Shaq's spelling was a bit off. His sentiment, though, was right on.
"Dam manny ramirez, come on man Agggggggggh, agggggggh, agggggh," Shaquille O'Neal wrote on Twitter.
From NBA courts to the court of public opinion, from major league clubhouses to the White House, reaction came swiftly Thursday after Manny Ramirez was suspended for 50 games for failing a drug test.
The commissioner's office did not identify the substance; the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger said it was not steroids but a medication containing a banned substance that a doctor had given him.
Houston star Lance Berkman echoed a familiar refrain: In the Steroids Era, nothing is too shocking.
"I wasn't surprised. I think that anybody that makes the game look clownish is under suspicion because it's just not that easy," he said. "It's unfortunate that here we go again with another round of steroid questions."
Ramirez ranks 17th on the career home run list with 533. He said he was sorry for "this whole situation."
An avid sports fan, Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James was asked if he was troubled by baseball's ongoing steroids scandal.
"Absolutely," said the NBA MVP and die-hard New York Yankees fan. "Because you love the game, you never want to have someone taint the game or try to get an advantage by not doing things the right way. It's definitely bad, but hopefully baseball will get through it because it's a great sport."
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs weighed in, too.
"I think it's a disappointment to anybody that's a sports fan," Gibbs said. "My sense is, it's a great embarrassment on Major League Baseball. And you hope that each time this happens that others will recognize, if they are doing it, and stop. But, regrettably, it happens over and over again."
Tampa Bay pitcher Scott Kazmir wondered, as he watched the coverage on television, "Who else is going to be popped, you know?"
At Fenway Park, where Ramirez played through his prime and became Boston's first World Series MVP, the writer of his authorized biography happened to be giving a lunchtime talk when the news broke. Jean Rhodes, the author of "Becoming Manny: Inside the Life of Baseball's Most Enigmatic Slugger," painted Ramirez as a quirky craftsman who gave off an air of apathy but was diligent in his preparations.
That's also what Cincinnati Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo saw when he played with Ramirez on the 2004 team that ended Boston's 86-year World Series drought.
"It's kind of shocking that he got caught up in anything, honestly," Arroyo said. "Manny likes to play stupid, but he's a pretty bright guy. And he's definitely aware of a lot of things that he tries to act like he's completely oblivious to."
When Boston's clubhouse opened Thursday afternoon, TVs were giving the latest developments and few players milled about.
"No comment about Manny," slugger David Ortiz said, walking past reporters at his locker. "I play for Boston. Manny plays for L.A. Go and ask him."
In his pregame meeting with the media, manager Terry Francona deflected three attempts for comment on Ramirez, offering only: "The more you can concentrate on baseball, the better."
The fourth question was about injuries.
"Bless you," he told the reporter. "Thank God we've got injuries."
Ramirez's quirky side made him a fan favorite during his early years in Boston, and it may have helped him become the Hall of Fame-caliber player who seemed unaffected by strikeouts, home runs and paychecks alike. But his uncaring attitude eventually wore thin on his teammates, and he was shipped to Los Angeles last summer.
He batted .396 with the Dodgers with 17 homers and 53 RBIs in 53 games and helped propel them to the playoffs.
"He's a main cog, and he's not going to be in play for a while," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "Any distance we might've picked up, we lost as an industry. The sad part of it is that for whatever reasons there are individuals that just aren't getting it. ... There are so many guys that are clean, but they continue to be thrown under a black cloud for those who are involved. ... That saddens me, saddens me as a father, it saddens me as a citizen."
Angels manager Mike Scioscia took the same approach.
"You can use a lot of words. It's disappointing, unfortunate," he said. "It's an issue that it seems like a generation of players are upset with."
Former Ramirez teammate Tony Clark, now with the Diamondbacks, agreed.
"Any time you have the superstars in your game find themselves in difficult situations, it can't help but cast a general cloud over the group as a whole," he said. "And that's why someone as respected and appreciated for his ability as Manny is makes it really difficult. As a fan, as a former teammate and obviously now as a competitor, it makes it difficult."
Tigers manager Jim Leyland offered another view. He said the suspension would soon be forgotten by the fans who cheered on the 1998 home run race and Bonds' pursuit of Hank Aaron's all-time homer record.
"I'll probably get fired for saying this but I'm going to say it anyway," Leyland said. "I don't really think the fans care."
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