Mannywood

Bill Simmons/ ESPN: "Then, Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs in a season, and that was like the turning point. We realized that things had gone too far. We blamed him for cheating and looked the other way with dozens of other guys who might have been doing the same thing. Brady Anderson hit 50 homers in 1996; we didn't care. Bret Boone had 141 RBIs in a season; we didn't care. Big Papi went from 10 homers to 41 in four seasons; we didn't care. Roger Clemens was washed up, but suddenly he could throw 98 miles per hour and win Cy Youngs again; we didn't care. Eric Gagne saved 84 straight games and threw 120 miles an hour; we didn't care. Good players started blowing out tendons nobody had ever heard of; we didn't care. Pitchers blew out elbow tendons and shoulder ligaments routinely; we didn't care. This was the deal. They cheated; we pretended they didn't. It's really hard to explain unless you were there."

ESPN: "I was wrong thinking he was a pure, natural hitter and that he would never use anything that would help a player do better," Marichal told ESPN. "When I read Jose Canseco's comments [saying Ramirez almost surely used banned drugs], I thought Canseco was wrong. Now that Manny was suspended 50 games, I was wrong in thinking he was clean." "I'm very sad to hear a player of his caliber could be involved in such a thing. I consider it cheating the game to have a positive test," Marichal added. "They should not be in the Hall of Fame, anybody who tested positive. Testing positive today is crazy."

Sweetspot/ ESPN: You know what's really interesting about all of this? Manny's suspension might be a good thing for the Dodgers. At the moment, they've got a huge lead in the National League West, and it's not at all apparent that anyone else in the division is going to finish appreciably over .500. So the Dodgers can live without Manny for 50 games and they're going to save nearly $8 million in salary and Manny figures to be exceptionally well-rested for the second half of the season and (presumably) the postseason.

NY Times: And in an era when more than 100 players have been linked to banned substances, are the Red Sox simply lucky to have avoided having any significant players named in the Mitchell report or suspended?

Bill Plaschke/ LA Times: Ramirez is the kind of player who would appeal a three-day timeout for throwing a helmet, yet he willingly accepts nearly two months on the sideline and the loss of nearly $8 million? That's all I need to hear. He was caught red-handed, but now it's the Dodgers who are blushing.

LA Times: Dodgers lose their first game without Manny, lose their first home game of the season.

NY Daily News: "Your testicles shrink after excessive steroid use," said Maharam. "(Ramirez) probably went to the doctor for impotence. HCG helps re-start testosterone production and testicular hormonal production. That's why Viagra is also a popular drug among steroid users.