Dodgers Can Survive

With the Dodgers coming back to Philadelphia for the first time since being summarily dispatched in the 2008 NLCS, our focus is divided. First, the biggest news in baseball this season involves the LAD, with Manny Ramirez becoming the most high-profile player ever to find himself suspended for violating the league's banned substance policy. Second, we're not quite sure which...

Mark Fainaru-Wada and T.J. Quinn provide some previously unknown details relating to the Manny Ramirez suspension of 50 games."The Ramirez saga, as described by three sources with direct knowledge of the case, began to play out in spring training when the 36-year-old outfielder provided a urine sample for testing.The test came back showing elevated levels of testosterone. Every...

Steroids are the only reason a lot of people even know baseball is still around. The game can’t make front page news without steroids. Baseball has ridden the steroid wave to the box office, to the front pages of media outlets, and to the lead on today’s SportsCenter (seriously, why would I give a rat about Roger Clemens today?! Because of some random book? I thought I was watching...

Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt is no one’s fool.  He knows who to hire and who to sign. He knows how to get free money and make himself look like the hero for doing so.  He knows how to negotiate.  He’s a winner. Therefore, Frank’s more than a little peeved at Manny Ramirez making him [...]

Jose Canseco called a press conference Thursday very soon after the Manny Ramirez-failed drug test story broke and, as you can tell, no one really cared to hear Canseco say "I told you so." From the AP article about the presser: Canseco spoke to a near-empty ballroom at the Four Seasons Hotel. Only one reporter from The Associated Press, Canseco’s lawyer, a photographer...

Remaining mostly silent have I, over the last week as far as the Steroid issues and how it concerns the latest Humpty-Dumpty Downfall with Manny Ramirez the latest Humpty Dumpty; I must come to term now with several key conclusions. There is no excuse period. No cutsie free verse nor whet edged apology in its purist form and most definitely, no acceptable Doctors note" in blind...

This week, we learned that Manny Ramirez, a current-day MLB icon and one the best right-handed hitters of all time, is being suspended for reportedly having hCG (a female fertility drug) in his system.  Is he trying to get pregnant or hit Vegas with another Manny-bomb?  He’s been in LA for several months now; is this Manny’s way of telling [...]

Last week as we all know Manny Ramirez tested positive for a banned substance on the MLB drug list. The substance was deemed to be a testosterone booster which could easily be linked back to a performance enhancer as it would most commonly be used by a male coming off a cycle. For this clear breaking of MLB policy, Manny Ramirez has been suspended for 50 games or roughly 1/3 of...

When MLB decided that it would launch its own network channel on cable, they were savvy enough to make its distribution part of the MLB Extra Innings package that very nearly became a monopoly of DirecTV. With a broader distribution deal through the likes of the iN Demand cable consortium, when launched on Jan. 1 this year, it became the largest cable channel launch in history reaching...

When Jason Bay took over for Manny Ramirez in left field for the Boston Red Sox last season, he knew he'd have some big shoes to fill. For many years, Manny's crazy behavior had been the subject of much debate. But, his hitting had always made up for his eccentricities. Many fans wondered if Bay would be able to live up these expectations.So far this season he has delivered...

Our Weekly Rewind is a recap of the some of the most captivating stories of the previous week.NBA coaching great and Hall of Fame inductee Chuck Daly passed away on Sunday. Daly is best known for coaching the Pistons in the 'Bad Boy' era and the 1992 Dream Team. RIP Chuck, you will be missed.In the midst of the Ramirez scandal, Alex Rodriguez, AKA A-Roid, returned from hip...

The National Football League today released possible site locations for the 2013 Super Bowl. A point of interest... Note that London is not listed. If Super Bowl XLVII is awarded to Arizona…It would mark the third Super Bowl hosted by Arizona.  Most recently, University of Phoenix Stadium was the site of Super Bowl XLII when the Giants scored a touchdown with 35 seconds remaining...

Starting this week I will be posting weekly Power Rankings based on two components: a computer score and a human score. The computer score is based on a formula I derived from statistics such as wins, losses, current streak, run differential, etc. The human score, on the other hand, is more of a "gut instinct" based on where I personally feel the team falls in the rankings. A combination...

Boston Dirt Dogs reported that former Red Sox Infielder Lou Merloni Says that the Sox brought in a doctor to speak to the players about the right way to use steroids. NOTE: This was before the new owners took over and before Theo Epstein was GM. Merloni Didn't Mention the Year the Doc Addressed the Sox But Things That Make You Go Hmmm... Dan Duquette's 2001 Boston Red Sox...

Fox Sport's Ken Rosenthal has the latest on Derek Lowe, Manny Ramirez, A.J. Burnett and the Mets looking for a right hand hitting outfielder. Rosenthal says that Derek Lowe is attracting a lot of teams. Though Boras has made clear that he wants a "Zito type contract" for Lowe services. Barry Zito's contract was for 7 years, $126 Million. Rosenthal also said that Boras...