressure, Not a Conscience, Is Your Guide
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By SELENA ROBERTS
Published: March 31, 2006
ON the front page of Wednesday’s USA Today, there was a photo of a man wearing a T-shirt with a traffic sign and a message for rat finks written in graffiti type: “Stop Snitching.”
Skip to next paragraph
Jennifer Warburg for The New York Times
Graffitti on Duke’s campus urging lacrosse players to be forthcoming in a rape investigation.
Derek Anderson for The New York Times
Duke lacrosse coach Mike Pressler and his players at practice Wednesday, after the season was suspended.
As the story detailed, this is the bold new wardrobe of drug dealers and gang members engaged in an anti-snitch campaign that is frustrating authorities.
Imagine a T-shirt as a tool of witness intimidation. Now imagine it as the undershirt of the male athlete in a locker-room culture devoted to its own code of silence, of a male athlete who thrives inside hostile arenas where the Vegas rule of “what goes on here, stays here” creates the tacit acceptance of denigrating behavior.
On a team, there are players reared on misplaced war-room jargon, conditioned to equate teammates with soldiers, locker rooms with foxholes and Patton with the coach. In an arena, fans are roped off from the norms of decent behavior, provided anonymity by the cover of a crowd, free to mock their foils without repercussions.
Want to challenge an opponent’s manhood? Mock him by turning the serenade of “Brokeback Mountain” into a gay slur. Care to test the tolerance of an adversary who has been arrested? Taunt him with the rattle of handcuffs. Go ahead and break any social code necessary for the sake of the team.
At the intersection of entitlement and enablement, there is Duke University, virtuous on the outside, debauched on the inside. This is the home of Coach K’s white-glove morality and the Cameron Crazies’ celebrated vulgarity.
The season is over, but the paradox lives on in Duke’s lacrosse team, a group of privileged players of fine pedigree entangled in a night that threatens to belie their social standing as human beings.
Something happened March 13, when a woman, hired to dance at a private party, alleged that three lacrosse players sexually assaulted her in a bathroom for 30 minutes. According to reported court documents, she was raped, robbed, strangled and was the victim of a hate crime. She was also reportedly treated at a hospital for vaginal and anal injuries consistent with sexual assault and rape.
Players have been forced to give up their DNA, but to the dismay of investigators, none have come forward to reveal an eyewitness account.
Maybe the team captains are right. Maybe the allegations are baseless.
But why is it so hard to gather the facts? Why is any whisper of a detail akin to snitching?
“The idea of breaking ranks within a team is identified as weak,” said Katie Gentile, an assistant professor and the director of the Women’s Center at John Jay College, adding, “The bottom line is, your self-esteem is more valuable to you than someone else’s life.”
There is research Gentile cites to back up the analysis. What do women fear the most? Rape and murder. What do men fear most? Ridicule.
The stigma as a traitor — and the threat of repercussion and isolation — is more powerful than the instinct to do what’s right, a pattern perpetuated on every level of sports, from prep to pro.
At Long Island’s Mepham High School, older members of the football team were accused of sodomizing junior varsity players with broomsticks, golf balls and pine cones at a camp in 2003. It took nearly a month and 12 subpoenas to prompt the team’s cooperation with authorities.
On a lake in Minnesota last fall, a group of Vikings were accused of treating their boat cruise hostesses as grab bags. With teammates employing a “loose lips sink ships” strategy when questioned on the incident, the most salacious disclosure from the case thus far has been a legal debate over what constitutes a lap dance.
There are more cases all the time, often depicting a group of players against one woman. Some involve male players sexually molesting a handful of rookies in hazing rituals. Is it heterocentrism, homophobia or homoeroticism?
Whatever the root, there is a common thread: a desire for teammates to exploit the vulnerable without heeding a conscience.
At Duke, a day after the team provided DNA samples to the police, players went back to practice as normal. “All our focus is on trying to beat the Hoyas now,” the lacrosse coach, Mike Pressler, said.
Public outrage had more traction than Pressler’s warped priorities. For now, the season has been suspended while the investigation continues. For days, Durham residents and Duke students have rallied on behalf of sexual-assault victims, banging pots and pans, hoping to stir more action out of Duke’s president, Richard H. Brodhead.
The indignation has been heartening, but it may also be hypocritical.
How many of the offended are among the offensive? Have any of them cheered when the Cameron Crazies — who have been known to deride an opponent accused of a sex crime with a sign that read, “Did you send her flowers?” — cross the boundaries of decency?
Has President Brodhead reveled in the Crazies’ witty ability to belittle villains in an environment that only serves to nurture the entitlement of his own athletes?
Does President Brodhead dare to confront the culture behind the lacrosse team’s code of silence or would he fear being ridiculed as a snitch?
