Manny and Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs)

I wanted to wait before ranting about Manny Ramirez testing positive for PEDs and the current state of PEDs in baseball. It's sad to say, but I expect to hear names come out almost daily now regarding steroids. In my opinion Manny should have been suspended for blatant lack of effort in his final days in Boston. Shoeless Joe 'supossedly' help throw a game in the World Series and was banned from baseball. What Manny did wasn't much different. Can athletes now decide when they are going to be traded by standing at the plate with the bat on their shoulder?

But anyway, I would never have thought that manny was using PEDs until I heard the news. I think it's great that MLB suspended him and I think they are heading in the right direction as far as punishment for the crime. My only problems with how MLB has handeled the situation are (1)why did it take Congress getting involved to get things done? MLB needs to police itself and (2) perhaps most importantly, how can MLB wait around and let the 2 greatest records in baseball and perhaps all of sport be broken before taking action (career HRs and single-season HRs)? This is a travesty for the sport. Don't tell me they didn't know about it. When a guy plays in Pittsburg and weighs 180 lbs then goes to San Francisco and his head gets twice as big and he ballons to 280 lbs, you know something is going on.

And although there may not have been anything specifically written in the rules of the game regarding steroids and PEDs, isn't it illegal in the U.S.? Should we include murder in the rules just in case?

I've never been a fan of the asterisk and perhaps since MLB allowed this to happen, they should just live with their mistakes but I suggest that everyone that played during the 'steroid era' (to be determined by the powers that be) should have an asterisk next to their name. The records will still go in the record book but will be noted that this person played during an era know as the 'steroid era'. It's unfortunate that it has come to this. Perhaps next time, MLB will jump on the situation berfore it gets out of hand.