DownSwinging.com

David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were part of the 104 players named on what was supposed to be a confidential list of players who tested positive for steroids in 2003. At the time, both were members of the Boston Red Sox. This is now the third leak of players to reach the press, after Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa were named earlier this year. A list of the players circulated the internet at the end of June, but turned out to be bogus. This latest leak will surely cause a stir in Boston, where the Red Sox are already struggling offensively.

Let me start briefly with Ramirez in saying that this hardly is a shock to anyone. Since Ramirez was recently caught using PEDs, it seemed awfully unlikely that he didn’t begin taking them until testing had begun. I think most people assumed that Ramirez had been taking illegal substances for years, despite the lack of definitive evidence.

Ortiz is a different story. The poster child of Boston, the man almost single-handedly reversed the curse, has always been thought of as a stand-up guy and legitimate player…at least in New England that is. While this may have surprised some, I for one have been waiting for this day for quite some time now, despite hoping it would never come. But really, and I have been saying this for awhile now, I knew that in all likelihood Ortiz was a steroid user. His numbers perfectly resemble one, considering his struggles with the Twins followed by a late breakout in Boston. I always said it was the Red Sox’ approach to hitting and his ability to tighten his swing to hit inside fastballs that caused his surge, not steroids. But in truth, it probably was the steroids that enabled him to get his bat around quicker.

So what does this mean for Ortiz? Well, he’s got several options, though none of them are pretty. Assuming he is guilty, obviously the best bet is to accept it and apologize, a la Andy Pettitte. Denial (the Roger Clemens route) has yet to really work for anyone. There is by all means the possibility that when testing began in 2004 that Ortiz stopped using steroids or PEDs, which would most likely comfort Red Sox fans. The problem they will see is that the pinnacle of Boston sports, the 2004 World Series Championship, was false, a scam. It will be that the Red Sox barely made it by, and they did so on the back of David Ortiz, the ‘roider. But for Ortiz, maybe not. The next few days will be telling, though the whole story may never be known.

It’s safe to say that this is going to be a major distraction. When the Red Sox finish their day game against the A’s in a couple hours, the clubhouse is going to full of reporters swarming Ortiz. Steve Phillips and Tim Kurkjian said they think this makes it more likely for the Red Sox to pull of a trade for V-Mart or Adrian Gonzalez. Tough to tell at this point. All we know now is it’s a bad day in Boston.