MANNY RAMIREZ SUSPENDED 50 games!

[kingjammy24]

Re: MANNY RAMIREZ SUSPENDED 50 games!

a few of the more pertinent excerpts i've read from around the web:

"If Manny had a sexual problem, or some other medical problem, he could have applied for a therapeutic use exemption. Everyone in baseball understands this. More than 100 players have applied for and received TUEs."

"..testing by Major League Baseball showed that Ramirez had testosterone in his body that was not natural and came from an artificial source, two people with knowledge of the case told ESPN's Mark Fainaru-Wada and T.J. Quinn. The sources said that in addition to the artificial testosterone, Ramirez was identified as using the female fertility drug human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG....

...Ramirez's case was set off when a test in spring training revealed he had elevated levels of testosterone in his body. MLB followed up with a more comprehensive test that confirmed the testosterone had to come from an artificial source, the sources said....

...While investigating, MLB obtained documents that indicated Ramirez's use of hCG, and it was those documents that formally were used to hand down the 50-game suspension. Baseball decided to suspend Ramirez for only hCG because, in the end, he would have only been suspended for just the 50 games either way. There was a chance Ramirez could have proved that the testosterone did not come from a banned substance, the MLB source said....

....The hCG use, a doping expert told ESPN, would have been separate from the use of the artificial testosterone reflected by MLB's testing.
Last fall, Canseco pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor offense of trying to bring hCG across the border from Mexico and was sentenced to 12 months' unsupervised probation. A self-admitted and longtime steroids user, Canseco said he sought the drug to try and restore his testosterone level....

"...It could be that a player used it because he used steroids and went cold-turkey and needed HCG to get his levels back to normal. I had to use it when I quit steroids cold-turkey," said Canseco. "I had to go to a doctor to get it and get my levels back...."

"...The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the drug was prescribed to address Ramirez’s erectile dysfunction....However, two sources said the substance Ramirez tested positive for was a gonadotropin. Major League Baseball’s list of banned substances includes the gonadotropins LH and HCG, which are most commonly used by women as fertility drugs. They also can be used to trigger testosterone production. Testosterone is depleted by steroid use, and low testosterone can cause erectile dysfunction... “Testosterone and similar drugs are effective for erectile dysfunction in that they jazz up your sex drive,” said Charles Yesalis, a professor at Penn State University who has testified before Congress on issues of performance-enhancing drugs. “But far more clinicians accept that affect with Viagra and Cialis. It’s hard for me to understand if it was erectile dysfunction why they would use it....”

...Another physician with experience in international drug-testing said LH and HCG are occasionally prescribed for men “whose testicles have basically stopped functioning...”

...The physician, who asked for anonymity because of his standing in the drug-testing community, said HCG is used to re-stimulate the testicles, primarily in men with a history of steroid use...."

"..What about Ken Griffey Jr? Canseco says Griffey has always been clean.."

in a few years, there are going to be some pretty lonely HOF inductions.

rudy.

[emann]

Re: MANNY RAMIREZ SUSPENDED 50 games!

How is that a performance-enhancing drug? I mean, unless there's a taco stand on Third...

Tell the competitive ultimate frisbee players, it gives them an edge...

[eisenreich8]

Re: MANNY RAMIREZ SUSPENDED 50 games!

HOW'S THAT MANNY LOVE FEST GOING OUT IN LA, PEOPLE???

It was just a matter of time. As several of us have previously and accurately predicted, you will be (are being) sorry for this regrettable signing.

And I hope his legacy sits shoulder-to-shoulder with Roid Rocket Roger.

[mwbosoxfan]

Re: MANNY RAMIREZ SUSPENDED 50 games!

Here is an excerpt from an article by Tony Massarotti, a Boston Globe writer highlighting some of Manny's numbers.

Entering the 2007 season, Ramirez was a .314 career hitter with a .600 career slugging percentage. In 2007, he batted .296 and slugged a mere .493. Those numbers continued along the same path of decline through much of last season; at the time the Red Sox sent him to the Dodgers, Ramirez was batting .299 with a slugging percentage of .529.

