There is, of course, a game between the Astros and Cubs tonight, in a couple of hours. But I imagine most of you are still interested in discussing the 50-game suspension handed down to Manny Ramirez today for PED use. We learn here that:
"The substance is not a steroid and it is not human-growth hormone," [a] source said.
Okay, so what was it? Manny said:
"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."
The other passed tests, I think, are irrelevant if he failed one. The second link has this information:
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the substance is supposed to boost sex drive. It is not Viagra, but a substance that treats the cause rather providing a temporary boost in sexual performance, the source said.
So besides not being able to play for the next seven weeks, Manny's going to be the butt of jokes. In the meantime, there are more important issues, the first of which is: the Cubs won't have to face Manny in the four-game series vs. the Dodgers at Wrigley Field from May 28-31. This is excellent news, particularly since his replacement is going to be Juan Pierre, who is just not very good any more (and wasn't that good in his "good" years).
What will this do to the Dodgers and the NL West? Maybe nothing, since there will be 83 games left in the season when Manny is eligible to return. However, the Dodgers were a .500 club -- 54-54 -- when they acquired Manny last July 31. He didn't make a huge difference for them in the regular season -- they were 30-24 with him -- but it was enough to put them in the playoffs. Right now, LA sports the best record in baseball at 21-8 and they have a 6.5 game lead in the NL West, which has no other teams playing over .500. If the Dodgers play .500 ball over the next 50 games, they'll be 46-33, a record which likely still will be good enough to be a division leader.
Still, I am very happy that the Cubs will be facing a depleted Dodger team at Wrigley Field at the end of this month.
I have only one more question, presuming Manny is telling the truth about his reason for testing positive: if you are to be prescribed something in the current climate regarding PED's in baseball, wouldn't it be prudent to have the doctor, yourself, your agent, or all three check first to see if that prescription passes MLB's requirements? Why wouldn't you do this?
Answer that question and I think you'll have the answer as to why Manny was caught.
Did I mention there was a game tonight?
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Russ Ortiz? I mean, seriously, RUSS ORTIZ?!?!!? Just so you don't think the Cubs are the only team wasting money on bad veteran players, the Astros are paying Ortiz $750,000 this year. And he's been bad. 17 walks and 17 hits allowed in 19 innings is bad. He is 3-4, 5.46 lifetime vs. the Cubs in 11 games (9 starts). One of those relief appearances was on April 8, when he gave up three runs in three innings, including the only HR he has allowed this year, a three-run job by Mike Fontenot. It might be a good time to give D-Lee another day off: he's only 3-for-32 lifetime vs. Ortiz. Reed Johnson is 4-for-4 off Ortiz with two doubles and a HR; maybe it's a good day to start him vs. a RHP.
Seriously. There are probably ten pitchers in Houston's farm system who could do better than this.
Ted Lilly was the starter and winner in that April 8 game, despite giving the Astros four home runs (Lance Berkman, Jeff Keppinger, Ivan Rodriguez and Kaz Matsui). Since that game Ted has given up only two homers in 26.2 innings. Lilly has also had excellent control this year, with only six walks in 31.2 total innings. Keep up the good work -- Ted could become the Cubs' first four-game winner tonight.
You might think the reason today's game is on CSN Chicago Plus is the Blackhawks, but you'd be wrong. The hockey game is only on Versus. The White Sox get the main CSN channel tonight. It's also on FSN Houston and on EI. For more games today see the MLB.com Mediacenter.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Overflow comment threads will post today at 8 pm, 9 pm and 9:45 pm CDT.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
0 recs | 116 comments
sorry al,
with the depleted state of the astros farm system, I have to disagree that there are 10 pitchers in their farm system that can do better than that.
tootle - May 7, 2009
Well, maybe.
OK, how about this: there are probably 10 people who will be in the stands at the Juice Box tonight who could do better than Russ Ortiz.
