As a Saux fan, it breaks my heart to see David Ortiz with Manny Ramirez wrapped up in this Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) drama. The Saux should do the right thing and give back those titles and win one in a clean game to restore some much needed honor to the game that has become nothing but a tainted nightmare for people who love this game. As a fan of baseball, former child player and purest of the game, I want the MLB to clean house, release all these 2003 test results and dump every player that is dirty for at least 1 full season. Slow leaking of these names isn't helping the game. Get them all out and over with so the game can move on.

On the List =/= Guilty of Rule Violations

Quoting Baseball's Steroid Era

"Of the 104 positive tests in 2003, at most 96 would have been considered positive by Major League Baseball at the time. According to ESPN, at least eight positive tests were for substances that were not banned by MLB in 2003.

For instance, the lab could have indicated a positive test for something like hCG (banned in 2008) or Androstenedione (banned in 2005) but MLB would have ignored it for the purposes of determining whether or not 5% of players had failed a test."

So, until we know exactly what everyone has tested positive for or they admit it, we will never know if David Ortiz actually was using something that was illegal per MLB at that time or one of the 8 people that was positive before the substance was banned by MLB.

Honor and Loyalty

MLB used to be about honor and amazement with the local celebrity of the famous ballplayers, wonderful stories, small ball and team loyalty. Now it's only about steroids, home runs, contracts/money and trades. Where are guys like George Brett, Ozzie Smith, Mike Schmidt, and Kirby Puckett? Play almost their entire career in a city that loved them for an organization that wanted to keep them. These aren't even massive market cities, but they always made it work. The city and fans loved their players, that hasn't changed but what baseball does following the steroid area will shape the game for generations to come.

Make it clean or make it dirty

Personally, don't care if people use steroids or PEDs. It has no impact on my enjoyment of the game. I do however care that people break rules. If you break rules, you should be punished. If MLB wants to allow players to use PEDs, then allow everyone to do it. These punishments after the fact do no good. Ortiz and Manny both have World Series rings and that is something that I doubt MLB will take away from them. So ask the fans of the Saux, who stand for everything right and crazy in Boston to help convince John Henry to give back that World Series Trophy. I would want to break the curse honest or not break it at all. If we keep these rewards for the work of PEDs then I want every team to have a trainer to feed these PEDs into them. Equal, consistent, and fair is all I'm asking, nothing more.

Honesty Is Something

Before quoting the New York Times, I want to share some information that I discovered today. If there is ever any bad news that comes from the NYTimes about the Boston RedSox, it has to be true considering that they own a minority stake in the club and Fenway Park. I'm sure that if you are going to be reporting on something that is hurting your pocketbook that you are going to be 1000% sure the information is true and accurate. Damaging a product that you own isn't good business, but as a news organization I'm glad they have ethics and still report the news even when it's bad about their own "employees".

Now, quoting Ortiz from the NYTimes.com article

"One, I have already contacted the Players Association to confirm if this report is true. I have just been told that the report is true. Based on the way I have lived my life, I am surprised to learn I tested positive. Two, I will find out what I tested positive for. And, three, based on whatever I learn, I will share this information with my club and the public."

I want to believe Ortiz . I want him to get someone from the MLBPA and come forth with the information and find out what he was using. I want to believe that he didn't knowingly use PEDs. And as hard as it is for me to say this, I want him to take a suspension like a man of his word and sit out for a year. That would mean more to me than anything. It would show me that he is willing to take true and real responsibility for his actions. Take all the money from that contract he signed and use it to educate kids about how PEDs are bad and how you need to be careful about what you put in your body (how it's a temple and such). If Ortiz would do some or all of these things, it will restore honor to the game more so than anything. Honor is what the game needs, not more homeruns, not more leaked names every 2 months. Baseball needs to restore honor and a superstar player holding himself accountable for his actions is the best way to save this game.