What has happened since, of course, has been a resurgence of Ruthian proportion. In one-third of a season with the Dodgers, Ramirez slugged .743 and hit nearly as many home runs (17) as he did in his last four months with the Red Sox (20). His slugging percentage since joining the Dodgers today stands at a robust .710, precisely .202 greater than the .508 he posted for the Red Sox from Opening Day 2007 up to last year’s trading deadline.

Along the way, Manny just happened top be playing for a new contract. Is it so outrageous to think he simply cycled up when he most needed it?

[godwulf]

Re: MANNY RAMIREZ SUSPENDED 50 games!

Hmm, prescribed by a doctor and he lives in CA? My guess is medicinal marijuana.

How is that a performance-enhancing drug? I mean, unless there's a taco stand on Third...

[bigtruck260]

Re: MANNY RAMIREZ SUSPENDED 50 games!

Manny - DUDE, what were you THINKING?

[flaco1801]

Re: MANNY RAMIREZ SUSPENDED 50 games!

oh its shock to everyone lolololol torre and the dodgers didnt know either..... gimme a break wouldnt have him for free

[Canseco44]

Re: MANNY RAMIREZ SUSPENDED 50 games!

I believe this is what Canseco was busted at the Border with trying to smuggle it in a while back. HCG is commonly used by steroid users to maintain the effects of steroids. If HCG is not used after a cycle, you will lose alot of what you have gained.

Todd

[kingjammy24]

Re: MANNY RAMIREZ SUSPENDED 50 games!

CNNSI: "Banned substances can only be taken with prior knowledge and medical clearance from baseball's drug-program administrators. Such exceptions are known as Therapeutic Use Exemptions, or TUEs. The suspension is an indication Ramirez did not have a TUE for the substance. ESPN is citing two sources that say Ramirez used a women's fertility drug -- HCG, human chorionic gonadotropin -- that helps the body produce testosterone."

i imagine with the MLB crackdown, players are trying to get more creative. either that or maybe manny was trying for a bun in the oven.

rudy.

[OaklandAsFan]

Re: MANNY RAMIREZ SUSPENDED 50 games!

wikipedia wrote:
In the world of performance enhancing drugs, hCG is increasingly used in combination with various anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) cycles. It is included in some sports' illegal drug lists.

When AAS are put into a male body, the body's natural negative-feedback loops cause the body to shut down its own production of testosterone via shutdown of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPGA). It is a common misconception that estrogen will be elevated post cycle. Generally, estrogen is below a normal level after a cycle.[11] High levels of AASs that mimic the body's natural testosterone trigger the hypothalamus to shut down its production of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) from the hypothalamus. Without GnRH, the pituitary gland stops releasing luteinizing hormone (LH). LH normally travels from the pituitary via the blood stream to the testes, where it triggers the production and release of testosterone. Without LH, the testes shut down their production of testosterone, causing testicular atrophy.

In males, hCG mimics LH and helps restore and maintain testosterone production in the testes. As such, hCG is commonly used during and after steroid cycles to maintain and restore testicular size as well as endogenous testosterone production. However, if hCG is used for too long and in too high a dose, the resulting rise in natural testosterone will eventually inhibit its own production via negative feedback on the hypothalamus and pituitary.

[dodgersfan]

Re: MANNY RAMIREZ SUSPENDED 50 games!

Gonadotropin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Jump to: navigation, search
Human Menopausal Gonadotropins are protein hormones secreted by gonadotrope cells of the pituitary gland of vertebrates.[1]
Gonadotropin is sometimes abbreviated Gn. The British spelling is gonadotrophin.
Contents

[hide]

• <LI class=toclevel-1>1 Types <LI class=toclevel-1>2 Mechanism <LI class=toclevel-1>3 Diseases <LI class=toclevel-1>4 References
• 5 External links

//
[edit] Types

The two principal gonadotropins are luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). Both hormones consist of two peptide chains, an alpha chain and a beta chain, linked by Hydrogen bonds and van der Waals forces. LH and FSH share nearly identical alpha chains, while the beta chain provides specificity for receptor interactions.
A third human gonadotropin is human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), produced by the placenta during pregnancy.

