But that may change. Before we go farther, I want to point out that it has not been made clear what exactly Ortiz tested positive for. While everyone assumes that Ortiz was on steroids, it may not be the case. Regardless, Ortiz has said that he doesn’t know what he could have tested for and the idea of a false positive has been floating around. For the moment, let’s ignore the fact that so many past users have denied usage or claimed they didn’t think they could have tested positive. What is far more important here is that PED experts have said that the over-the-counter supplements that Ortiz was using during the 2003 season could have caused a false positive in the 2003 tests. Likewise, Major League Baseball has said that there were in fact false positives in the 2003 testing, meaning that some of those 104 players who tested positive may not have actually been PED users.

So does that give Ortiz, and me, a glimmer of hope? Well, yes it does. Actually I started to feel that hope when Bronson Arroyo spoke out saying that in 2003 it wasn’t like it is now. He said there wasn’t a list of what was okay and what wasn’t, everyone was just taking supplements and he wouldn’t be surprised if he was on that list. That says a lot to me about the culture of baseball at the time. And there’s a big difference between Ortiz/Arroyo and A-Rod right there too. At least in my book, pleading innocence when your cousin is injecting you is entirely different from taking oral supplements that anyone can pick up in a GNC and sparking a false positive. A huge difference.

Now I’m not saying that Ortiz definitely didn’t do anything wrong. He may well have. But when we should take away from this is that the issue isn’t settled yet. We don’t know enough to rule on whether Papi is guilty or not, or somewhere in between. But if there was ever someone insistent upon his lack of usage, and they were innocent, it would be David Ortiz.

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.

The San Francisco Giants are far behind in their division race, but are tied for the NL Wild Card and appear to be looking for a a middle-of-the-lineup kind of guy. I think the Giants definitely are right in there, especially if they can add someone.

More problems on the Joe Girardi front. No one is really sure what went on with the A-Rod benching, but rumor has it that A-Rod and Girardi got into some sort of argument. Also, C.C. Sabathia made a reference to his high pitch totals being a factor towards his injury, which could indicate that he is unhappy with Girardi too. For the first time, I’m reading stories that have begun to question how safe Girardi is in his post. If the Yankees fail to make the playoffs again, you have to wonder if he will be the Yankee skipper for much longer…

This is the best story I read today. It’s analyzing whether David Ortiz’s recent “power surge” has really been him hitting better of just getting lucky. Ultimately the author finds that while Ortiz has had a few lucky home runs, he also has had a lot more unlucky fly balls than he was having in the beginning of the season, which is a good sign for Papi.

A funny pie chart on the Cleveland Indians, and if you go to the home page of this website you will find many more clever but also very informative infographs

Also, here’s a note on how the Rangers and Tigers upgraded their defense and why it paid off. It seems the move of Michael Young to third base to make way for Elvis Andrus was an excellent one, despite the fact that it ruffled some feathers in the Young camp.

Lastly, I think it’s cool that Pedroia and Kinsler are battling out the second-base spot at the All-Star Game. The two of them were teammates at Arizona State, and Kinsler eventually transferred because Pedroia took his starting spot, but here they are.

It’s safe to say the Magic’s momentum ran into a brick wall, and as one site says, “The city of Orlando suffered a torrid hangover on Thursday night.” Kobe Bryant’s Lakers declared their dominance last night, with Bryant scoring 40 points in the game. He didn’t do it alone, however, which is a worrying sign for the Magic.

In the first game of a twinbill in Washington last night, Randy Johnson became the 24th member of the elite 300-win club. He pitched a good game, and carried a no-hitter into the fourth. The win comes a day after his scheduled first attempt at the 300-win mark was rained out. (The Post-Intelligencer must really be loving me). The Washington Post Columnist noted that after a rain delay, literally no one hung around for the second game of the double-header. Also, if you haven’t read it already, will Johnson be the last man to reach 300 wins?

I’m not a fan of Twitter, and apparently, neither is Tony La Russa.

David Ortiz has decided to get his eyes checked, though he said he doesn’t believe anything is wrong with them. This should provide Yankees fans with some good chanting material at the next BoSox/Yankees showdown.

Buster Olney wrote about Papi’s possible replacements in Boston. The Red Sox already turned down a Manny Delcarmen/Nick Johnson deal, but it might still be in the cards.

Speaking of Cards, Chris Carpenter threw another gem last night. I know I haven’t written it here, but my pick for NL Cy Young at the beginning of this year was Carpenter, and even though he was hurt, I’m sticking with him. If he’s healthy, he’s nasty.

The real question is, how much difference is the move going to make? Having Papi down to sixth in the order will give him slightly fewer at-bats per game, but the real hope is that he will stop trying to hit a dinger on every pitch, because right now he is swinging like a mad-man on literally every pitch. Ehh, maybe it will work, it’s certainly worth a shot, though I think the Sox would be better off moving Ortiz to the seven-hole, so they can have six solid players who actually produce, and then take their chances on Ortiz, Varitek and Nick Green/Julio Lugo. Sure, Boston Manager Terry Francona said the move was only temporary, but we all know that Pap isn’t going anywhere unless he can find his bat again. Boston rejected a Nick Johnson for Manny Delcarmen swap, a good move as it’s not time to panic yet, but the time may come. Of course, all of this has got everyone thinking the same thing but no one saying it: (except The Onion) Was Papi on ‘roids? Another story for another day, but it would be one more devastating blow to baseball, greater than Manny and maybe even greater than A-Rod. For now though, most will just assume and hope that either Papi forgot how to hold a bat or that old age has caught up to him a little earlier than most.