The PED-List

And another two bite the dust.

When Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz – who made up one of the most dangerous 1-2 punches in the game earlier this decade when they played for Boston – were mentioned Thursday as being on the list of 104 players to test positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003, it sent shockwaves throughout Red Sox Nation.

Fans were shocked that Ortiz, who always seemed to come up with the clutch hit when it counted, would be among those who took steroids. Sure, his numbers have dipped the past two years, but a nagging wrist injury was always the alibi.

I, for one, am not surprised by any revelations when it comes to steroids in baseball these days. It’s simply unfathomable to think anyone is clean during this dark age, and that includes Albert Puljos, who vehemently denies any link.

Why should we believe him? He’s by far the best hitter in the game, and stroking home runs out of the park and partying like it’s 1999. Still, that’s not my concern.

My biggest concern is this list. Many players and managers in baseball, most of whom are sick and tired of this trickling effect, the dropping of one and two names at a time, sounded off on Thursday, urging the powers that be in the MLB to reveal the remaining names and move on.

Former Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra went as far as to say that some players asked to be put down as positive because they were in favor of steroid testing in baseball. “The whole thing was, if there’s five percent (testing positive) or more, we’re going to have steroid testing. If it’s under five percent, there won’t be testing, and a lot of guys were like, ‘Yeah, we want to have testing.’”

MLB baseball refutes Nomar’s claim, saying players weren’t allowed to put their names down as positive to build support for testing, and that all players were forced to submit a urine sample.

Either way, this list is starting to grow both tired and old. For players like Ortiz, who said Thursday’s report from the New York Times “blindsided him,” it sullies his accomplishments on the field. And writers, who vote for induction into the Hall of Fame, no longer know what to think.

Ramirez, when asked by reporters about the allegations, said, "Talk to the union," and he's right. His union is letting him down. This list was supposed to be confidential. Who is leaking this information, and why isn't the union doing anything about?

These days, I enojoy baseball for what it's worth - nothing more than entertainment. I no longer put stock in records or numbers, only because they've been so skewed in the past 10 years that it's hard to differentiate between eras.

Baseball is broken, and it'll take some hard work to get it fixed. And truth be told, it might be beyond repair.