May 8, 2009 at 10:23 am |
I actually did read the column, but was more basing my opinion on her subsequent radio and TV interviews afterward, including very recently on the FAN. Why suggest that I am uninformed because you disagree with me? You are definitely off-base in implying that I am talking out of my ass here.
“Roberts was a key player in the most notorious smear in recent sports history. As a New York Times columnist in 2006, she led the media mob panting to string up the three Duke University lacrosse players charged with raping a black woman. The case ultimately proved an ideologically driven fantasy. As observed legal reporter Stuart Taylor, who co-wrote Presumed Guilty, the definitive account of the case: “Roberts wrote commentary seething with hatred for ‘a group of privileged players of fine pedigree entangled in a night that threatens to belie their social standing as human beings.’ All but presuming guilt, Roberts parroted false prosecution claims that all team members had observed a ‘code of silence.’ She likened them to ‘drug dealers and gang members engaged in an anti-snitch campaign.’”
Indeed, even after the evidence had established the rape tale as bogus, Roberts, practically alone among media heavyweights, stayed at it, excoriating “the culture of white privilege.” In a column entitled “Closing a Case Will Not Mean Closure at Duke,” which appeared shortly before all charges against the three lacrosse players were dropped, she sneered at “the ubiquitous ‘innocent’ wristbands” of the players’ supporters and railed against “the irrefutable culture of misogyny, racial animus and athlete entitlement that went unrestrained that night. . . . To many, the alleged crime and culture are intertwined.”
May 8, 2009 at 10:47 am |
But you are still ignoring the fact that she was opining as a columnist as opposed to reporting as a reporter. Not comparable. Her column appeared pretty tame to me, and quite well-written.
May 8, 2009 at 10:55 am |
You are also ignoring that she was right about Bitch Tits. Without her book, he never would have admitted to being a steroid user.
I love this — A-Rod goes on national TV, denies steroid use, and mocks players who use steroids. Roberts writes a book calling A-Rod a steroid user. A-Roid admits steroid use. A-Rod goes on national TV and accuses Roberts of stalking him and claims that the police were called on account her enerting his private property. Roberts says bullshit. A-Rod admits he lied and apologizes. Yet, it is Roberts who is not credible.
And what are you quoting other than someone else’s attack on her. I posted her story. Her words speak for themselves.
May 8, 2009 at 11:26 am |
We can obviously go back and forth on her merits and credibility, but to be honest I don’t care all that much about Roberts. See here’s the thing:
I think what’s really bothering you, underneath all the righteous indignation, is that A-Rod gets to skate. Nothing happens to him with the exception of a possible HOF exclusion, which may or may not happen as the HOF voters see how much of this era was PED fueled.
The guy’s personality may bug you, you may think he’s a cheater, but he still gets to play ball and is still the best 3B in NY. He is still richer than anyone, and is one big playoff run away from wiping away any knocks on him. Call him Bitch Tits, A-Roid, A-Fraud…etc all you want, he still gets to play on my team, and that bugs you. and its going to continue….
What I care about is stopping a 5 game skid, righting the bullpen, and jumpstarting an offense which is missing out on a lot of opportunities. A-Rod coming back should stretch the lineup, and make opposing pitchers work that much harder. The front 7 of Jeter, Damon, Tex, Arod, Matsui, Cano, Swisher is now that much harder to make it through 4-5 times.
May 8, 2009 at 12:02 pm |
He is not the best 3B in NY. Not anymore. Was not last year, and will never be again. DWright is better now and is getting better each year as he enters his prime. A-Rod is leaving his prime, and has a bad hip which needs more surgery. And I don’t “think” A-Rod is a cheater, I know A-Rod is a cheater. I think he has cheated more than he has admitted.
Actually, I’m quite content with the A-Rod situation. He probably will be denied entry to the Hall, and I get to mock the Yanks for employing one of the biggest D-bags around. It’s really a win-win for me. If he got suspended and the Yanks’ took a principled stand and cut his ass, then I would have to tip my hat to the organization and keep my mouth shut.
But they don’t have the balls to do that.
As for the 5-game skid, at least you can feast on the Orioles staff this weekend. With A-Rod back, the lineup regains credibility. But you still have Posada out, and a bullpen in shambles. And now Mo might be hurt as well. Who would close right now if Mo was out? Pepsi? That starting five better step us soon before you find yourselves 10 games back. As I have maintained all Spring, the entire season rests on the starting five dominating. If they don’t dominate, the best you can hope for is another third-place finish. That starting five needs to, and has the talent to, cover for a lot of flaws. But it hasn’t done so yet.
I’m just excited about my Metropolitans right now, and I’m heading out to Citifield yet again on Sunday. Two out of three this weekend, and we’ll be on a roll.
By the way, Victorino really needs a Pelf fastball in the ribcage.
