NYT: Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, the sluggers who propelled the Boston Red Sox to end an 86-year World Series championship drought and to capture another title three years later, were among the roughly 100 Major League Baseball players to test positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003, according to lawyers with knowledge of the results.
Article Source: NBC Sports
from:NBC SportsOrtiz, Ramirez reportedly on 2003 PEDs list
Seeded on Thu Jul 30, 2009 12:52 PM EDT (NBC Sports)
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Well its official. The recent Red Sox championships have been forever tainted. Arguably the team's (and possibly league's) best players during that time period were caught juicing.
They should test Schilling's bloody sock for PEDs. I'm psyched to read his blog with this news coming to light. Always entertaining.
Go Yankees!
If this surprises anyone then you're simply an idiot. Manny was a given, we already know he tested positive for a drug that helps jump start natural testosterone production after ending a steroid cycle. Ortiz was left for dead by the Twins, no one even wanted him in a trade, then all of a sudden he's one of the best hitters in baseball? Not likely! People need to look past all the nice personalities and community work these guys do and don't act surprised when Pujols' name comes out as being on the list either, I'd say it's probably 99% on the list!
I think it'll be hard to find any team that won the title that didn't have someone who was using something - caught or not caught. That's the woe of the "steroid era" - sadly, everyone is suspect.
I think we all know why Ortiz suddenly can't find his power - the needle that was hiding it is probably put away because of the drug testing the league now has.
The only thing that saddens me is that so many of the great records were broken and tainted by roiders. The single season and career home run records are forever asterisked, even if only in the eyes of the fans (except for a few of the Giants fans who choose to insert fingers into ears and go "la la la").
Aaron and Maris deserved better.
This just confirms that testing over time has been haphazard at best. Does this imply that ARod cheated? How about any other number across the spectrum?
Piece meal disclosure has torn apart the league. Release the entire testing results, or keep your mouths, and "affiliated by not authorized to disclose" putzes mute.
Pujols.......PUJOLS..... You're on the clock.
Excellent post!!
GO YANKEES!!!!!!!! RED SOX S#%K!!!
What is up with the Pujols hating? If he did it he will be caught and he will rightly suffer like all the rest. But to jump on him because your little hero has already been caught is a little childish, actually, it is a lot childish. GTFU nad stop acting like you have ben personally attacked when your idle is hit with drug charges. Ortiz was and is a good guy, feel bad for him, but Manny is a putz, don't feel bad for him at all......
I find it amusing -- if insulting -- that Yankees fans are exulting in this news when proven cheater A-Roid is hitting for your "we buy our World Series championships" team after being exposed for the liar and user he is. When you weed out all the cheaters in pinstripes -- Where is Clemens right now? Perjuring himself before Congress again? -- then you can cast a stone in Boston's direction.
You are kidding right? Your best hater arguement is that the boss has spent money to bring championships to NY? Every fan in baseball should expect that from the owner. Are you telling me that Boston didn't go out and pay schilling. papi, manny, etc,etc. Are you just retarded in Boston or what? Get a grip because I see that Boston has spent a ton on free agents and trades themselves so your arguement is complete drivel. Clemens has yet to be charged and there is no evidence of a positive test as of yet. If he cheated then I think that he gets what he deserves. If you cheat you cheat no matter what the uniform is but, get off of that you buy Championships crap as that is the goal of every team.
These leaked report results, coming out in dribs and drabs, are morally wrong. Yes, they do taint the accomplishments of many players. But as to tainting the Red Sox World Series victories in 2004 & 2007, I don't agree. We know Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz tested positive for steroids or some other Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED), as did Alex Rodriguez. We know that Clemens was implicated in the use of PED by the Mitchell Report and is now facing probable indictment for lying to Congress on this subject. These allegations were strengthened by Andy Pettite's public comments on the subject.
So the Yankees post season results in the late 90s and at least up through 2003 are equally suspect.
We also know there are at least an other 90 players who tested positive in these "annonymous" 2003 tests, and that these tests did not include human growth hormones.
Bottom line: Nobody knows how extensive steroid use was during the mid-90s and onwards through at least 2003. If 104 players tested positive, what are the chances any team in the Major League has not had one or more of these players on their roster. Certainly the Yankees did in 2000 and apparently the Red Sox did as well in 2004.
