The New York Times has now reported that the name of David Ortiz is on that infamous list of 104 players who tested positive back in 2003.
OK, so what do we make of his strident spring training outburst regarding outed PED users? To refresh your memory, on Feb. 16, Ortiz identified himself as a hard-liner. He said that a 50-game suspension was not enough for someone who tests positive for steroids.
“Ban ’em for the whole year,’’ he declared.
He also said he’d be happy to be tested three or four times a year, whatever it would take. “I think you clean up the game by testing,’’ he said. “I know that if I test positive for using any kind of substance, I know that I’m going to disrespect my family, the game, the fans, and everybody. I don’t want to be facing that situation.’’
He didn’t wag his index finger, a la Rafael Palmeiro, but it was close.
Oops, almost forgot. Manny Ramirez is also on that list. Not exactly a shocker, huh?
Ortiz should be given the benefit of the doubt that he is nowhere near as stupid as Manny, who, despite all the attention focused on PEDs nowadays, as opposed to six years ago, was caught being a bad boy this year. Papi’s Feb. 16 rant was delivered, quite obviously, with Papi knowing he was clean. Now.
But the topic of Boston’s World Series victories in 2004 and 2007 is going to be on the table. And this, of course, is what has always been the aspect of PED usage that people have never chosen to discuss. The issue of PED usage is almost always turned into an extended dissertation on someone’s Hall of Fame chances. The subject of wins and losses is seldom discussed.
Yet nothing in baseball is more important than wins and losses. This is the great harm caused by PEDs. Hall of Fame arguments are irresolvable at any time, even if PEDs are not included. But wins and losses have always, with the exception of the 1919 World Series (mind if we hold off on the many other conspiracy theories for a day or two?), been taken at face value. With PEDs in the equation, our trust has been violated. Now what?
