Manny Ramirez has been banned from baseball for 50 games for violating league anti-doping rules. His side of the story is that he took medication without checking what it was, and he adds that he's been tested 15 times over five years and hasn't flunked once.
My side is that I was never very interested in the finger-pointing, back-and-forth and complete silence of the steroid situation, so I'm just going to point at the irony.
Ramirez came pretty closing to coming down to the wire with his salary negotiations this year, and in the end, he notched a nice $25 million contract. Now, he has to give back a little over $7 million of that and not play for 50 games.
The poor Los Angeles Dodgers, who not only gave him that contract (knowing that he's no Cal Ripken) but also renamed part of their seats after him ("Mannywood"...and yes, he's been there less than a full season), have seen ticket sales jump with Ramirez in town. Only time will tell, of course, how much a part of the increase in profits for the team he has been, but the more worrisome point for the Dodgers is what they have to deal with right away: keep winning.
Los Angeles just broke the modern record for games won in a row at home, pulling out their 13th in a 10-3 drubbing of the Washington Nationals.
Unlucky number, unlucky player...if the Dodgers make it through this hiccup and are still alive in July when Ramirez comes back, pick them to go all the way.
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