In case you missed it some 34 years ago, Bryan Forbes directed a cult film called The Stepford Wives. The plot centered on a group of consistently submissive wives who blindly supported their husbands without fail.

As the movie unfolds, it is later revealed that the wives are not human; in fact, they are a collection of robots, devoid of any basic human emotion. Their day to day goal is to make sure their respective husbands are happy.

Fast-forwarding three decades plus later, we are enjoying a similar tale in Los Angeles. Dodger fans loyally and robotically support a man, who according to a New York Times report tested positive for PED’s back in 2003 and was suspended for 50 games earlier this season for using gonadotropins, LH and HCG, substances commonly found in women’s fertility drugs.

The man you know as Manny Ramirez lives a charmed life. No matter what he does, Dodger fans cheer him. Dubbed “Mannywood” out in left field, fans offer up their approval of the 2004 World Series MVP by sporting everything from jerseys to his trademark dreadlocks. Whether it was after his initial arrival in 2008 or following his return from the suspension, the Dodger fans continue to heap praise on Ramirez as if it never happened.

But why?

Is it because Manny Ramirez has provided the Dodgers with lasting memories a la Kurt Gibson, Steve Garvey or Orel Hershiser; therefore deserving a second chance? That can’t be it. Obviously, he hasn’t been there long enough. Despite crushing the ball throughout the postseason, his Dodgers collapsed under the weight of Phillies pitching in the NLCS last October.

Is it because Ramirez has spent time developing relationships within the community and thus, spreading goodwill throughout Los Angeles? Hmmm. Nah. He’s appeared at charity events for the Dodgers but again, hasn’t been there long enough.

Is it because the Dodger fanbase was dying to feel relevant again in baseball? Ooooh. I think we have a winner! Much like the wives, Dodger fans are ready to support their team without fail regardless of who is on the field. After all, they are looking to reclaim their spot as a franchise that is not only relevant but successful.

Prior to Manny’s arrival, the most notable Dodgers were newly minted manager Joe Torre and legendary broadcaster Vin Scully. That’s fine. Both have surely left their marks on the game but at the end of the day neither one can take anyone deep over the left field wall.

L.A. has appeared in the playoffs only five times since their last sip of championship champagne in 1988, when they took down the A’s in five games to steal the World Series. Since Orel Hershiser and company lit up Tony LaRussa’s troops, the Dodgers have been lapped by baseball’s elite.

The Yankees and Red Sox have combined to win six World Series. St. Louis appeared in the Fall Classic twice, winning in 2006.

Even the lesser lights are getting into the act. Phillies? Check. Blue Jays? Two checks. Marlins? Two more checks. Diamondbacks? You betcha. Angels? Uh huh. Braves? Of course. White Sox? Them too.

This can’t sit well with supporters of the big blue. Yet, it still doesn’t excuse them cheering the same guy who once shoved Red Sox traveling Secretary Jack McCormick because he said fulfilling Ramirez’s excessive ticket request may prove difficult.

Supporting a troubled athlete isn’t anything new in Los Angeles. The trials and tribulations of Kobe Bryant have been well documented. No matter how big of a jerk he appears to be on or off the court, the man has brought four world championships to the Lakers; granting him immunity with most fans in California. His rings put him in rarefied air.

Ramirez is still working on championship number one and hasn’t flashed a quarter of the in-game dedication all around that Bryant does to his craft. Yet, the often tardy to games Dodger fanbase just aimlessly stands by his side.

All of this ultimately leads us to another underlying theme in this piece. As long as fans as robotic as those that occupy Dodger Stadium continue to cheer someone like Ramirez, it serves as nothing but another aspect of enabling this steroid era of baseball. The fans have the power, yet some are too foolish to realize it.

Until fans show some sort of backlash at the box office, players will come and go as they please; further adding to the already Grand Canyon like divide between the players and those that support them.

Starting in L.A. would be a good step along the way. Instead of celebrating Ramirez, the fans living out in Mannywood need to take a step out of fantasy land and make one giant leap towards the real world.

Instead of being a robotic Stepford fan, it is time the citizens of Los Angeles put down their lattes, show up to games prior to the fifth inning, and verbally punish a man who has done very little to warrant their constant and overbearing adulation.

Don’t make the same mistake those robotic wives did years ago. They couldn’t and never did escape their terminally boring lives.

Derek Jones will be a weekly contributor with The Baseball Jones,  an examination of all things baseball. Jones, a lifelong baseball fan, ranks showboating by umpires and the ninth inning of the ’93 World Series among his least favorite things. He is also the Assistant Station Manager at Rowan Radio 89.7 WGLS-FM in Glassboro, NJ.

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