Al Yellon - May 7, 2009
12...I bet there are at least a couple HS pitchers in attendance tonight.
santoswoodenlegs - May 7, 2009
I'll agree with that though.
tootle - May 7, 2009
I hope no one minds a religious reference
because this totally reminds me of that scene in Genesis where Moses tries to bargain for Sodom and Gomorrah, “What if there are just ten righteous people to be found?”… and with Russ Ortiz involved the ending is likely to be just as disastrous.
DGU - May 7, 2009
Manny
isn’t quite The Man any more.
santo4hof - May 7, 2009
Goodbye Houston. We won't miss you.
zevkalman - May 7, 2009
Won't have TIME to miss them
we play the Astros like once a week for the next month and a half.
Allie - May 7, 2009
Caption: KITT, this game's over, get me outta here.
I hope Theodore’s got his broom handy cos the Cubs are goin’ a-sweepin’.
neverAcquiesce - May 7, 2009
Manny
Lost in all the jokes that are going to pop up (no pun intended) about his sex drive is the fact that drugs like these are used as part of a steroid cycle. These female fertility drugs are very popular amongst juicers. I found this explanation on a website that apparently sells clomid to
So lets not lose sight of the fact that it is very possible that Manny was prescribed this HCG for the same reason that juicers are.
dmlichte - May 7, 2009
Good point.
I read this somewhere also today.
zevkalman - May 7, 2009
Interesting.
daver - May 7, 2009
ya
This is not the case of “I just took some random wrong drug that no one realizes is a banned substance”. I read Game of Shadows a few months ago and once I heard the report that the drug that Manny used was a female fertility drug I immediately drew the tie to Bonds and his use of Clomid. So any athlete and any physician who isn’t brain dead knows the implications of this drug.
dmlichte - May 7, 2009
but manny is brain dead.
tootle - May 7, 2009
but his agent isnt (Boras)
Cubbie-Tim - May 7, 2009
dunno bout that either....
remember, he wanted 5-6 years for someone who turns 37 this year.
tootle - May 7, 2009
He's not brain dead
but he is greedy. Sadly, it usually works.
chitownhawkeye - May 7, 2009
I assumed that he was in fact
trying to juice without being caught and his pathetic excuse should not let him get away with pretending it was anything else. However funny state of affairs when he would apparently rather be tagged as a guy who has trouble getting and keeping it up then a juicer. The Boras press machine must be in overdrive.
Doggie Stalker - May 7, 2009
indeed
I just hope that the fans realize that there is much more to this than Manny having problems in bed.
dmlichte - May 7, 2009
more to this than Manny having problems in bed
not to be stupid, but can a female fertility drug help a guy in bed?
Cubbie-Tim - May 7, 2009
Manny is a hermaphrodite
bheidge - May 7, 2009
apparently
the drug he took supposedly boosts testosterone production and inhibits estrogen absorbtion.
tootle - May 7, 2009
possibly
I read one article that said that such drugs could help with a man’s sex drive.
dmlichte - May 7, 2009
Which is irrelevant really
in today’s game, you shouldn’t be taking anything that could show up on a drug test. If it was legit, why didn’t several layers of personnel, doctors and trainers, tell him to stay away from it.
chitownhawkeye - May 7, 2009
The story goes (and again I'm not interested in defending Manny)
that his doctor looked at last year’s list.
DGU - May 7, 2009
if you make $24M a season
no reason to not have it checked out by MLBPA before taking it.
Cubbie-Tim - May 7, 2009
If you make $24M a season
and you want to use a PED,
no reason not to buy the best PEDs that aren’t detectable by current testing.
DGU - May 7, 2009
Sadly
That’s very true.
chitownhawkeye - May 7, 2009
Bill Murray definitely will be making an appearance tonight!
at least I hope….
Chanman25 - May 7, 2009
Well I guess they won't be winning
eleven in a row at home anymore…
neverAcquiesce - May 7, 2009
Eleven?