Chris, it isn't Pujols hating but personally I feel we've all become a little jaded toward these faux "great" players and I'm sick of hearing how great the guy is only to find out somewhere down the line, sooner than later I hope, that he's on the list, which if odds were given in Vegas would be around 100-99. It's not about Pujols, it's about the let down. Think about it, '98 was great, til we found out about Big Mac and Sammy being on the juice. Then A-Rod was supposed to be the one to wipe the slate clean and remove Bonds from even being a discussion til we found out he was on the juice. Now the lovable Ortiz, who doesn't have an enemy in the world, til we found out he was on the juice. Now "the greatest player in baseball" is getting so much praise (did you watch anything surrounding the All-Star game) and we're only going to be let down once more when we find out, you guessed it, he was on the juice! So we may as well soften the blow now and stop praising the guy so much when in all likelihood it's artificial performance.
ummmmm knoblach, justice , pettite , clemens , giambi.. should i keep going?.... kevin brown , jason grimsley , gary sheffield , ron villone , mike stanton , darren holmes.. just to remind mr. gilchrest.. you jackass.......
taint ....it isn't just another body part.
Imagine that...the NEW YORK Times reports something against a BOSTON Red Sox player and can't say who their source is. Why, because the lawyers they paid off to "get" the "info" from can't speak about it because of the pending litigations...hmmm?
Hey Evan...if this taints the BoSox recent championships...the yanks have been linked to steroids more then any other team in MLB. Your billion dollar man a rod was also on that list if you remember. Stop being "that" yanks fan and actually have a clue what youre talking about next time you choose to open your mouth.
what about the mitchell report . a sitting board member of the red sox and resident douchebag ... no wonder the yanks and mets got killed . that report was BS!!! all of the teams in the league had users, but he only looked into the new york teams... what goes aroung comes around , just a little Karma for all of you beantown boosters.
Are you actually trying to suggest that the NY Times could be lying about this? The bottom line is, I can't think of one player on any team that has been falsely accused of being a juicer by any major newspaper.
Actually, if you look at the list of all of the players suspected, reported and suspended its pretty close. I think Texas is #1. The problem is that oftentimes players move teams. Instead of just shouting out statistics, do the research and then make a post.
The Yankees are irrelevant. The bottom line is, your two championships in the last 86 years are tainted.
Evan wrote: "Are you actually trying to suggest that the NY Times could be lying about this?" Please tell me you are joking evan, cause you CANT be that nieve to think the NYT doesnt lie.
in they eyes of yanks fans yes they are tainted. as for the rest of the mlb world they are not. since the yanks were made the fools in 2004 by the Sox...and a rod trying to cheat by slapping the glove...yanks fans have been looking for something like this to make you feel all warm and fuzzy. enjoy it my friends, cause when the list is made public, or more names come out, the yanks will top the list. mcnamee was in the yanks clubhouse too long to not have many, many customers
Your grabbing at straws on this one. It would be like me trying to defend Roger Clemens because he has only been accused but not actually caught. If you don't want to believe the NY Times, thats fine. You're entitled to your opinion (as crazy as it might be). The rest of us that live in reality know that the chances that this story turns out to be false are slim to none.
Actually, I know a lot of baseball fans that will view the Sox success in '04 and '07 as a manufactured hoax. Clearly, your most valuable players that were instrumental to your success were cheaters. The accomplishments now bear an asterisk. The pride of your nation has been irreparably damaged. In a way, I feel bad for you. The thing about the Yankees is that our success spans a century. Your success spans a decade at the height of the "Steroid Era."
who the hell cares?
No one finds it interesting that these so called Lawyer are only leaking Dominican players from the list.
First A.Rod, Sosa now Ortiz. Something sounds fishy.
It's not biased toward Dominican players but steroids are readily available there and are probably promoted. Obviously it would be harder for US players to get steroids inside the borders than it would be for a Dominican player to go to the local convenience store and pick some up.
A Rod, Giambi, Clemens, Petit...
Brian McNamee, the former New York Yankees former strength and conditioning coach. hmmmm, maybe you are right len...I wonder WHY all these yanks are popping up positive?!
If that list comes out, my money's on more yanks names are on it than any other team!
there was a report the the sox had a trainer that explained how to use steriods , ped's whatever.. i'm sure that manny and ortiz aren't the only ones in that club house to use... now they're all under a cloud.
and the report you are speaking of, died quickly and never had any backing what-so-ever. i'm sure there will be more Sox players to come out on this list however, with brian mcnamee in the yanks clubhouse for years...and the center of the roids scandal...im sure there will be far more yanks on this list
thats your excuse....if they would have done a fare and comprehensive report at the start , there wouldn't be any of these questions. and if you think that the sox aren't as deeply into this as other teams , keep drinking that kool aid.