[edit] Mechanism

Gonadotropin receptors are embedded in the surface of the target cell membranes and coupled to the G-protein system. Signals triggered by binding to the receptor are relayed within the cells by the cyclic AMP second messenger system.
Gonadotropins are released under the control of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) from the arcuate nucleus and preoptic area of the hypothalamus. The gonads — testes and ovaries — are the primary target organs for LH and FSH. The gonadotropins affect multiple cell types and elicit multiple responses from the target organs. As a simplified generalization, LH stimulates the Leydig cells of the testes and the theca cells of the ovaries to produce testosterone (and indirectly estradiol), while FSH stimulates the spermatogenic tissue of the testes and the granulosa cells of ovarian follicles.

[edit] Diseases

Gonadotropin deficiency due to pituitary disease results in hypogonadism, which can lead to infertility. Treatment include administered gonadotropins, which therefore work as fertility medication. Such can either be produced by extraction and purification from urine or it can be produced by recombinant DNA.
Failure or loss of the gonads usually results in elevated levels of LH and FSH in the blood.

[3arod13]

Re: MANNY RAMIREZ SUSPENDED 50 games!

Drugs of abuse

1. Cocaine
2. LSD
3. Marijuana
4. Opiates (e.g., heroin, codeine, morphine)
5. MDMA (“Ecstasy”)
6. GHB
7. Phencyclidine (“PCP”)

Manny probably got prescribed Oxycodone (Percocet) or something like that. Doesn't really affect his performance if it's Percocet - actually inhibits it. I think Manny's rep will be restored.

Seriously? He doesn't have that great of a rep as it is.

[camarokids]

Re: MANNY RAMIREZ SUSPENDED 50 games!

MLB Network says he was suspended for taking a PED.....

He tested positive in Spring Training and again during the season.......

There goes the Dodgers season..... Bet the Padres are happy.....

[bigtruck260]

Re: MANNY RAMIREZ SUSPENDED 50 games!

Drugs of abuse

1. Cocaine
2. LSD
3. Marijuana
4. Opiates (e.g., heroin, codeine, morphine)
5. MDMA (“Ecstasy”)
6. GHB
7. Phencyclidine (“PCP”)

Manny probably got prescribed Oxycodone (Percocet) or something like that. Doesn't really affect his performance if it's Percocet - actually inhibits it. I think Manny's rep will be restored.

[OaklandAsFan]

Re: MANNY RAMIREZ SUSPENDED 50 games!

1) there are more performance enhancers than simply steroids or HGH.

2) the source for this info is an "anonymous source close to ramirez" so who knows whether it's accurate or whether it's simply a friend trying to do some sort of damage control.

3) if the substance was indeed for sexual performance, then who's to say it doesn't or wouldn't enhance physical performance in general? why would the MLB ban a substance that only improved sexual performance?

"There have been some suggestions that the vasodilation effects of Viagra could improve the effect of anabolic steroids if taken together, but no real medical basis has proven that to be true. Viagra's vasodilation effect is fast-acting; it has a quick onset (as soon as 30 minutes) and is removed from the bloodstream within hours..."

"Dr. Gary Green, a clinical professor in UCLA's division of sports medicine and adviser to Major League Baseball on anabolic steroids, says he has not specifically heard of athletes' combining Viagra with anabolic steroids. But he is aware of over-the-counter supplements such as NO2 -- whose main component is an arginine compound purported to increase nitric oxide levels and therefore increase blood flow, effects similar to the effects of Viagra -- being used in conjunction with steroids. Green is quick to point out that scientific studies have shown there is no benefit from this combination, but he also adds that the placebo effect in athletes can be quite strong, and if they firmly believe that something is helping them, their performance can, in fact, improve."

manny went through a protracted holdout all summer with the dodgers over money. now he's willing to lose $8mm without so much as an appeal.

rudy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_chorionic_gonadotropin