Manny Ramirez’s 50-game suspension for a use of a banned substance will have a wide-ranging effect on baseball, but it might not be the end of the world. Here’s how it might go:
First, writers and pundits will pile on.
Ramirez’s happy-go-lucky approach and savant-like hitting ability have always made him a target for anyone in a ballpark wearing a credential. The line will stretch around the block with guys salivating at a chance to rush to judgment on “Manny being Manny,” regardless of what is eventually learned. And, like everyone else, they’ll wonder: who’s next?
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Second, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ storybook start will have a not-so-pretty chapter.
Opposing pitchers will have an easier job, and Juan Pierre, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp all will be under pressure. But because the Dodgers’ 13-0 start at home is already a Major League Baseball record — not to mention, they entered Thursday night with the best record in baseball —it’s not as if the season just careened off a cliff.
Third, the Dodgers will remain in contention.
Fifty games isn’t a season, the National League West isn’t the AL East, and the Dodgers have something the Nationals don’t: starting pitching and a bullpen. L.A. could still be in first when Ramirez returns July 3.
Fourth, it’ll be like 2008 in Chavez Ravine.
Ramirez’s arrival in Southern California helped propel the Dodgers to the NL West title and the National League Championship Series. If Ramirez’s suspension remains devoid of crazy twists and turns, there’s nothing stopping L.A. from another October run.