Oh really, tell us something we already didn't know. When is Ivan Rodriguez's name going to be added to the list
First off, Gilchrest, you're a wuss.
Second, anyone that didn't see this coming has their head up their ass. I'm saddened to see that Papi did PED's, but in no way surprised. I expected to hear it eventually. To be honest, as this point I wouldn't be surprised to hear that Bronson Arroyo, Mark Belhorn, Pokey Reese and Doug Mirabelli were all doing them, too... And yes, I expect there are more Yankees on that list than any other team, but that is simple economics. The users, as a group, put up the best numbers... which commanded the highest salaries... which the Yankees have always been willing to pay...
Hah. Sector 5? I'll see you at the finish line...
The biggest reason the Yankees have the highest salary has more to do with the size of it's market than the size of it's wallet. Any agent that meets with Brian Cashman that represents any player with a halfway decent resume can assume that X number of fans will spend X money on X number of jerseys. The agent can further argue that said player should get a piece of that in the form of a lucrative contract.
This is why small market teams with INSANELY rich owners don't pay a lot of free agents. It's not as if they can't afford to bid for a player, it's that they aren't obligated because of ticket/merchandise sales to pay nearly as much as a big market team. Simple economics.
wtf? Why dont they just release the list? Are they really just going to let each name leak out on its own? Sellig is a fool.
the list was taken by the feds from mlb to ask everyone on it that popped positive to give up their source of roids. now the scumbag little lawyers that need money are selling the names off it to scumbag news papers like the nyt...i guess the only way we will knkow if the names are in fact on the list is for the players to come forth and admit using roids. otherwise we will have a clemens' situation...
this list was never supposed to be released to anyone since it was the first year that mlb did testing. but i will agree that selig is an ass for not destroying the list after it was made and before someone got their dirty little hands on it...aka the feds and their scum bag lawyers.
was that enough research Evan...? you moron!
I was calling for the list to be made public after A-Rod's name came out. How can you have one player named and leave the other 99 to everyones imagination?
Drip, Drip, Drip! Feed the masses with minute info, and reap the benifits of uncontrolled media exposure. Any exposure is good exposure, right?
Who should be exempt from having their name published, based on test results? Have the agents and lawyer's attained such a status that they can suppress exposure?
Be what it is, ALL the drug era statistics, "accomplishments", and achievements need an **** after the record. Ties in completely with the high tech swim suit records, that may not be broken for decades.
Stop crying and face the reality!
I can't wait to read "38" pitches latest blog, wonder what he's going to say about his teammates and how he views all his tainted world series accomplishments! It places serious doubt as to the legitimacy of subsquent world series' too.... Put the astrek's in the book! hahahaha
We all knew it would take cheating with "drugs" to over come a curse! Here's hoping for another 86 years....
Serious questions..... does this evidence mean that "Bud Selig" KNEW steroids were being used and tainting/altering MLB outcomes? Do the sports books that lost money on the cheating have cause to bring legal action against MLB & clueless "Bud" for supressing steroids information? How does this reflect in his testimony in front of Congress? Will clueless Bud be charged with perjury?
Yawwwwwwn. So Popi & Manny were juiced. So were at least 100 others. It's time to tell ALL who are on that list. It's not fair to vilify a few because some lying scum bag released 4 or 5 names and protect the others. We can't keep ARoid out of the HOF and put someone who's on the list in because we don't know he's on the list. List them all and move on. Plus, this list isn't all inclusive. My understanding is there were at least 500 who weren't tested in 03.
Absolutely no one but ignorant and egostistical Sox fans would be surprised by this. David Ortiz went from being a so-so hitter to being a powerhouse. If he was on any other team (especially the Yankees), Red Sox fans would have been knocking this guy down every single time he hit a home run. But when it's one of their own, they think it's just "God given talent." All the things that Red Sox fans for years and years said against the Evil Empire are the very things their own team has been doing -- illegal drugs and buying their way to championships. The only reason their payroll is less than the Yankees is because they have such a scrawny little stadium that olds about 15,000 fans per game fewer than Yankee Stadium and that extra revenue is what makes the difference for the Yankees. It reminds me of the Republican sense of right and wrong -- it's wrong for anyone else to do it, but it's oke for us to do whatever it takes. Now, let's put some asteriks on those championships.
