May 8, 2009

You may have heard Los Angeles Dodgers slugger and superstar Manny Ramirez was suspended earlier this week by Major League Baseball.

As if the sport didn’t have enough cheaters, right? These boys just won’t let the steroid era end. Home run masher Mark McGuire won’t talk about it, A-Rod recently admitted he’s a cheat, and now Manny Ramirez has further tarnished a sport that was already a thick, gunky brown.

Apparently Ramirez will lose a hefty $7.7 million in pay to miss the 50 games that will keep him out until the July 4th weekend. (I wonder if the Dodgers and MLB will donate the money to charity… … … pockets of laughter… … …)

Manny Has ED?

The one item that we found interesting was that at least one credible source said that the illegal substance that was consumed by Ramirez was for erectile dysfunction. And immediately we wondered, since Manny has some time on his hands, will we see him on Sunday Night Baseball later this season — not hitting home runs at Chavez Ravine, but talking about “when the moment is right” for Viagra?

He probably wouldn’t fit in one of the Cialis dueling tubs, not with all of those steroid-ridden muscles, right? And Levitra seems akin to a small-market team in the world of ED medications, so our money is on Manny signing a lucrative ($7.7 million) contract with Pfizer, which manufactures Viagra. What a perfect fit. Rafael Palmeiro, a former spokesperson for Viagra, went down in flames in a similar steroid scandal when he was suspended in 2005.

If anything, this latest Manny Ramirez debacle makes us realize that Viagra, erectile dysfunction and Major League Baseball may be more intertwined than it seems. 

HCG the Culprit?

As the jokes continue to surface, it appears that the actual substance in question for Ramirez is HCG. According to the Los Angeles Times, “A high-ranking sports doping authority said HCG could legitimately be prescribed for a man who does not naturally produce enough testosterone, but BALCO founder and convicted steroid dealer Victor Conte said it is often used to replenish testosterone levels at the end of a cycle of steroid treatments… HCG is one of dozens of substances prohibited under baseball’s policy.”

HCG is not an ingredient in Viagra, Cialis or Levitra. Although these three FDA-approved ED meds are not banned by most sports leagues and associations, studies are underway, believe it or not, to see if they should be banned. Unsurprisingly (think about it) they can help blood flow in all parts of the body, and some studies indicate these ED medications provide an unfair advantage to athletes who compete at high altitudes.

We may see Viagra, Cialis and Levitra on the banned substance list yet. In which case Manny Ramirez would apparently be left with no options for his ED.

Brian Bujdos