New Report: Ramirez&Ortiz among the 104 to test positive for PEDs

[Rick]

Report: Manny, Ortiz tested positive  Updated: July 30, 2009, 1:10 PM

Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz were among the 104 major league players listed as having tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003, lawyers with knowledge of the results told The New York Times.

The two were key members of the Boston Red Sox World Series championship teams in 2004 and 2007.

Ortiz declined comment to The Times.

Ramirez, now with the Los Angeles Dodgers, recently came off a 50-game suspension for violating baseball's drug policy by obtaining a prescription for a banned female fertility drug.

In June, The Times reported Sammy Sosa was on the 2003 list, and Alex Rodriguez admitted to have used performance-enhancing drugs after he was linked to the list in February.

Players were tested in 2003 as part of Major League Baseball's survey to determine if it was necessary to impose mandatory random drug testing in 2004. There were no penalties for a positive test in 2003.

As part of the drug agreement between the union and MLB, the results of the testing of 1,198 players also were meant to be anonymous. Penalties began in 2004, and suspensions for a first positive test started in 2005.

Government agents initially obtained search warrants in 2004 for the drug-testing records of 10 players as part of its BALCO investigation that led to Barry Bonds' perjury indictment, but they found the more expansive list on a spreadsheet, obtained additional warrants and seized the larger group of records.

The union went to court, arguing the search was illegal, and three U.S. District judges agreed.

The government appealed, and a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for the government, but the entire 9th Circuit threw out the reversal and decided to hear the case itself. The hearing was in December, and the decision is pending. The losing side could then appeal to the Supreme Court.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4366335

Does this mean the Red Sox will have an asterick next to their 2004 and 2007 World Series Championships?? 

[Denver_Bronco]

Ortiz would never do such a thing. You can test him everyday........he said so.....

Nice career buddy. Enjoy your final season, you fat bastard.

[MaineDolFan]

And in related news, water is still wet.

*yawn*

[StL FinFan]

yep, and the sky is still blue

who cares anymore

[jtex316]

I love it. What a joke.

[YoFuggedaboutit]

I've stopped caring about this a long time ago

[Phishfan]

You guys stopped caring because neither of these is a shock. As soon as another "squeaky clean" name appears I bet each of you will be all over it.

[StL FinFan]

You guys stopped caring because neither of these is a shock. As soon as another "squeaky clean" name appears I bet each of you will be all over it.

You are right. 

If someone not suspected in the first place tested postitive, it would be a shock.

[YoFuggedaboutit]

You are right. 

If someone not suspected in the first place tested postitive, it would be a shock.

I know this will probably never happen, but I'd love to hear how Maine would react if Josh Beckett suddenly appeared on the list. 

[MaineDolFan]

^What does it matter?  My friendship with Josh is seperate from what he and I do for a living.

[MaineDolFan]

You guys stopped caring because neither of these is a shock.

Don't put words in my mouth.  As a guy that has been around the game my whole life, I care.  I care a lot.  And, if this is true, it's very disappointing.

Where the *yawn* factor comes in is that this is to 1,000,000th time I've heard Ortiz's name linked to that list.  Show me proof and I'll believe it.

The fact of the matter is this:  every team...and I mean EVERY ONE, Yankee fans, has a bunch of players that were on PEDs.  Including your beloved Championship teams of the late 90's / 00's.  It's ignorant for anyone to think otherwise.  So as long as we're * the '04 and '07 season, let's do it for every season since roughly 1993, maybe earlier.

Know someone else on the Red Sox team that I am willing to bet wasn't clean in '04?  Damon.  I've heard rumbles of other names.  And you know what?  Every team they beat that year - from the Yankees to the Angels to the Cardinals - had equal amounts of players on the stuff.

Call out individuals all you like, be careful with the dumbass "let's * a season" talk.  Because that rabbit hole, my friends, goes very deep.

I will also say this one more time - there are literally less than five players in the game today that I would be shocked (and upset) if I found out they juiced.  Everyone else is not above suspicion.

[Phishfan]

Don't put words in my mouth. 

Maybe I should have said something like STL & Tommy have quit caring and Maine is bored, but I just condensed it a bit.

[StL FinFan]

I care, but like Maine said there are very few guys in baseball (all pro sports for that matter) that I would be surprised if I found out they were taking performance enhancing drugs.

[bsmooth]

Since baseball is a game of numbers and has some of the most hallowed records in American sports, this begs a big question.
How do you rank these players that had access to PED's against the previous records holders and greats from generations where the use and accessablility of these types of PED's was almost non exsistent?

[BingeBag]

Two players would blow me away if on the list. Griffey and Jeter.

Next.