Death Of A Nation

"You can't say enough about him. Obviously, he's a freak. He's like a superhero. He's like that in real life, too, and I think that's why everything about him is so endearing, because he is a genuine person and people here love him, and there's a reason why." - Josh Beckett

"We always thought he was going to be a great hitter." - Ron Gardenhire

"I knew he was capable of a lot. But contending for the MVP every year? That’s amazing." - Johnny Damon

The Hero of a Nation.

The Man Who Took Down the Evil Empire.

Big Papi.

Cheater.

Red Sox Nation is in mourning as their beloved sluggers Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz have been outed as PED users for being on the now infamous 2003 "confidential" steroids list. Ortiz and Ramirez join Sammy Sosa and Alex Rodriguez in having their names leaked from this list. Someone who has this list is seemingly toying with Major League Baseball at this point, releasing new names just as we begin to forget about baseball's little steroids problem. I almost feel bad for Papi, and then I remember that he may be the biggest fraud of them all. Bigger than Sosa, or McGwire, or Palmeiro.

Do you want to know what Ortiz's reaction was when he was linked with "unwitting" steroid use in 2007? These quotes appeared in a Boston Globe article by Jackie MacMullan:

"I'm angry, bro," he declared. "I'm going to be angry for a while."

"I just want to know," he said. "What have I ever done for people to question my integrity? Why do people who have never met me want to [expletive] me up? Why would you want to hurt someone who has tried to do the right thing, be available to the media, to be respectful to the fans?"

"It is a very delicate situation, this steroid stuff," Ortiz said. "It's serious stuff. It is no joke. You cannot just say someone is a steroid user with no proof. That is dangerous."

You were angry Papi? You have tried to do the right thing?

Excuse me while I induce vomiting.

How different is this from what we heard from Big Papi the last couple days?

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll let you know,”

"I want to talk about this situation and I will as soon as I have more answers."

"I have already contacted the players association to confirm if this report is true. I have just been told that the report is true. Based on the way I have lived my life, I am surprised to learn I tested positive."

Gee, Papi doesn't seem to have quite the care-free, fun-loving attitude that he is known for. You know, the gregarious nature that made him the hero of a nation. Funny that he is surprised by the test result, since the Mitchell Report said that players were notified of their presence on the 2003 PED list by the player's union.

So, either the Mitchell Report, or David Ortiz is lying. You decide. You know what, maybe David Ortiz is just forgetful, like his countryman Sammy Sosa. Maybe now would be a good time for Papi to forget English and keep quiet for a while.

Sure, we knew Manny was a user. He isn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, he did test positive in a new era of enhanced testing. So seeing his name revealed on the 2003 list is not a great surprise. That's just Manny being Manny, once a cheater always a cheater.

But Big Papi? Never. He's so beloved by the Nation! He's a clubhouse leader, a media darling, a pillar of the Boston community. You can now add a few more descriptions to Papi's list.

A cheater, a hypocrite, and even worse, a fraud.

Seriously Papi, did you think you could run and hide forever? Did you think that your past use would just fade away into memory? Or is his ego so inflated, that he thought he could cheat, lie about it, and never have to face the consequences?

Nothing makes me happier than to see the talking heads at Bristol and the Nation scrambling to do damage control because the savior of Red Sox Nation is now forever tainted. Are there any fans out there more annoying than the Nation? They pass themselves as the common man, while living in the biggest mansion on the block.

They are much better than you normal sports fans. They care more. They know more. They have a better history. They have a better stadium. They have the cool kid GM. They have guys like Youk, and Millar, and the Bloody Sock, and Manny Being Manny, and Big Papi! They get to have an entire frickin' nation! They aren't like the Yankees fans, who have to cheer for evil guys like Clemens and A-Rod. They aren't like Cubs fans, who drink themselves silly in Wrigleyville. They are THE NATION!

Excuse me for a minute while I stab my eyes out with burning ninja death stars.

With all of the love and praise that has been showered on Ortiz and Ramirez, and Red Sox Nation, especially after the titles of 2004 and 2007, it brings me great joy to see Manny and Papi exposed. No one in this decade in sports has been put on the pedestal of Big Papi, especially by the Eastern Sports Network (isn't that what ESPN stands for?) I can't wait for the Papi exclusive with Peter Gammons. I can't wait for the boos to start to reign down from stadiums across the country. I can't wait for the Nation to be brought back to earth, with the rest of us normal sports fans. Yes, your guys cheated too.

It was embarrassing to watch Skip Bayless this morning try to make excuses for Ortiz. Yea, sure, maybe he unknowingly digested something he shouldn't have. Maybe he's clean and just made a mistake. We should take David Ortiz at his word.

Pardon me while I pour burning sulphur into my ears.

The 2004 and 2007 World Series titles for the Nation are now forever tainted. Don't try and tell me "oh, well everyone was using, so it must be ok." Yes, and if everyone started stealing from grocery stores then that would be ok too, right? Yes, I realize that players on every team had steroid users on them. Does that make the behavior right? Does that excuse Papi for parading around pretending to be the ONLY clean megastar of our generation? Are we just supposed to forget the lies and the frauds? Are we supposed to only remember the man that self-righteously proclaimed he was the one man in baseball we could believe in?

What are fans going to remember about those championships? Are they going to remember the joy that the Curse of the Bambino was finally broken? Or are they going to remember that a bunch of lying, cheating, roided up hitters finally brought them their championships.

The curse of the Bambino must have been a heavy burden to bear for Red Sox Nation.

The curse of Manny and Papi may be much greater.

Go ahead and have your two championships, and take your tainted memories with them.