Don’t you mean thirteen?
cubswynn - May 7, 2009
Yup.
Cheers.
neverAcquiesce - May 7, 2009
Well, you have to win 11 in a row before you can win 13 in a row.
But they probably won’t be doing either.
Al Yellon - May 7, 2009
I know winning 13 in a row is always impressive
but when you take into account that all 13 wins are against teams that are currently under .500, it becomes a tad less impressive. Also the fact that the team is just 8-8 on the road means that the Dodgers aren’t nearly as good as ESPN would like one to believe
BoVandy - May 7, 2009
If you're sweeping a bunch of teams early in the season....
that alone will hurt their records, so being under .500 isn’t that big of a deal.
santoswoodenlegs - May 7, 2009
they're the NL West teams, and Washington
does that make it less impressive?
BoVandy - May 7, 2009
Technically yes
on the other hand, they’ve got a nice divisional lead, so what difference does it make if they’re a weak team, they still make the playoffs and have a chance.
chitownhawkeye - May 7, 2009
not really....
winning that many games in a row is impressive no matter who you play.
santoswoodenlegs - May 7, 2009
which is what I said in the beginning, however ESPN is holding the team up as the second coming
of murderer’s row. They’ve played a ton of games against poor teams, and are just 8-8 on the road.
BoVandy - May 7, 2009
its not the BCS
a win is a win, right?
Cubbie-Tim - May 7, 2009
GO CUBS GO!!!
lets sweep the ’stros!!!
KC in OK - May 7, 2009
I'll try to post some photos
I’ll be at the game. Dunno if I can post photos to BCB from my phone, but I’ll probably tweet some. (twitter.com/dlee)
And the twittername isn’t Cubs related, that’s my first initial/last name. People ask me if Derrek Lee is my favorite player because of that, but I probably have to go with Z of the current lineup.
false cognate - May 7, 2009
Have fun! :)
I’m jealous!
Go Cubbies!
slcathena - May 7, 2009
Hey, Russ Ortiz!
Why the long face?
daver - May 7, 2009
aaa-OOOO
El Borto - May 7, 2009
17 walks already?
Time to practice some plate discipline and push that way over 20 tonight.
chitownhawkeye - May 7, 2009
I wonder how long ESPN will run continuous Manny clips...
…over the next week?
cubswynn - May 7, 2009
You think it will stop in a week?
slcathena - May 7, 2009
Good point.
But at some point they have to start hyping up the next Red Sox/Yankees series.
cubswynn - May 7, 2009
Which is when
they start questioning how many of those games were tainted by God A and God B.
And whether or not Brett Favre had anything to do with it.
neverAcquiesce - May 7, 2009
Are you kidding?
It’s HCGate ’09!
neverAcquiesce - May 7, 2009
Remember when Favre un-retired last summer?
Take that, multiply it by 9,871,225,443.88732 and you’ll get your answer.
chilango2 - May 7, 2009
Good point.
Let’s make a pledge to focus on the game tonight, rather than Mannywood (who knew that promotion was so ironic).
cubswynn - May 7, 2009
I think it took all of 30 minutes
for that promotion to disappear from the Dodger website.
nji232 - May 7, 2009
It made me giggle.
cubswynn - May 7, 2009
Yeah
just wrong on many levels.
nji232 - May 7, 2009
I have tickets for two of the Dodgers
games. In a way, I was looking forward to seeing Manny. No doubt he is one of the true superstars in the game. And, it is nice to say you beat a team at full strength.
However, with today’s news, I will get over it.
Unfortunately, I CANNOT get over Juan Pierre for two very good pitchers.
Seeing him will remind me of another Hendry brain fart.
The E-Man - May 7, 2009
But there's a chance with Manny
we’d’ve been playing them at Full Strength +1. And that, if true, is called cheating.
neverAcquiesce - May 7, 2009
I have tickets for that series as well
and my a-hole Dodgers fan friend is coming into town for it. It’ll be good.
chilango2 - May 7, 2009
Same here
Coming to town for the series. My nephews were looking forward to seeing Manny from the left field bleachers. I guess they can heckle JP now lol….