May 8, 2009 at 12:21 pm |
yeah, yeah, you vanished when they hit the skids
and please dont be foolish. David Wright is not a better baseball player than Alex Rodriguez. Stop it.
May 8, 2009 at 12:41 pm |
Look at last year’s numbers, or at least the ones you love so much. DWright had 115 runs scored and 124 rbi. A-Roid had 104 runs scored and 103 rbi. You always say runs and ribbies are all that matter.
DWright is 26 and improving, A-Rod is 34 and declining. I’d take DWright right now, without hesitation. And I would bet good money that Cashman and 31 other MLB GM’s would as well.
May 8, 2009 at 1:14 pm |
Out of your mind you are. do we really have to do this?
1) DW had 735 PA to A-Rods 594. Give ARod DW’s PA and the numbers shake out like this
Runs- DW 115 AR 129
RBI- DW 124 AR 127
And this is assuming mere pace performance. Better.
2) Alex in 2007 went 143 and 156. Wright will (and I’ll put this in all caps) NEVER PRODUCE THOSE NUMBERS. EVER.
and 3) I dont always say runs and ribbies are all that matter. I have said it, but its not my mantra.
May 8, 2009 at 1:35 pm |
So, DWright is worse because he stays healthy. That’s crazy. Fewer plate appearances is something that is expected from an aging playing (as you are seeing with both Posada and A-Rod). You cannot impute stats to a player to make him better than he is. A player is what his stats say he is. If you want to play that game, how would DWright perform in a hitter’s park loaded up on steroids? How many of his long shots to right-center which are outs at Shea and Citifield would be gone at Yankee McStadium?
Right now, not years ago, DWright is the better ball player. You cannot convince me otherwise. And I’m not even taking into account the distractions and other baggage A-Rod brings to a team. Nor am I discounting A-Rod for being a juicer. As I said earlier, DWright is entering his prime, A-Rod is leaving his prime. It would be crazy to choose A-Rod over DWright at this point of their careers.
As for those 2007 numbers, if something is too good to be true,… I’ll leave it at that.
May 8, 2009 at 1:41 pm |
What you are doing is saying that Wright having more RBI and runs in more plate appearances/at bats is a sign that he is better than A-Rod. You do realize how silly that is don’t you?
And how do you know Wright isnt on HGH?
May 8, 2009 at 2:11 pm |
Should Moises Alou go to the Hall of Fame because we can extrapolate that if he didn’t get hurt every year, he would have had over 3,000 hits and 500 homers?
Stats are stats. If A-Rod can’t go 160 games a year anymore, that is a strike against him when comparing him to a younger player who can. You can’t say “well, if he played in 160 instead of 140 games, he would have had better stats.” The bottom line is he didn’t, and he won’t again this year when he’ll be lucky to play in 120. And next year, after his second hip surgery and at age 35, who the hell knows what he’ll be.
If you want to play that game, at the end of this year, can we credit Cody Ransom’s and Ramiro Pena’s stats to A-Rod to make A-Rod a .260 hitter over the entire season instead of a .290 hitter for the part of the season he actually plays?
DWright on hgh? That’s like me suggesting that Jeter is on hgh. And your ability to throw out a baseless accusation like that is one example of how pieces of shit like A-Rod have hurt the game.
May 8, 2009 at 2:36 pm |
Why couldn’t you suggest it re: Jeter?
A-rod had comprable numbers in far fewer AB, and has topped Wright’s numbers handily in the other seasons in which they have played an similar number of games. Why wouldn’t it stand to reason that he would outpace wright, as he always had in the past. You are spinning this to support an argument that logic should prevent you from making.
Until David Wright is considered the best player a) on his team b) at his position c) in his league and d) in all of baseball, lets table this farcical discussion. He has never been any of the above.
Why not compare your hero to Jeter, the “washed up captain” who is matching him in all hitting categories, and hasnt been caught stealing once compared to Wright’s league leading total which exceeds his steal #s, and who has fewer errors and a higher fielding %. Please stop the madness.
May 8, 2009 at 2:45 pm |
Please, DW would be leading the league in hr’s if he played at Coors East. Put Jeter at Citi, he’d be lucky to have one. Small sample size. DW’s getting hot now, and his numbers will be there at season’s end.
Again, you keep talking about the past, but I guess that’s all Yankee fans have left. I’m talking about the present, and I couldn’t care less what A-Rod did while D-Wright was in high school. DWright is better today, and will be better tomorrow. If you can’t see that, you are blinded by your pinstriped colored glasses.
And what’s your captain’s BA? about 40 points below DW. I’ll gladly compare stats at season’s end.
May 8, 2009 at 3:14 pm |
But “stats are stats” right? Jeter is batting lead off in front of Molina Pena and Gardner. Wright is in the 3 hole or the 5 hole. The Captain is scoring and driving in runs at the same pace as your hero, and fielding better. stats are stats. His BA disparity is mitigated by the fact that Wright has gotten himself nailed so often while attempting a steal.
