WTF Manny?

This morning I turned to ESPN2 to watch ESPN Radio's Colin Herd on his talk radio show, The Herd. While listening (and watching) I learned that Los Angeles Dodgers slugger, Manny Ramirez has been suspended 50 games for violating Major League Baseball's drug policy.

Jose Conseco called it two months ago, when he wrote on Twitter (yes, Twitter), "Of the 103 unnamed players on the list who tested positive for steroids in 2003, Manny Ramirez's name is most likely on the list, 90%." I'm not sure if Manny was, in fact, on that list but he did fail the piss test.

At this moment no ones allowed to say Manny tested positive for steroids, but tha he "failed a test for MLB's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program." Whatever. Is it steroids he was on? I don't know. I'm sure it wasn't Coco Puffs.

It's been rumored that what Manny took was an over-the-counter drug called HCG. It's a drug known to boost sex drive and is often-times used by people recovering from steroid use and want to bring their testosterone levels back up.

The Yankees' Alex Rodriguez has been one of my favorite players for sometime now, and when I heard about him I about fell out of my chair. while I haven't had the same love for Manny, honestly, I'm shocked. I saw Manny as a goofball who tried to make himself aloof and someone who wants to be different. I always assumed he was one of the "good guys." So much for that. I actually have given nearly all players the benefit of the doubt. Now, I have no idea. Who's next? Jeter, Griffey, Pujols? It makes me wonder about every damn sport. Hell, next we'll find out Dora the Explorer carries around steroids and syringes in her backpack. This whole debacle is messing with fans' minds and is teaching young fans the wrong lesson - that cheating is okay as long as you are a good player, make millions or don't get caught.

Jalen Rose was on The Herd this morning and weighed in on the subject. He made a great point about how baseball is partially to blame saying, "MLB is officially the new WWF. All they need is (Vince) McMahon." He went on to say baseball has done so much to up the scoring like tighten the baseball, lowering the pitches mound, bringing in the fences to allow for more home runs, and who knows what else. It's getting a little ridiculous, if you ask me.

I'm not sure what to think about Manny now. Will I watch him? Probably. I still watch A-Rod after all his crap. But they've heavily tainted my love for the game. And maybe that's the problem; the fact that I've loved the game. Cowherd urged listeners to "like sports and love family. Then you'll never be crushed by this." He's right. We sports fans put too much stock into athletes. But I still wish baseball was different. It's no longer the game I imitated and loved so dearly as a boy growing up, and that hurts. Things need to change or I'm going to give up on the game.