Manny suspended 50 games

Manny Ramirez has accepted his suspension for PEDs and it begins tonight. The Dodgers are undefeated at home with a 13-0 record and Manny's absence will surely affect the team as he is scheduled to return on July 3rd in a period where he will lose over 7M in salary.

Ramirez is claiming that a medication that he took is to blame for this outcome. As much as they get paid and most have 2-3 handlers, this could have been avoided if what he is claiming is true. It is very easy to pick up the phone and make a call to confirm if what they are planning to take contains a banned substance. These players owe it to the fans and the game to take all the precautions possible.

It all began with ARod lying to the fans and then later having to retract his statements and apologize. Unfortunately I believe that Manny isn't the only one who will be suspended this year, but he is the biggest name thus far.

As a lifetime baseball fan, I am disheartened by this news and as an educator I am angry that athletes are not taking their role model responsibilities seriously. Children look up to these athletes and having to explain an adult's decision to take PEDs will be hard to do. I just hope that some "natural" players rise from the ashes of the inferno that baseball has become to save America's pastime.