LT - May 7, 2009
photo caption: He who smelt it, clearly didn't belt it
ballhawk - May 7, 2009
Perfect!
Al Yellon - May 7, 2009
Long Time Reader 1st Time Poster so take it easy on the rook...
But Normally when I go to games I sit in the bleachers. However next week vs the Padres on Tuesday and Wednesday I have tickets in section 110-1. I was curious if there are any season ticket holders or any regulars that sit in that section a lot. How are the seats, the view, and I am assuming no obstructed view and I am out in the open non underneath the second deck? Any help would be greatly appreciated and lets get a W tonight.
MandMexpress12 - May 7, 2009
Section 110 is down the LF line in the field boxes.
Those are nice seats. Enjoy!
Al Yellon - May 7, 2009
Time to take the two game set
This guy sucks at pitching, Ted Lilly doesn’t. I’m certain Carlos Lee gets his homer tonight, just make it a solo shot and we win 8-1.
nji232 - May 7, 2009
Caption:
Talking in his Dick Tracy watch to Maxwell Smart’s shoe phone.
tucsoncubsfan - May 7, 2009
Would this be a bad time to discuss why Milton hasn't really hit at all yet?
santoswoodenlegs - May 7, 2009
No. Go right ahead.
Why let us stop you?
Al Yellon - May 7, 2009
No
chilango2 - May 7, 2009
Do you all think it's physical, mental or both?
I think he’s pressing and putting too much pressure on himself.
santoswoodenlegs - May 7, 2009
I blame the media and the boo birds
chilango2 - May 7, 2009
Everybody slumps some time.
DGU - May 7, 2009
honestly?
I believe he’s run into some tough outs. BUT – they would only bring him up to the Mendoza line.
Im not worried its but like what? 50-60 abs?
Hammer - May 7, 2009
does anyone know if his swing looks much different from previous years?
santoswoodenlegs - May 7, 2009
I dont
I noticed he is very amped at the plate at all times. Like a crazy amount of adrenaline
Hammer - May 7, 2009
or Testosterone?? Hmmmmmm
I keed I keed
BoVandy - May 7, 2009
No
Also why isn’t Geo hitting? Hopefully his first homer happens tonight.
nji232 - May 7, 2009
Everybody slumps some time.
DGU - May 7, 2009
hey, what are your feelings about slumps?
BoVandy - May 7, 2009
Everybody slumps some time.
DGU - May 7, 2009
Also
I don’t like them.
DGU - May 7, 2009
you know what? Milton's not-hitting doesn't really bother me a bit.
Not when I look at his OBP, currently at .297. If he can keep a +.162 differential (or anything in that vicinity) when he finally does start to hit, I’ll be ecstatic. His (relatively) high OBP tells me that the guy has a good eye and he’s not changing his approach just because he’s stinking up the place. And given that his approach has been highly offensive (heh, heh) in the past, I’m perfectly willing to wait this one out.
Now, w.r.t. my fantasy team (sorry Carmen) yeah he’s pissing me off and I’m open to trading him if someone makes a decent offer…
ballhawk - May 7, 2009
I'll trade you Manny for him.
DGU - May 7, 2009
I'll trade you Juan Pierre for him!
santoswoodenlegs - May 7, 2009
Hmm... I would definitely consider that.
I’ll have to go see who has Manny in our league.
ballhawk - May 7, 2009
Another Braves cast-off on the mound tonight?
Ortiz
LIGHT EM UP!
Clutch16 - May 7, 2009
The other tests
Why are they irrelevant? Do you believe that the current testing is working? If so, then why not believe that Manny wasn’t taking anything until 2009?
If on the other hand the current testing is not working, then does even a positive test really tell us anything other than that Manny won’t be playing for 50 days?
