Manny Ramirez will be suspended 50 games for positive drug test

[RShack]

The internet being the internet.

Where's the rope?

I got your rope...

<img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2087/1850664482_0dd189e926.jpg?v=0">

Thanks. The way some folks have been talking, I figured it was around here somewhere.

Attention! Attention! Will the mob please form to the right...

[Flosman]

Please state where I have made up something about Manny. Everyone knows he doesn't really try 100% at defense. It's pretty bad enough that even one of his ex teammates called him a virus or whatever it was I think Bay called him. Or was it Varitek I forget.

Bottom line is, my opinion among others is he doesn't care much for defense and doesn't try 100% at it. There are some out there who think he does. Differing opinions is all it is

Well after I said something you change your tune a little. To paraphrase your first post on the subject, you basically said Manny is a great hitter and he does not even try hard. I really do not have a problem with your revised position and I would even be ok with someone saying Manny is a scumbag who quit on a contending team to force a contract issue. The latter is what I think of him.

[byrdz]

What does this have to do with the O's again?

[alaniee]

For the record, Manny's known to work extremely hard at hitting, and he's apparently a great teammate w/r/t passing along knowledge to young hitters.

No question he works hard at hitting and it shows in his results. I have never heard that he's a great teammate and helping young hitters. If that's true, kudos to him. I've just never heard that. I've heard negative things. Of course we should not believe everything we hear so I'm going to leave it at this, I hope that's true he does help young hitters which is great I just don't like how he plays defense, doesn't look like he even tries. His hitting is another story, marvelous!

[alaniee]

Well after I said something you change your tune a little. To paraphrase your first post on the subject, you basically said Manny is a great hitter and he does not even try hard. I really do not have a problem with your revised position and I would even be ok with someone saying Manny is a scumbag who quit on a contending team to force a contract issue. The latter is what I think of him.

I looked back on my original post and I admit, I was wrong. I should have added the part about defense - that is where I don't think he tries. Maybe he does, just stinks at it and looks like he's not trying I don't know. I just don't think he tries from what I've seen of him playing defense and of course ESPN sportscenter blurbs over the years etc. My bad on my original post.

[Flosman]

Thanks. The way some folks have been talking, I figured it was around here somewhere.

Attention! Attention! Will the mob please form to the right...

Politics are not allowed on this board Shack. Just because this Mob is reactionary, it does not mean it is a right wing mob, however there are alot of conspiracies.

[Gurgi]

Are you saying because of his statistics he's obviously a steroid user OR are you saying the way he looks obviously tells he's on steroids??

What about Albert Pujols, so he's on double steroids?

If you're saying that anyone who looks like Manny is obviously on steroids, then I guess half of baseball is on steroids. Manny isn't that REAL BIG, he looks like many of major league baseball players... So they're all on steroids? Or are you saying cause of his statistics?

Pujols? Probably.

[Gurgi]

I can't know for sure, but given that 80% of baseball was also using steroids, his advantage was somewhat negated. Plus, you still have to be an amazing hitter to put up the numbers he did; steroids can only do so much.

Canseco says over and over in his two books that steriods was the only reason he made the major leagues. It made his bat quicker and made him better in all ways. Canseco probably would of been a career minor league hitter stalling out in AAA.

[Gurgi]

Did juice help him put the bat on the ball?

Yes. This is something you people need to get through your heads. Yes steroids helps hit the ball. It can increase fast twitch muscles. It helps speed the bat. Yes it helps hit the ball. Yes!!!!!!

[Why Not?]

Canseco says over and over in his two books that steriods was the only reason he made the major leagues. It made his bat quicker and made him better in all ways. Canseco probably would of been a career minor league hitter stalling out in AAA.

Ironically, his twin brother also juiced and was pretty much AAAA.

You are, of course, right though. Steroids are a huge help to any athlete.

[Mackus]

Yes. This is something you people need to get through your heads. Yes steroids helps hit the ball. It can increase fast twitch muscles. It helps speed the bat. Yes it helps hit the ball. Yes!!!!!!

Everybody points to Brady hitting 50 HRs as evidence of steroids. Well, did he stop taking him the next year when he only hit 18?

Steroids make people bigger, stronger, faster, and quicker. Obviously all of those traits can be of benefit to a major league player. But just being the biggest, strongest, fastest, or quickest isn't all it takes to be a great player. In some sports that is pretty close to being the case, but its not nearly as linear of a connection in baseball.

[Mad Mark]

Canseco says over and over in his two books that steriods was the only reason he made the major leagues. It made his bat quicker and made him better in all ways. Canseco probably would of been a career minor league hitter stalling out in AAA.

I don't buy that, and I don't believe that Jose does either...once he takes off his "Pied Piper of Steroids" costume. You can be as strong as you wanna be--by whatever means--but if you lack the hand-eye coordination necessary to hit a fastball, you aren't getting to the show. Period.

[Mad Mark]

Yes. This is something you people need to get through your heads. Yes steroids helps hit the ball. It can increase fast twitch muscles. It helps speed the bat. Yes it helps hit the ball. Yes!!!!!!

Yes, it helps...if--and only if--you have the hand-eye coordination to recognize and swing at the ball to begin with.

Even if I was 19, and roided to the gills, I'm still not a candidate for pro baseball. I simply don't have that degree of HEC.

[tvz1997]

I honestly hope that Manny, being a different sort of dude, will eventually come clean about his whole PED history - maybe after retirement.

Didn't somebody on here relay a story about asking Cal about players he thought might be juicing - to which he responded the sluggers in the division wearing the oversized unis - i.e. Ortiz and ManRam. What was that I was hearing about Ortiz losing his power?

[lovetoaster]

Never underestimate the ability of people on the internet to jump to rash conclusions based on next-to-zero information, and hang a guy based on their own knee-jerk reactions.

Now, in a civilized society, we would want to know exactly what he supposedly did, and understand exactly the consequences of the alleged crime... but not here. Here's, all that's required is a fact-challenged headline and, presto, some people are ready to string him up like an angry mob.

I am not "jumping to a rash conclusion," in my opinion. I am just saying that he deserves the suspension because what he was using is illegal in baseball. I am not making any judgements about him, I am just looking at this the most simple and logical (to me at least) way possible.

I don't really care what it was, it was illegal. If he needed it, he could have gotten cleared by MLB. But with people making that much money and that prevalent in the public eye, they better know what they are taking.