According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, Manny Ramirez’s drug test was flagged by MLB for elevated levels of synthetic testosterone, not hCG as was initially believed.

The newspaper reported that no trace of hCG, the banned substance for which the Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder was suspended, was found in his system at the time of the drug test, according to three sources with specific knowledge of the test. But according to one source with knowledge of the test, it was was flagged for having a synthetic testosterone level four times the amount of the average male.

Baseball officials had begun the disciplinary process for the drug test when they obtained Ramirez’s medical records and learned he had a prescription for hCG, which is commonly prescribed for women as a fertility drug and is a banned substance in baseball’s drug program. At that point, Ramirez was suspended for “just cause,” based on the prescription and the fact he had not sought an exemption for it, and Ramirez dropped his appeals and took the suspension, according to the report.

Before the prescription came to light, Ramirez was expected to argue on appeal that the elevated testosterone level was caused by DHEA, according to authorities familiar with MLB’s testing procedure, the Times reported.

The World Anti-Doping Agency considers DHEA a steroid and has banned its use, but it is not a banned substance under baseball’s drug policy. DHEA is produced by the adrenal gland and serves as a precursor to male and female sex hormones.

The Times reported that according to those same authorities, Ramirez’s test would not have been declared a positive if it were known that DHEA had caused the spike in his testosterone-epitestosterone (T-E) ratio.

But one of the three sources with information about the test results said baseball had three “powerful analytic foundations” to say the positive drug test was not caused by DHEA, according to the Times.

I realize this is just a report. Nothing has been confirmed and nothing probably will be confirmed by Manny or MLB. However, this is pretty damning evidence for Ramirez.

Let’s sum this up, shall we?

Manny is told that he will be suspended for a positive PED test. He plans to appeal the suspension on the basis that his positive test was the cause of DHEA, which he knows isn’t on baseball’s banned list. But when he found out that MLB had evidence that the positive drug test was not caused by DHEA, he backed down.

Furthermore, he had elevated testosterone levels four times the amount of the average male. Four…times. And oh-by-the-way, he also had a prescription filled out for hCG, which is a drug known to help restore testosterone levels for those coming off steroid cycles.

This guy was (allegedly) juicing! He was (allegedly) on the juice! He (allegedly) got caught with steroids!

Again, this is just a report so we cannot take it as complete truth, especially when there are unnamed sources involved. But this could possibly be the smoking gun that was begging to come out as soon as the suspension was handed down.

According to a report by ESPN.com, Dodgers’ slugger Manny Ramirez had synthetic testosterone in his body when he was tested this past spring.

Ultimately, Ramirez was brought down by his own private medical records — records that the Major League Baseball Players’ Association turned over on his behalf, as required under the sport’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

The Ramirez saga, as described by three sources with direct knowledge of the case, began to play out in spring training when the 36-year-old outfielder provided a urine sample for testing.
The test came back showing elevated levels of testosterone. Every individual naturally produces testosterone and a substance called epitestosterone, typically at a ratio of 1:1. In Major League Baseball, if the ratio comes in at 4:1 during testing, a player is flagged. In Ramirez’s case, his ratio was between 4:1 and 10:1, according to one source.

Within the records was a prescription written for the drug human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) — No. 55 on the list of banned performance-enhancing substances in the policy. The drug is mainly used for female fertility issues, but it is best known among male steroid users as a substance that can help kick-start the body’s production of natural testosterone, which is stymied when using synthetic testosterone (aka steroids).

The biggest question left unanswered in all of this is how long Manny was taking PEDs. Did he start in Boston? Did he start last offseason when he and Scott Boras were trying to get him a long-term contract? Barry Bonds started using when his body was falling apart, so Manny could have started using PEDs when he got to L.A., although it’s doubtful. Either way, we can’t come to any conclusions on when he started using – we can only speculate.