And how can you say “his numbers will be there at season’s end” for Wright, but not for A-Rod? Last year, the year you keep pointing to, from hisMay return onward Wright had 90 RBI, A Rod had 92. Wright had 79 runs, A Rod had 80. Advantage A Rod. Stats are stats.
May 8, 2009 at 3:20 pm |
Their OPS after the return
.992- A-Rod
.860- Wright
Please stop the madness.
May 8, 2009 at 3:30 pm |
I’m talking sample size now. You tried to impute stats to an injured player to make it appear that he had a better year than a player who did not get hurt. Apples and oranges, dude.
Let me get this straight now. Jose Molina is your two hitter, Pena third, and Gardner’s been batting clean-up? I thought it was Damon, Tex and Matsui or Swisher. I must not be paying attention.
As for Gardner, do you agree with me yet that he is a one-tool scrub, and that even the mediocre (at best) Melky is better than him?
One final question: If every Yankee is so freaking great, why are they a 3rd place team yet again?
May 8, 2009 at 6:18 pm |
Alex is now just 2 homers behind dw. After seeing 1 pitch this season. I think he’ll be fine.
May 10, 2009 at 8:04 am |
But he looks like a statue at third.
May 12, 2009 at 12:00 pm |
Sources: Records had key evidence
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By Mark Fainaru-Wada
and T.J. Quinn
ESPN.com
The story of how Manny Ramirez was nabbed by baseball’s drug-testing policy is rooted as much in the language of the collective bargaining agreement as it is in the fact that the Los Angeles Dodgers’ slugger had synthetic testosterone in his body when he was tested this past spring.
Ultimately, Ramirez was brought down by his own private medical records — records that the Major League Baseball Players’ Association turned over on his behalf, as required under the sport’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
The Ramirez saga, as described by three sources with direct knowledge of the case, began to play out in spring training when the 36-year-old outfielder provided a urine sample for testing.
The test came back showing elevated levels of testosterone. Every individual naturally produces testosterone and a substance called epitestosterone, typically at a ratio of 1:1. In Major League Baseball, if the ratio comes in at 4:1 during testing, a player is flagged. In Ramirez’s case, his ratio was between 4:1 and 10:1, according to one source.
At that point, MLB notified Ramirez of his elevated levels and began further investigation, including taking two primary actions:
First, MLB asked the World Anti-Doping Agency lab in Montreal, which conducts its testing, to perform a carbon isotope ratio test to determine whether the testosterone spike resulted from natural variations within Ramirez’s body or from an artificial source. The test revealed the testosterone was synthetic — in other words, it was ingested somehow.
Secondly, as per the drug-testing policy, MLB requested all of Ramirez’s medical records, including those from doctors he might have consulted outside of MLB. Addendum C of the policy is authorization by every player to provide “health information” from “all health care providers (including but not limited to [add Club orthopedist and medical internist], other physicians, laboratories, clinics and Club trainers) with whom I have consulted pursuant to my Uniform Player’s Contract or the Basic Agreement.”
Ramirez and his representatives were prepared to appeal the synthetic testosterone results, intending to argue he had taken a steroid precursor known as DHEA, according to two sources. The drug is akin to the now-banned substance famously known as Andro, but it is not on baseball’s banned list.
Baseball had geared up to dispute the argument, and a Ramirez appeal was scheduled for last Wednesday. MLB’s legal team intended to use expert testimony to cite evidence it believed showed DHEA could not have been the cause of the synthetic testosterone.
However, in the days before the hearing, the union turned over Ramirez’s medical records — and they turned out to be a boon for MLB.
Within the records was a prescription written for the drug human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) — No. 55 on the list of banned performance-enhancing substances in the policy. The drug is mainly used for female fertility issues, but it is best known among male steroid users as a substance that can help kick-start the body’s production of natural testosterone, which is stymied when using synthetic testosterone (aka steroids).
The synthetic testosterone in Ramirez’s body could not have come from the hCG, according to doping experts, and so suddenly Ramirez had two drugs to answer for. Worse still for the ballplayer, MLB now had a document showing he had been prescribed a banned substance. This was iron-clad evidence that could secure a 50-game suspension.
And so, in the hours before the appeal was scheduled to proceed, Ramirez notified MLB that he would accept the 50 games and drop his planned legal fight.
Soon thereafter, he issued his statement that his suspension had resulted from taking a medication — not a steroid — that was prescribed to him by a physician. Technically, that was true, but it was hardly the complete story.
Mark Fainaru-Wada and T.J. Quinn are investigative reporters with ESPN’s enterprise unit. Fainaru-Wada can be reached at markfwespn@gmail.com. Quinn can be reached at tjquinn31@yahoo.com.