Ramirez Suspended for 50 Games

The scorching hot start to the season by the Los Angeles Dodgers will, undoubtedly, cool off now.  As if we needed any further proof that Manny Ramirez is an idiot and a negative influence wherever he goes, our boy has now been suspended for 50 games for failing a mandatory drug test.  He now joins J. C. Romero of the Phillies in serving a long suspension.

The article in the Los Angeles Times indicates that Ramirez will blame the failed drug test on prescription drugs given him by his physician.  That may be true, but the buck stops with Manny, just as it stops with Romero.  While they both claim no intentional wrongdoing and that they're victims of a negligent physician (Ramirez) or an unscrupulous manufacturer of dietary supplements (Romero), ultimately, they're the ones who chose to put the substances in their bodies, and they're the ones who must bear the consequences of their choices.

Losing Ramirez's big bat for 50 games will undoubtedly hurt the Dodgers' chances of repeating as Western Division champs, but if it's what it takes to clean up the game, I can live with that.