The First Believeable "I unknowingly took this substance" Victim

The most exciting part of any suspension in sports is finding out the excuse the law breaker will come up with. Rarely do those caught come clean and it's almost always someone else's fault. We've heard of a vindictive masseuse that took down Olympic Champion Justin Gatlin, that Miguel Tejada messed around with Rafael Palmeiro's B-12, and "the hGH belonged" to Roger Clemens' wife Debbie. These are just a few of the laughable ones. However, with MLB's newest and biggest catch, I actually believe Manny Ramirez (cue me from three years ago punching myself repeatedly). This really is another "Manny being Manny" moment.

Let's forget he played for the Red Sox for a second so I can say truthfully he is the best right handed hitter of my generation. Been that way since he was a skinny kid for the Cleveland Indians. There's no way this man has been using something to enhance his performance now. Although the story is still developing, he's already accepted his fate and emphasizes his clean history of drug testing. Skeptics will say, if he tested positive for something, he had to know he was doing something wrong. He's having some sort of problem (probably mental), went to a doctor, obtained a prescription they both suspected wouldn't cause any problems, and he went about his business. There's no doubt he should have attempted to clear this medication under baseball's Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE), but it's totally reasonable that he was absent-minded enough not to do so. Of all the athletes that have copped to "I unknowingly used this substance", this is one scenario in which I truly believe the guy. Who knew that all these year's of "Manny being Manny" could help to keep his name clean in an era where even one substantial rumor could kill your shot at the hall.