First to Third: The End of Mannywood

Well, it was fun while it lasted. The honeymoon between Los Angeles and Manny Ramirez ended tragically yesterday when it was reported that Ramirez had been handed down a 50 game suspension from the commissioner's office for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy. The leftfield section that was branded "Mannywood" out in LA at the beginning of the season was back to being... well... the leftfield section. And, SportsJudge.com founder Marc Edelman has already written about the fantasy implications of all this.

Since February, two of the three best hitters in baseball (A-Rod, Manny and with the exception of Albert Pujols) have admitted to taking something to help their performance on the field or have failed a test. Sure Hall of Famers Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire come before them as having to deal with the stigma of being tied to PEDs. What is baseball supposed to do now? There are still 100 names left on the same list that A-Rod was on.

Baseball can't keep all of them out of Cooperstown, right? Most players who set foot on the diamond from 1993 to now will be subject to intense scrutiny, fairly or not. Baseball, though, has numerous cheaters in the Hall of Fame. Take Pud Galvin for instance, the fifth winningest pitcher of all-time. Galvin was the first player on record to use something to enhance his performance (monkey testosterone in 1889). It was in newspapers the day after he did it and no one cared. He's in the Hall. What baseball should do is acknowledge that PEDs were prevelant during this era and admit these players to the Hall because they were the best that this generation had to offer. They just can't shut out a whole era, can they?

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