But one thing is for sure – the smoking gun will eventually come out. It did with Bonds, Michael Vick, Roger Clemens (well, sort of – if you believe Brian McNamee it came out) and Alex Rodriguez. Eventually some reporter stumbles onto the most damning evidence of them all, and I’m sure Manny’s situation won’t be the exception.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Manny Ramirez recently met with Dodgers’ owner Frank McCourt and general manger Ned Colletti since being suspended for 50-games for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug and as expected, McCourt ain’t happy.

McCourt is said to be furious with Ramirez and was demanding that the All-Star outfielder call him, according to sources familiar with the situation who weren’t authorized to discuss the matter.

Among McCourt’s other demands is that Ramirez address his teammates. One source said that is “unlikely” to happen today when the Dodgers conclude an 11-game homestand, but “might” take place during the six-game trip that starts Tuesday in Philadelphia. A possibility exists that Ramirez could face the team on the second half of the trip, in his off-season hometown of Miami.

What was clear on Saturday was that the issue of Ramirez’s speaking to his teammates was more important to McCourt than it was to Dodgers Manager Joe Torre.

“I don’t think addressing the team is necessary,” Torre said. “I think it is important that the players get a chance to say something. I don’t think we need anything formal.”

I don’t blame McCourt one bit for being furious about this entire situation. He and Colletti had to do the negotiation dance with Manny and his agent for months before Ramirez finally agreed to a two-year, $45 million contract in March. And for all his trouble, McCourt now has to sit idle as his best hitter and marketing piece miss 50 games because Manny got caught masking steroids tested positive for a PED.

Far be it for me to disagree with anything Joe Torre has to say, but I side with McCourt in that Manny needs to address the team. He needs to look his teammates in the eyes and say, “I screwed up and I need to pay for what I did. But if you’ll have me back, I’ll make it up to you in July when I come back.” I think Manny personally addressing the situation is better than everyone attempting to sweep it under the rug until after the 50-game suspension. He needs to show a little humility and I think his teammates would respect that (even if the rest of us wouldn’t).

Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe urges everyone to be careful before judging Manny Ramirez on his 50-game suspension, because the slugger could be telling the truth that steroids had nothing to do with his positive drug test.

If there’s a profile of a banned substance abuser — and I’m not sure there is — Manny does not fit it. Sudden change in body configuration? Nope. Big surge in power output? Nope. Manny never even hit 50. He did have a homer jump from 26 in 1997 to 45 in 1998, but that was after hitting 31 in 1995 and 33 in 1996. He was a maturing young slugger; that’s all. I think.

But Manny has otherwise been a consistent power hitter for the last dozen years. There have been no red flags.

It’s very easy, and logical, to accept the idea that Manny has just messed up. Consider that the reason pitcher J.C. Romero is currently serving his 50-game suspension for use of a banned substance is that he swears he had absolutely no reason to think there was anything sinister in what he was given. J.C. sure wasn’t getting by on his heat. I’m inclined to believe him.

But if Manny isn’t telling the truth, then we are once again reminded that this quest of ours to evaluate baseball in both its recent past and its present may be a fruitless endeavor. If Manny has done something bad knowingly, we can assume he’s not the only one, and then we are back in the business of suspecting anyone who hits a home run (Well, maybe not in Yankee Stadium). I hate that.

If Manny is telling the truth, shouldn’t it be easy to prove? There would be some kind of doctor’s record, correct? We really should be able to get to the bottom of it, correct? This doesn’t mean that if Manny has indeed innocently ingested a no-no product he shouldn’t do the time. Players are ultimately responsible for what goes in to their bodies, and they all have to know the rules. But if that really is what happened, at least we can breathe the big sigh of relief and go back to focusing our wrath on real cheaters, like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.

I just can’t shake the fact that Manny would take a drug like HCG without intending to use it as a trigger for testosterone production, which is depleted by steroid use. And if he did have erectile dysfunction, why would a physician (if Manny even saw) prescribe a women’s fertility drug over Viagra or Cialis? It just doesn’t add up, although I’m not a physician so maybe there is a logical explanation behind it. (Plus, let’s not discount the fact that Manny is a freaking kook and might have taken the drug because he thought it would give him mystical powers or something.)

