Oakland: "Just say no" to Manny Ramirez

Major League Baseball is always talking about "getting tough" on players who use banned substances. Guys who helped define an era (like Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, etc) now wear a huge scarlet "S" around their necks because of steroid use. None of them will ever even sniff the Hall of Fame in spite of their huge numbers, and some teams (like the Giants with Bonds and the Cubs with Sosa) have basically disassociated themselves with the former faces of their franchises.
MLB and its teams are getting tough, right? ... Then what the hell is anybody (I'm talking to you, Oakland) doing considering signing Manny Ramirez?

Let's put aside the obvious fact that Ramirez is a bum these days. He hasn't really produced since he had to serve his first 50-game suspension with the Dodgers in 2009. In his last two stops with the White Sox and Rays, he looked old, he was out of shape, his bat speed was nonexistent -- he looked like somebody who should have retired two years earlier.

And let's forget about all the clubhouse shenanigans, of "Manny being Manny," which was just a clever way to saying he was being a moron who cared little about his teammates.

Instead, let's focus on the simple fact that he's a two-time loser in MLB's banned substance program.

He got caught once and had to serve his 50-game suspension. Manny swore he was clean the rest of the time with the Dodgers and White Sox.

Then, in spite of his clearly eroding skills, Ramirez got another shot with the Tampa Bay Rays last season. At first he was just an embarrassment on the field, getting only one hit in 17 at-bats. But then, after he got nabbed for the second time using a banned substance, he committed the ultimate unforgivable act: he quit on his teammates. He "retired" and simply walked away instead of serving what would have been a 100-game suspension. It was disgraceful.

Now, somehow circumventing MLB's supposedly tough program, Ramirez has gotten his 100-game ban reduced to 50 and suddenly has decided to "unretire." He's reinvigorated and ready to recapture some of his past glory.

You would think MLB teams would have learned their lesson about Manny by now. You would think they would want to take a stance against Manny as a two-time abuser. However, apparently Oakland, Baltimore, and Toronto all watched him work out recently, with the Athletics said to be most interested.

Obviously that whole "Moneyball" thing has gone out the window, and Oakland is just interested in drawing a few thousand fans who are more interested in watching a three-ring circus on the field than a winner. ... But that's another story.

MLB teams in unison should turn their backs on Ramirez and just say "no." He's an arrogant, classless idiot who doesn't believe the rules should apply to him, and when teams like the Athletics look to sign him, they're proving he really is above the rules.

And more importantly, they're proving that the whole "getting tough" on players who use banned substances is as big a ruse as Oakland's alleged interest in fielding a winning team in 2012.