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.

]]> http://javbaseball.com/the-baseballjones/feed/ 0 http://javbaseball.com/manny-joins-a-rod-and-the-rocket/ http://javbaseball.com/manny-joins-a-rod-and-the-rocket/#comments Thu, 14 May 2009 18:00:19 +0000 Jim Vassallo http://javbaseball.com/?p=91 Manny Ramirez has joined the ranks of Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, and plenty other players that have played in the league and used steroids at one time or another. Steroids became popular in baseball beginning in the 1980s when Jose Canseco introduced the drugs to his teammates in Oakland. His most notable teammate in Oakland; Mark McGwire. This is part two of our two part series chronicling the rise and fall of the use of steroids in the sport of baseball.

Canseco takes credit for introducing steroids to Major League players in his book Juiced. His tell-all account named the names of Mark McGwire and many others that he claims he either injected with steroids or players he helped use a steroids regimen. Canseco followed up his first book with one titled Vindicated. Canseco still, to this day, stands by his accusations of injected other players on the teams he has played with throughout his career.

Manny Ramirez is just the latest player to test positive under Major League Baseball’s steroid policy and drug abuse policy and be suspended. Prior to Ramirez, there was J.C. Romero, Sergio Mitre, Matt Lawton, Felix Heredia, Jason Grimsley, Guillermo Mota, Neifi Perez (twice), Jay Gibbons and many more. As you can see, Rodriguez and Clemens are missing from this list.

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Rodriguez recently admitted in an interview with Peter Gammons of ESPN that he took steroids during a three year period while with the Texas Rangers. Canseco named Rodriguez as one of the player that he introduced steroids to during his time in the Majors. Supposedly Rodriguez tested positive for a banned substance in 2003 and was the only name leaked from a list of over 100 players that tested positive that year. 2003 testing did not come with suspensions. The new league steroid policy did not take effect until the 2005 season.

The other player listed in the title of this article, Roger Clemens, has also not faced any suspension for using steroids during his Major League career but the accusations have been running rampant regarding Clemens. Former New York Mets employee Kirk Radomski revealed a list of names of players that he witnessed using steroids during his time as a clubhouse attendant. Also, Clemens’ trainer, Brian McNamee, revealed to Congress and baseball officials that he helped Clemens with a steroid regimen while he was still playing.

The list continues to grow as the tests return with positive results. Quite a few Minor League players have tested positive for steroids under Major League Baseball’s steroid policy and have been suspended for a specified period of time as well. One of the most notable Minor League suspensions involved current Braves center fielder Jordan Schafer. Schafer never tested positive for steroids though. He was ratted out and convicted by the league on circumstantial evidence. He served a 50 game suspension in 2008 while with the Braves Minor League organization.

Schafer made his Major League debut on April 5, 2009 and homered in his first-ever Major League at-bat off of Phillies starter Brett Myers. Other players that have been suspended while playing in the Minors have had trouble righting the ship and making it to the Majors following their suspension. Minor League players have to follow the same rules and regulations as Major Leaguers do despite not playing in the Majors at the time of the testing.

As the steroid era continues to fade into the night, less and less players are testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. With the current rules, a first positive test will net a player a 50 game suspension. A second positive test will net a player a 100 game suspension and a third positive test will net a player a lifetime ban from America’s Pasttime. Baseball is trying with all its might to remove drugs from its culture but it looked the wrong way for too long. The sport will be forever damaged because of steroids and this includes records that have been broken.

As the baseball world continues to deal with controversy after controversy when it comes to steroids, the league’s officials are trying to weed out the offenders one by one. A-Rod admitted steroid use in his previously mentioned interview with Peter Gammons of ESPN, Ramirez tested positive and then had his medical records acquired by the league, and now the Rocket is denying all allegations against him in a recently released book about his career. The book is titled American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America’s Pastime and it was written by four New York Times writers. The other controversial book recently released is titled A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez and it was written by Selena Roberts of Sports Illustrated.

These two books reveal some incredible stories of two of baseball’s most prodigious players in Rodriguez and Clemens. Will these books provide further damage to their reputations? Will these books further damage the image of Major League Baseball? These books contain information that both players deem to be hearsay or lies so we might never know. Many people around the sport of baseball felt that the Steroid Era ended in the early 2000s, when MLB’s drug testing policy got stronger, but as we see today it is still going strong throughout not only the Majors but also throughout the Minors as well.[ad#baseball3][ad#baseball3]