Chances are that we’ll never get a full explanation as to why Manny took the drug, at least not one that wasn’t fed to him by the Dodgers’ P.R. staff. When he comes back from his suspension, he’ll likely give all the cookie-cutter responses like, “I just want to move on” and “I’m not talking about that anymore – I’m here to help my team win.”

Either way, let’s hope that this suspension means that MLB is finally starting to control its steroid problem and that it won’t be afraid to hand out more lofty suspensions to prominent stars.

For at least a moment, let’s put away all of the Manny-Ramirez-disgraced-the-game headlines and talk a little baseball, shall we?

Who stands to gain the most from Manny’s 50-game suspension? Your answer might be the San Francisco Giants.

The Dodgers are the best team in the NL West regardless whether or not Ramirez is in their lineup. Andre Ethier is absolutely raking at the plate, Orlando Hudson is getting on base like it’s his life mission and 24-year old Chad Billingsley (5-0, 2.21 ERA, 42 Ks) is pitching like a Cy Young candidate.

The loss of Manny certainly hurts, but it’s not like the Dodgers have been a one-man wrecking crew in amassing the league’s best record to this point. Guys like Ethier, Hudson, James Loney and a couple of live arms in the starting rotation are good enough to compete in a weak NL West with or without Ramirez.

But there’s no question that having Manny in the lineup makes Ethier, Hudson and Loney better, while Juan Pierre (Ramirez’s sub in left field) is a massive drop off in every offensive category outside of stolen bases. The bottom line is that the Dodgers are a better offensive club with Ramirez in the lineup – much better.

Heading into Friday’s action, the Dodgers own a 5.5-game lead over the Giants, a 7.5-game lead over the Padres and 8.5-game leads over the Diamondbacks and Rockies in the NL West. Arizona can’t hit and is in turmoil after firing manager Bob Melvin, Colorado still has plenty of young talent but has been inconsistent to this point and one has to wonder if San Diego will stay competitive long enough not to be tempted to trade ace Jake Peavy in order to start building for the future.

That leaves San Francisco, who at 14-13 certainly isn’t a powerhouse, but it has enough pieces to make a run at the Manny-less Dodgers.

The Giants’ offense is absolutely horrid and they currently rank dead last in runs scored. Their lineup has zero pop outside of cleanup hitter Bengie Molina, they don’t have a true leadoff hitter (Fred Lewis is trying, but has already stated he’s uncomfortable with the role after batting third all spring), and their first basemen (Travis Ishikawa and Rich Aurilia) are hitting a combined .196.

But what’s intriguing about San Fran is its pitching staff, which currently ranks sixth in ERA and has given up the third least runs in all of baseball. Granted, the Dodgers have given up the least amount of runs and ranks second in ERA, but that’s why I made a point to state that they’re still the best in the division regardless of Manny’s absence.

The Giants’ pitching staff is comprised of three former Cy Young winners in Tim Linececum, Randy Johnson and Barry Zito (who is actually pitching very well this season despite being 0-2). Toss in two promising youngsters in Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez and the G-Men have one of the best starting fives in all of baseball. The bullpen isn’t spectacular, but if it can at least remain steady the Giants will be in most ballgames.

That said, the offense has to start producing. Outside of Molina and youngster Pablo Sandoval, the lineup is full of holes. Lewis is among the league leaders in strikeouts, Randy Winn is in the midst of a brutal slump and Aaron Rowand continues to fail to live up to the huge contract he signed last offseason. But the good news is that Edgar Renteria and Emmanuel Burriss are starting to come around at the dish and if manager Bruce Bochy could stop fighting his desire to play the veterans in the outfield, Nate Schierholtz has flashed potential as well.

