According to multiple news sources, Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez has tested positive for a banned substance, and will begin serving the fifty game suspension.

Ramirez, arguably the highest-profile player to fail the test, released the following statement;

Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I've taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons. I want to apologize to Mr. McCourt, Mrs. McCourt, Mr. Torre, my teammates, the Dodger organization, and to the Dodger fans. LA is a special place to me and I know everybody is disappointed. So am I. I'm sorry about this whole situation.

Midway through the 2009 Spring Training season we're starting to see some significant bumps and bruises piling up around the league.

Whether its because of the World Baseball Classic, poor offseason conditioning, or players trying to work the winter kinks out of their system, some big names are starting to show up on the benches;

A-Rod; in case you missed it. Hip surgery. Out til May. Moving on.

Cole Hamels is experiencing tightness in his pitching elbow, and may not be the World F*cking Champs opening day starter this season.

Brewers closer Trevor Hoffman has been sidelined thanks to a strain in his right side.

Manny's hammy is barking, causing Joe Torre to relegate his dread locked slugger to the bench.

Aaron Boone is going to have open heart surgery to correct a valve disorder. Not sure when or if he'll ever return to baseball. We're wishing him good luck and a speedy recovery.

Star outfielder Ryan Braun was pulled from the WBC thanks to aggravating his right rib cage.

Mariano Rivera threw for the first time this season and looked good.

All's quiet on the western front, a front that's holding the General Managers meetings. It was a relatively subdued meeting, with the normal free agent filings going as expected.

The big news out of the meeting was the talk of Peavy leaving San Diego. Outside of the Manny Sweepstakes, CC's eventual bidding war, and AJ Burnett opting out of his contract, very little noise was made.

Andy Pettitte filed for free agency, as expected.

Cardinal fans shouldn't get their hopes up, as a deal to acquire Matt Holiday is all but dead.

The Padres made an odd move, for a team that's touting its fire sale and cost cutting moves, picking up Brian Giles $9 million option for next season.

The Rangers picked up Hank Blalock's option, either hoping to trade him or have him play a full season without getting injured.

And, in closing, our big shocker; according to Scott Boras, the Dodger's offer to Manny fell a bit short.

According to Adam McCalvy, writer at MLB.com. the Brewers have make their first offer to CC Sabathia, one that's believed to be in the $100 million range.

GM Doug Melvin, however, refused to shed any further light on the contract talks. The Brewers have until November 13th to exclusively negotiate with the left hander.

No news is no news in the case of free agent outfielder Manny Ramirez, who has yet to receive an offer from the LA Dodgers. Early reports out of the General Manager meetings had indicated that Dodger GM Ned Colletti offered the dread sporting left fielder a 2 year, $60 million deal.

Padres GM Kevin Towers acknowledged that Jake Peavy has added two more teams to the list of places he's willing to waive his no-trade clause; Anaheim (Angels) and New York (Yankees). Towers also reminded everyone that Peavy's preference is to stay in the NL and that he won't come cheap.

Fransisco Rodriquez filed for free agency on Monday, as the free agent pool increased to 149 players. Other big names to file for free agency include Rafael Frucal, Edgar Renteria, Kyle Farnseworth, and Paul Byrd.

Only a few days after the Phillies clinched the Commissioner's Trophy, baseball players around the league began filling for free agency, looking to strike offseason gold.

Couldn't they have at least waited until the bodies were cold?

The Red Sox, as expected, picked up their team option on knuckle-baller Tim Wakefield, a move which cost them $4 million. Wakefield finished the season with a 10-11 record and posted a 4.13 era.

Two other Boston pitchers, Curt Shilling and Bartolo Colon, filed for free agency. Shilling has mentioned that if he doesn't retire, he'd be interested in returning to pitch half a season next year. (He is recovering from shoulder surgery).

Other big names that filed around the league include John Smoltz, Pedro Martinez, Bobby Abreu, Hank Blalock, Eric Gagne, Nomar Garciaparra, Greg Maddux, Mark Prior, Manny Ramirez and Mark Teixeirra.

Big names could move as early as next week, as the first round of general managers meetings take place next week.

Atlanta, Georgia
By Chris Lima
River Avenue Staff Writer


The AL Central leading Chicago White Sox acquired Reds' outfielder Ken Griffey Jr., adding a bit of offense to their lineup. It's not currently known where or how Griffey will play in this lineup, but it was a huge addition to their lineup.

The Manny Ramirez saga is officially finally over in Boston, a last minute trade involving the Dodgers and the Pirates rid Beantown of their perpetual whiner.

The Dodgers received Manny from the BoSox and send third
outfielder Brendon Moss from the Red Sox, in exchange for left fielder Jason Bay.

The Bay trade is a bonus for the Red Sox; addition by prevention. The Tampa Bay Rays were holding talks with the Pirates, attempting to move Bay into Tropicana Field. The request from the Pirates was a bit high, and Tampa Bay quickly fell out of favor.

Ramirez is reunited with former BoSox teammate, Nomar Garciaparra, and joins former rival manager Joe Torre in what looks to be an extremely

The Yankees made a significant improvement to their lineup by adding Pudge Rodriguez and shipping Farnsworth over to Detroit. They also added former Bucs Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte to help solidify their outfield and rotation, respectively. baseman Andy LaRoche and pitcher Bryan Morris to the Pirates. The Pirates also received RHP Craig Hansen and crowded Dodger outfield (Matt Kemp, Juan Pierre, Andre Either, and Andruw Jones).

According to numerous published reports, Red Sox Outfielder Manny Ramirez seems to have had a change of heart this offseason.
Going into the last guaranteed year of a mega deal contract might have that effect on you.
Ramirez has been working out in Tempe Arizona at the Athlete's Performance Institute. Manny has also indicated that he'll be at the Red Sox training facility day one, whereas he's failed to show up on time the previous two spring training report dates.
At thirty five years of age, Manny's body has begin to wear and tear. Last season, late in the season, Manny suffered a second injury in two years that hampered his production down the stretch.
The Red Sox hold a $20 million option on Ramirez, so to put it bluntly, Ramirez needs to get his ass into shape.