Good Roidance

So Manny Ramirez decided to retire from baseball rather than face a 100 game ban for using a banned substance. I'm not surprised.

Many never respected baseball and no one should be surprised by his decision. What should have shocked people was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays were willing to pay him millions of dollars this year after his record of cheating and quitting. Manny has to rank among the all time greats in both of those categories.

Manny quit on the Boston Red Sox on multiple occasions, usually about the same time he wanted to show them his worth so they would cave in and pay him more money. Eventually, they tired of his act and sent him to the Dodgers where he carried the team to a rare playoff appearance and was the toast of Los Angeles. The following season, he was greeted with a 50 game ban and went into the tank after that.

No one should be surprised Manny chose to quit rather than face the music. Now that he has left the game, maybe all those wannabe Mannys will lose those extra long cut and baggy game pants he ushered into baseball because Manny couldn't wear the same uniform everyone else wore. Maybe players will abide by team policies regarding haircuts rather than looking like one half of Milli Vanilli, one of the other great cheats in history. Manny cared only about Manny and it showed in how he was unwilling to respect the tried and true traditions of great organizations like the Red Sox and Dodgers.

I only hope that some of Manny's past employers do the American thing and sue him for the money he he stole from them by cheating. Maybe someone will file a class action suit on behalf of the fans for all of the extra money they had to pay to see the quitting cheat. With any luck, Manny can spend his retirement years in the American court system fighting off one law suit after the other or dealing with federal investigators looking for someones head.

It won't happen because Manny will quit on America just like he quit on baseball. He will leave the nation he came to and cheated out of millions of dollars and return to his homeland, a hero. All I can say to Manny Ramirez is, "Good roidance."