Rays Rumors

Manny Ramirez was "being Manny" one more time, with even his retirement announcement coming under unusual circumstances.  The slugger's abrupt departure from the game has already generated a great deal of controversy, and here's a sampling of some of the reaction…

• The overwhelming feeling from media members is that Ramirez's latest brush with a drug suspension probably ends his chances of being voted into the Hall of Fame.  One anonymous Cooperstown voter tells CBSSports.com's C. Trent Rosecrans that he "would have had a hard time voting for [Ramirez] before today. The fact that it happened again, I wouldn't vote for him now." ESPN's Amy K. Nelson wonders if Ramirez will even stay on the HOF ballot past his first year of eligibility.  (Twitter link)
• As Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com puts it, "if [Ramirez] had two positive tests after MLB began issuing steroid suspensions in 2005, how can we give him the benefit of the doubt that his numbers from the 1990s weren’t juiced, too?"
• Adding to Ramirez's ignomy is this fact tweeted by ESPN's Buster Olney: Ramirez would've been the first player to face a 100-game suspension under Major League Baseball's drug policy.  Technically, Ramirez would've just been the first Major League player to face such a long suspension — Ramon A. Castro and Prentice Redman received suspensions for 105 and 100 games, respectively, while on minor league rosters.
• Bobby Jenks tells WEEI.com's Kirk Minihane that his former White Sox teammate is "a really good guy" but didn't mince words about Ramirez's situation.  "You do it, you get caught, you’re an idiot. If you do it again you’re a dumbass,” said Jenks. “I mean, it’s sad to see. One of the greatest hitters, or one of them, to make the same mistake twice, same bad choice."
• Ozzie Guillen, Ramirez's manager last year in Chicago, praised Ramirez as a quality player and good teammate, but also praised the strength of MLB's drug-testing policy.  “It shows people that Major League Baseball is after [drug users]," Guillen said.  "They’re not playing around. They’re letting the players know how tough they’re going to be.”
• The retirement is "a miserable way to go," writes Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times.  Ramirez's career "ends in shame, the story of a phenomenal hitter who tried to hang on too long and by any means. There’s no final Manny quip, no dramatic last at-bat, no last chapter to make it right.
• Jonah Keri of Fangraphs thinks Ramirez's retirement, Evan Longoria's injury and an 0-6 start may inspire the Rays to already throw in the towel on the 2011 season.  Keri thinks Jeff Niemann, James Shields, Johnny Damon and Dan Johnson could become trade bait, though Keri also notes that Tampa Bay could just as easily keep some veterans around so as to keep young stars like Desmond Jennings from accumulating service time.
• Cork Gaines of the Rays Index predicts the team will stay mostly silent about the circumstances surrounding Ramirez's departure: "They will defer everything to Manny and Scott Boras and try to push as much of the stink in their direction."
• Rays manager Joe Maddon tweets that Ramirez's retirement "is a galvanizing moment for us."

Manny Ramirez has retired, Major League Baseball announced. MLB says it notified Ramirez of "an issue" under its drug program and that the longtime slugger decided to retire instead of continuing with the process. 

Ramirez would have faced a 100-game suspension if he hadn't retired, because he tested positive for a banned substance, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times (on Twitter). The positive test occurred in Spring Training, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). It would have been Ramirez's second major drug-related suspension; he was suspended for 50 games after a positive drug test in 2009.

Five games into his one-year, $2MM contract with the Rays, Ramirez's brief tenure in Tampa is over. He went 1/17 with a single and an RBI, getting booed by his own fans in the process. The Rays did not anticipate this development.

"We are obviously surprised and disappointed by this news," the club said in a statement. "We will have no further comment on this matter."

Ramirez ends his 19-year big league career with 2574 hits, 1831 RBI, a .312 batting average, a .411 on-base percentage and a .585 slugging percentage. The 12-time All-Star ranks 14th all-time with 555 homers and 9th all-time with a .996 OPS. Ramirez played for the Indians, Red Sox, Dodgers, Rays and White Sox, winning nine Silver Sluggers, two Hank Aaron Awards and the 2004 World Series MVP. He earned over $200MM in his career, according to Baseball-Reference, but won't earn the bulk of his agreed upon 2011 salary.