Manny Ramirez, a juicer? Who saw this coming? I sure as hell didn't. Red Sox nation didn't. The pretty people of Los Angeles didn't. Who did then? Yankees fans? Cubs fans? The fans who hated him because he killed their team one at bat after another? I think the answer here is nobody. Although Manny's always been a selfish douche bag for most of his career, he has never been a bigger douche than Barry Bonds and he was never more selfish than, well, Barry Bonds. But Manny's always been a fan-favorite anywhere he goes. He's not the most friendly of players, but he's not Barry Bonds. There goes that name again. In fact, I actually liked Manny last year. He had a spot in my heart for harrasing the Cubs in the NLDS. He also showed me that one man can be the thing that turns an entire team around from an offensive anemic team to an elite offensive team. He went to the NL and helped me prove just how much better the AL was compared to the NL. But I guess all of that is moot because Manny Ramirez cheated and now has a nice 50 day vacation in front of him.
I've always thought of Manny as one of those guys who didn't need to cheat. He was one of the best pure hitters of the late 20th century. He, along with guys like Thomas, Griffey, Bonds, Guerrero, and so many others seemed to be just men who were sent by the baseball gods to bless the sport of baseball for the next 15 years. Sure enough, two of those 5 guys I just mentioned must pissed the baseball gods off. Maybe it was the fact that Manny was taking a drug that was made for women to somehow raise his testosterone or that Bonds was putting substances in his body that were meant for cows and horses. Whatever the case is, they did something wrong. What's worse is that they didn't need those substances to begin with. If you look at Manny's stats throughout the years. He was quite a hitter even before anybody can suspect that he was somehow on the juice. He had a slugging percentage well into the .500s before 1998 when he came out and nailed 45 home runs with a .633 SLG% with the Indians. Then he was pretty consistent throughout his career power-wise. That is until 2007 when he was hampered with one injury that kept his plate appearances down and limited him to only 20 home runs. It just so happens that the Mitchell report came out that year as well. Coincidence or not, all of that was erased in 2008 when he went on to become the old Manny once again and lit up the National League for the last two months of the season. Whatever the case is, the argument can be made that Manny Ramirez, like Barry Bonds, did not need steroids to become the great players. Will Manny still be lingering at 450 home runs without steroids? Perhaps. But 500 is nothing but a number. I'd rather hit 499 home runs and play clean than hit 500 and have all of my life's accomplishments tainted. Because that is exactly what Manny Ramirez has done to himself. Manny already had a tainted reputation for his personality, but he was never questioned in terms of his baseball skills. However, now that this mess has happened, we can no longer say that.
So what does this do to Red Sox fans? The same fans who saw their beloved team win the 2004 and 2007 World Series with Manny as their pilot. What about David Ortiz? He hit 50 home runs only 3 years ago, now he can't even hit 1. Bill Mueller? Mark Bellhorn? Nomar Garciaparra? And how did Kevin Youkillis get so huge over the past couple of years? Were the 04 and 07 World Series championships tainted? Even though the Red Sox fans will not feel the direct effect of the Manny suspension, they will have what Bill Simmons calls, "a mental asterisk" when they recall Manny's greatness with the Red Sox and his clutch play in 2004 and 2007. I'm willing to say that a lot of Red Sox fans don't feel the slightest guilt. When you haven't won in almost a century, you'll do it anyway you can. Just ask A.J. Pierzynski. Plus, there is no proof yet that Manny used the PEDs when he was with the Red Sox. But we can only speculate and guess for now. It's part of the fun for a sports fan.
When I heard the news today, my jaw was half way dropped. I really did not envision this happening. Who's next? Pujols? Quentin? Hamilton? I would be just as surprised as I was today. But then again, nobody's really truly surprised. Because deep inside us, every time some player comes out of nowhere to become the next best thing. We have that thought in our head questioning his integrity. That's what the game has become. A game of doubts and guessing as to who is legit and who is not. It shouldn't have gotten to this point. However, if it wasn't for steroids, baseball would not be what it is today. As great as it is, it's a tainted game full of suspicion and speculation and men who put illegal substances into their body. It's about time that the MLB cracks down on such activities. You don't need home runs to bring all the hot chicks into ball parks. Real fans of baseball appreciate a nice pitcher's dual. I think I've figured that out over the years.
- Stan (White Sox writer)
0 comments:
Post a Comment