DGU - May 7, 2009
The latter is why the previous tests are irrelevant.
Manny’s obviously mentioning them to try to say, “Hey, I never did this before, so I must not be guilty now.”
Al Yellon - May 7, 2009
Hey, I've never robbed a bank before...
santoswoodenlegs - May 7, 2009
oddly, that's exactly the metaphor I was going to use
BoVandy - May 7, 2009
already our minds are becoming one...
santoswoodenlegs - May 7, 2009
i guess some are still buying the phrase
its only cheating if you get caught.
Cubbie-Tim - May 7, 2009
I guess the question here is -
do you believe he never did it before? That would seem to be relevant for Manny’s HoF case, even if he is totally guilty now.
The general flow of today’s Manny thread seemed to suggest the opposite – that all of his career is suspect now. If you believe that, then the whole testing system seems untrustworthy, including any positive results.
Look, let’s be clear. I have no interest in defending Manny. I just see little to commend the current testing system.
DGU - May 7, 2009
OT: Seinfeld alert - "The Contest" episode is now airing on Fox32 here in Chicago
Wonder if there’ll be more TWSS than usual in the game threads tonight because of that…
ballhawk - May 7, 2009
Anybody listening to the pregame show on WGN?
Did you hear Judd cackle like a witch just a moment ago? Scary.
chilango2 - May 7, 2009
Whew.
Glad I missed that.
Al Yellon - May 7, 2009
I am guessing
he hasn’t shown any improvement
bheidge - May 7, 2009
I'd DFA him
post haste.
chilango2 - May 7, 2009
ORTIZ
LIGHT EM UP!
Hammer - May 7, 2009
Cecil Cooper to give Ortiz game ball if he pitches 5 innings and holds Cubs under 10 runs.
Employee22 - May 7, 2009
10 runs per inning, or 10 runs total?
Cubbie-Tim - May 7, 2009
does anyone have tonights line up handy
MandMexpress12 - May 7, 2009
Drew tells us
Sori Riot Dome Rami Hoff Bradley Fonty Soto Lilly
Clutch16 - May 7, 2009
Still no
Derrek. wonder if this injuries perhaps keeps bobby scales around
MandMexpress12 - May 7, 2009
You said the SECRET WORD!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!
santoswoodenlegs - May 7, 2009
I just hurt my neck
…on Saturday and had to take Mon-Wed off. So I can get where he is coming from.
Hammer - May 7, 2009
I don't know about Scales
but if the neck is still bothering him, I’d much rather he goes on the DL now and tries to get it as healthy as possible.
chitownhawkeye - May 7, 2009
OT - Manny (sorry guys)
can fans sue Selig of MLB for false advertising, with all the PEDs being used, etc?
Cubbie-Tim - May 7, 2009
yep those false advertising suits are
always successful -
doofus cubs guy - May 7, 2009
sure
if they want to flush money down the tube for fun.
Allie - May 7, 2009
oh, oh!
Sign me up
/sarcasm
chitownhawkeye - May 7, 2009
Ortiz
(im out go Cubs)
LIGHT EM UP!
Hammer - May 7, 2009
1PT
Jump!
Clutch16 - May 7, 2009
How can Pete Rose still be banned...
from baseball for gambling, yet those who are caught CHEATING are allowed back?
I hear people say gambling is the biggest sin in baseball. Isn’t cheating the biggest sin in any type of competition?
calicubfan - May 7, 2009
Someone might correct me here
but I think it’s particularly that he gambled on games he managed/played in. At least the cheater is someone we know is trying to win. A gambler can try to lose in order to make money.
So, I guess the question is – do you believe the Black Sox scandal was worse than the Steroid Era scandal?
DGU - May 7, 2009
Don't get me wrong.
What Pete did was shameful and he deserves punishment. I just think a punishment should fit the crime; seeing how all these cheaters continue playing, and Pete is still banned, seems unfair.
calicubfan - May 8, 2009
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