50 game suspension.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4148907

i had no idea

a friend at work just emailed me this.

i was shocked.

I wonder if he'll explain this as "Manny being Manny"?

I think I'll wait to see what kind of drug he was taking and for what medical condition that caused him to test positive. Something tells me it was medicinal marijuana.

nice!

is pot considered perfomance enhancing? this is sports, not music

The article says he violated the drug policy. Boras says it wasn't steroids. He could've tested positive for greenies too.

What a non-sensational thread title.

if this turns out to be true, my fantasy team is screwed

One of the guys from Baseball Prospectus had this to say: "Just heard a report on what and why Ramirez tested positive. Working to confirm, but ... this is more Romero than A-Rod."

“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,” Ramirez 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.”

it's the headline at tsn.ca

Yes, obviously. But it's catchy.

The first official release said "performance enhancing drugs" so who knows what it is. Could be anything. Could even be a mistake...who knows. Regardless, it sounds like the 50 game suspension is legit and now there will forever be talk and speculation that Manny took 'roids.

That's Manny being Manny.

Which is unfortunate.

I think there's always been at least a little speculation, but he's always been so consistent (even through the OH SHIT EVERYBODY STOP USING period) that it's been a weak argument at best. Everyone who came up in the 90s is suspect, there's no doubt about that.

Then again, let's all remember: Manny is a fucking moron. "My doc prescribed something and I didn't check and see if it was on this big long list of medications and substances" sounds like a pretty plausible explanation to me.

I agree, if all of this is true. Does the doctor hold any responsibility, at least in the MLB's eyes? Granted, Manny still should have checked the list himself. Once again, if all of this is true.

I'll sound slightly like a hypocrite when I say this, but here goes: it's definitely too early to start assigning blame, but where was Scotty Boras through the whole process, too? Manny is a huge investment on his end, and if I were him, I'd make sure all of my investments stuck as close to the rules as possible.

Unrelated: how many confirmed PED users does/has Boras represent(ed)? Manny, A-Rod...? I wonder if people keep track of this.