The Giants and Dodgers are set to begin a three-game series tonight in L.A. Maybe this set will offer a small glimpse of whether or not the G-Men can hang with the Dodgers while Ramirez rides out his suspension. Either way, Giants-Dodgers is the second best rivalry in baseball next to Yankees-Red Sox and fans need something to get excited about in the wake of Ramirez’s 50-game absence.

Related Articles:

– Source: Ramirez tested positive for sexual enhancer

– Manny: Drugs came from physician for personal health issue

– Manny Ramirez to be suspended 50 games for positive PED test

According to Yahoo! Sports, the illegal substance that Manny Ramirez tested positive for is supposed to boost sex drive.

Two sources said Ramirez tested positive for a gonadotropin. Major League baseball’s list of banned substances includes the gonadotropins LH and HCG, which are most commonly used by women as fertility drugs. They also can be used to trigger testosterone production. Testosterone is depleted by steroid use, which can cause sexual dysfunction.

“Testosterone and similar drugs are effective for erectile dysfunction in that they jazz up your sex drive,” said Charles Yesalis, a professor at Penn State who has testified before Congress on issues of performance-enhancing drugs. “But far more clinicians accept that affect with Viagra and Cialis. It’s hard for me to understand if it was erectile dysfunction why they would use it.”

Ramirez tested positive for the substance during spring training, then was administered a second test more recently, and it also was positive. Major League Baseball notified Ramirez of the second positive test after Wednesday night’s Dodgers victory over the Washington Nationals. Ramirez admitted to having taken the substance and declined to appeal. His 50-game suspension begins today.

“The substance is not a steroid and it is not human-growth hormone,” the source said.

Hey, you can’t fault a man for taking something to add a little pep in his step, but the question is – why did he take it? Was he using it to correct erectile dysfunction because he was on steroids and his testosterone was depleted? Or was it just because he has erectile dysfunction? If it’s the latter, then it’s hardly anyone’s business and it’s unfortunate that Ramirez was suspended 50 games for it. But if it’s the former, then he should fry.

Either way, you can’t blame MLB for having LH and HCG on the list of banned substances because you don’t know if players are using it to mask their steroid use. And considering he tested positive for the substance in spring training, what a slap in the face of the Dodgers, who Manny and Scott Boras put through negotiation hell all offseason.

Related Articles:

– Manny: Drugs came from physician for personal health issue

– Manny Ramirez to be suspended 50 games for positive PED test

After being suspended by Major League Baseball for 50 games for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, Manny Ramirez released an official statement saying the drugs were from a physician he saw in Florida for a personal health issue. Ramirez also won’t appeal the suspension.

“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. “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. I want to apologize to [Dodgers owner Frank] McCourt, Mrs. McCourt, [manager Joe] Torre, my teammates, the Dodger organization, and to the Dodger fans. LA is a special place to me and I know everybody is disappointed. So am I. I’m sorry about this whole situation.”

After consultation with the Players’ Association and his personal representatives, Ramirez waived his right to challenge the suspension. He will lose nearly $8 million of his $25 million salary.

I don’t know if it’s fair to make assumptions at this point, but for Major League Baseball to hand out a 50 game suspension, you know Manny had to be on something significant. Or else why wouldn’t he or the Dodgers try to appeal the suspension? The Dodgers stand to lose a ton of money because of this ruling, especially when you consider how their entire 2009 marketing campaign centers around Ramirez. So they must know an appeal would be a lost cause.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Dodgers react to this on the field. They currently have the best record in baseball and play in a weak NL West, but everything revolves around Ramirez in that lineup. Players like Orlando Hudson and Andre Ethier have greatly benefited from hitting around Manny and L.A.’s offense takes a huge hit with him out of the lineup.

If the Giants, Padres, Diamondbacks and Rockies were looking for a jolt, they just got one.

Related Articles:

– Source: Ramirez tested positive for sexual enhancer

– Manny Ramirez to be suspended 50 games for positive PED test