Manny Steroids Bombshell!

Breaking News:

From ESPN.com

"Major League Baseball is expected to announce Thursday that Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez has tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and will be suspended for 50 games, The Los Angeles Times is reporting."

[My Take: There have been whispers about this before. Jose Canseco took what looked like a shot in the dark and proclaimed that he was "90% sure that Manny Ramirez was on the juice."

As much as you hate the guy for blowing the whistle on the steroids era, more often than not, Jose Canseco is on the mark when it comes to who's using steriods and who is not.]

Canseco Calls Out Manny on Steroid Use

Jose Canseco is still at it. After achieving the ultimate "I told you so” moment on baseball in the wake of Alex Rodriguez’s admitted steroid use, Canseco is back to naming names. This time it is Dodger slugger Manny Ramirez who Canceso is grouping among the growing list of performance enhancers. Speaking at the Brovard Auditorium on the USC campus recently Canseco stated he was “ 90% sure “ Manny’s name was also on the list of 104. While Canseco admitted he had no real proof to back up his claim he cited the owners reluctance to sign him this winter as evidence to his allegations. When Manny Ramirez was asked about Canseco’s accusations he just laughed, saying “ I got no comment, nothing to say about that. What can I say? I don’t even know the guy.”

If you played in the MLB over the last 10 + years you are guilty by association of steroid use. Regardless if you are a career minor leaguer or a future Hall of Famer there is a cloud of suspicion over everyone’s head. Up to this point the master outer Jose Canseco has proven to be pretty accurate on the names he’s linked to steroid use. This time though I think he’s just trying to create a buzz for himself. We all know his current money troubles and this is a perfect way for him to get a few public appearance paychecks. He admittedly has no proof but there’s no better way to drum up attention for himself than to call out one of the biggest names in the game today. At this point I’m just tired of Jose. Yes he did blow open the door on steroid use, job well done Jose. I don’t need to hear him name a new name every month just so he can get some attention. Jose should be working on his celebrity boxing career and let the game of baseball try to move on.

Go Away, Jose

Jose Canseco is calling out baseball once again. This time it’s for an apology. The man who blew the whistle on steroid use in baseball, says he’s been called a liar and treated as an outcast. Now he wants the MLB to apologize and restore his “good name”. He also says that he wants to assist baseball in moving past the steroid era. He’s proposing working with baseball to help educate youth on the dangers of steroid use.

Should anyone be surprised that we’re are hearing from Canseco a day after Alex Rodriguez’s press conference to clear the air about his steroid use? Absolutely not. While maybe Canseco has turned out to be truthful in his two books about steroid use in baseball, he was so in the least noble way. Regardless of his statements about writing the books to ‘help the game’ or ‘open people’s eyes to the problem’ it was pure and simple all about the money. If Canseco truly cared about the game, he could have gone to Bud Selig or gone to the media. He didn’t do this however, he opened the door on steroid use with a blatant cash grab. Now Canseco is calling for an apology and offering to help out baseball with his problems.

Actually, Canseco is looking to get his name in the papers and likely looking for a job. We all know the immense financial trouble he’s been in of late. These latest statements are just an attempt to sell more books or make more public appearances. I don’t think baseball owes anything to Mr. Canseco. He made his money in the game and now all he’s trying to do is bleed the game for more. While he has been honest about steroid use in baseball, he is a completely transparent person. When I hear him speak all I hear is someone desperately seeking the all mighty dollar.

-Robb Lennahan