Excellent post, KimV!
This whole thing really doesn't matter because we are only talking about "TWO" Red Sox Championships in the last 86 years! How pitiful that whole team is. The smart players came to join the Yankees!
i think this is hilarious that the YANKEES FANS now seem to forget 1995-2000. let me remind you idiots clemens,pettite, giambi they won a few championships didn't they. so for you morons to say that the sox championships are tainted is rediculous. as for KimV you are exactly why any red sox fan would hate the yankees. the yankees fans with their HUGE mouths are why we hate the yankees and always will. as for the players who cares its the fans that we can't stand with their self riteous opinions. you can only get bullied for so long before you punch someone in the mouth. so as for ignorant and egotistical kiss mine. yankees fans are far and away the MOST ARROGANT fans in all of professional sports.
Now the nasty stinking Red Sux fans can shut their mouths about all the other cheaters and roid users in the leagues.........., damn hyporcrites!
ooohhh...what a shocker! OK Sox fans, please feel free to bash the Yankees while you defend this. Ready...set...
With all of the designer steroids available, it is a constant chase for authorities and manufacturers of the tests to keep up with them. It's my belief that many of the high performing athletes that are "older" are using them. I am not a Red Sox or Yankees fan, but have you seen the Yankees lately? Compared to earlier in the season, they now seem much bigger, more powerful and more agile than their peers who are younger (and naturally gifted). Big money markets = access to drugs that are always one step ahead of the tests.
I think the widespread use of them is understandable - if, out of all the athletes, you are the best, but a lesser athlete can take a designer steroid and perform better than you, you are effectively penalized (salary, stats, etc.) for not taking them.
I agree with Ortiz - the way to deal with it is to suspend the player for the entire season.
another appoligist for the nation....we have seen the yankees lately and they are playing very well. as ,for how you can tell the difference between how the yankees physically looked in april and now you must have some kind of special vision .
Whats in the water up there in New England? Seems to be a lot of cheating coming from the Patriots and Red Sox. I dont know, Im not saying, Im just saying.
And the crowds keep getting smaller and smaller and ...........................
BOSTON= Binge-ing On Steriods Thru October & November
instead of having the names leak out one by one they should just release the complete list so we can get this all over with already. I think we're all tired of this krap
these tests were done in 2003, why weren't any punished? why wasn't this brought out before now? why some players are villified and not others?
besides being as boring as watching paint dry, baseball is a total frickin joke.
Tainted records? ABSOLUTELY!! These HIGHLY paid athletes will do anything to out-perform other major league players Why? Because the more records they break the more $$$$$$ they get.....PERIOD. Why anyone would pay money to see these cheaters play is beyond me. Every sport has them and they all will do it as long as their not caught.
Play for the love of the game...ya right! These overpaid crybabies are just cheaters. PERIOD. Once a cheater always a cheater.
I think the "Lawyers" names should be published as well as their proof-sorry but this was to be a "blind" study and the list was sealed by the Courts, does anyone see where these Lawyers are in contempt? Not to mention the News Source-he knew this information was sealed but released these names anyway which makes him just as guilty of violating a court order not to mention releasing the information on "hear-say" but silly me, that what News People do to sell.... they will say anything without proof to sell in fact they will embellish quite heavily to make things sound 10x's worse.
That being said, now that names have come out they may as well run the whole list rather than let a certain few take the heat alone-also before we jump to any conclusions I think we owe the players the right to explain themselves as I am not so sure if these tests exclusively find one kind of steroid vs. several types and in many cases can be used for various reasons and be prescribed.
I truly think these so-called sources and reporters need to start being held accountable for the BS they feed the public and not just for this incident....
Ask yourself this, if you agreed to do a blind study for lets say AIDs and you tested positive, how would you feel if that list was published to the whole world?
Why not "leak" the entire list? This is getting old very quickly.... Until the entire list is disclosed every MLB player who has played in this era will be under suspicion. As far as I am concerned anyone who has tested positive for steroids should never be elected into the Hall of Fame. The reason is because all of these players have screwed with baseball's holiest of holies: numbers and statistics.
The lesson: Never, ever give any private, personal or medical information to anyone that is not absolutely mandated. Promises, handshakes and even written agreements will not be honored, and you will be outed by some clerk, reporter or so-called friend.
I think there should be No restrictions on what the sports entertainers stick in or on their body. If they explose or drop dead on the field the team will have to draft someone from the stands... Also I think they should be able to carry and use weapons.