Thursday, May 07, 2009

Schadenfreude Comes Home to Roost

As if Manny Ramirez's 50-game suspension weren't painful enough for Dodger fans, now comes we hear the embarrassing news that the banned substance Manny tested positive for was a sexual enhancement drug.

We're going to have some fun with this—one "Mannywood" headline and counting!—and certainly fans of other teams, notably the Giants and Red Sox, and going to give us a hard tough time about it.

But eventually—and maybe some of you have already reached this point—we're going to have some compassion for the guy. It's one thing to take performance-enhancing drugs to make you bigger, faster, stronger. That's macho.

But I can't recall the sexual health of an active athlete being splashed all over the headlines like this. Sure, there were anecdotal allegations of Barry Bonds' shriveled testicles, but that would have been a by-product of steroid use.

Manny's shortcomings difficulties, on the other hand, are all too human. Can you imagine your most sensitive medical condition broadcast to the world?

[UPDATE: Steroids are now a factor. See above post.]

Earlier I wrote that this would be the time to see how the Dodgers respond to adversity. But with all the mudslinging going around, this is also the time to see how Dodger fans can handle being the butt of the sports world's jokes.

Manny is eligible to return to the Dodgers on July 3—unfortunately, the first day of a nine-game road trip, followed by the All-Star Break. Meaning that July 16 will probably be Manny's first game back at Dodger Stadium.

How will Dodger fans greet him? Heckling and jeering? Or a standing O ovation?

Giants fans had their Barry. Now Dodger fans have our Manny. Let's see how we deal with it.

4 comments:

Pedro Guerrero said...

Orel - You got it wrong. Reportedly Manny tested positive for a drug which is not for "sexual enhancement" but rather to induce ovulation in women (as a infertility drug not sexual enhancement, ie a drug like Viagra) or in men, to either boost the body's native testosterone production in and of itself or to allow the body to recover from a cycle of steroids which drain the body of testosterone. It is a maker of PED use similar to what others including Barry Bonds has reportedly been accused as well. Finally HCG levels are used to detect pregnancy.

Orel said...

Thanks, Pedro. Good to see you around.

Jimbo said...

So . . . Manny's pregnant?

Unknown said...

Barry Bonds did not test positive for hCG. He tested positive for Clomid, which is an anti-estrogen and has little indicated use outside breast cancer and anti-aromatase (read excess testosterone from steroids turning into estrogen). hCG has many other indicated uses in men, including sexual function.