Manny Ramirez: More on HCG

For those of you that read about Manny obtaining hCg from a doctor for a "personal issue," here's a thorough article from ESPN on hCG that should be an eye opener.

Here's an update on Manny's suspension from the ESPN article:

"ESPN.com reported later Thursday that baseball's drug testing revealed that Ramirez had an elevated level of testosterone from an artificial source in his body, although that is not the reason for the 50-game suspension announced Thursday. The suspension was hooked to baseball's documentation of Ramirez's use of hCG."

For those of you like me who haven't got a clue as to what hCG is, here's a brief description of hCG and what it is used for per that same ESPN article:

"It is not an anabolic steroid but rather a fertility drug that is widely considered to be part of the chemical enhancement game played by athletes. The hormone is produced naturally by women during pregnancy and often is used by steroid users to reboot their body's natural testosterone production coming off a steroid cycle."

"It is also associated in the sports and the bodybuilding communities with serious and prolonged steroid use."

Given that last line, I now have to ask myself this question. How long has Manny been taking steroids if hCG is associated with prolonged steroid use?

Before this I still thought there was a chance that he might has only used steroids as he started to notice he was losing his edge, but now I'm not so sure.

The next question this begs is whether or not the Dodgers will pick up Manny's option for the second year of his contract.

Before this I thought that option was a "no brainer," but now I'm not so sure it will be a "no brainer" with the same outcome I had thought previously.

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