Manny Ramirez, became the fourth player this season to be suspended for violating Major League Baseball's drug policy and the first big name star. A-Rod admitted to it but won't be suspended 'cause he did it in the past, but Manny got caught in a time where baseball is hurting and is trying to rid itself of steroids era.
Manny said he did not take steroids and was given prescribed medication by a doctor that contained a banned substance. A person familiar with the details of the suspension said Ramirez used the female fertility drug HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the banned substance wasn't announced.
HCG is popular among steroid users because it can mitigate the side effects of ending a cycle of the drugs. The body may stop producing testosterone when users go off steroids, which can cause sperm counts to decrease and testicles to shrink.
Manny's suspension was based not on the test result but rather evidence obtained afterward, a second person familiar with the suspension said, speaking on condition of anonymity because those details were not released. MLB had concluded the spring test was positive, but the person said the players' association would have challenged the result because of "testing issues."
The 36-year-old Ramirez told the Dodgers and fans he was sorry for "this whole situation."
"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," Manny said in a statement issued by the players' union.
"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."
While Manny had little to say, Jose Canseco, who planned a news conference Thursday night in Los Angeles, was quick to explain why someone might use HCG. "It could be that a player used it because he used steroids and went cold-turkey and needed HCG to get his levels back to normal. I had to use it when I quit steroids cold-turkey," said Canseco, who pleaded guilty last November to trying to bring HCG across the Mexican border into the United States illegally, told The AP. "I had to go to a doctor to get it and get my levels back."
Ramirez was not mentioned in the Mitchell Report in December of 2007, the MLB's official report on drug use, and there had not been whispers that he was among the sport's juiced players. A-Rod and Manny are the two highest-paid players in the majors. With this suspension, six of the top 17 home run hitters in history now have been covered by the cloud of performance-enhancing drugs.
Manny's suspension began Thursday. Barring any postponements, he will be able to return to the Dodgers on July 3 for a game at San Diego. Ramirez will lose US$7,650,273 of his $25 million salary. Manny's agent, Scott Boras, and the players' association had gathered materials for a possible appeal to an arbitrator, but Ramirez decided not to file one because he didn't want to risk missing significant time in the second half of the season, the person familiar with details of the suspension said. The union said merely that he waived his right to contest the suspension.
In his statement, Manny addressed Dodgers owners Frank and Jamie McCourt, and manager Joe Torre. "I want to apologize to Mr. McCourt, Mrs. McCourt, Mr. Torre, my teammates, the Dodger organization, and to the Dodger fans," Manny said. "LA is a special place to me, and I know everybody is disappointed. So am I. I'm sorry about this whole situation."
So am I Manny, so am I :(
Peace and Much Love To Ya
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