He probably thought it was a Flintstone vitamin

No, this isn't Manny Jr. This is what Manny Ramirez looked like as a rookie with the Cleveland Indians in 1993.

Now, I'm not going to sit here and take shots at Manny Ramirez for testing positive for a banned drug. The man was instrumental in securing not one, but two World Series Championships in a Red Sox uniform, so to sit here and drill him while staring at the banners in Fenway Park on NESN (Sox are up 1-0 in the 2nd) would be very hypocritical.

Whether or not he was on the juice with Boston might not be known, though the evidence is mounting that he probably wasn't clean. But really, it doesn't matter. This isn't about the player that he is or was. It's about his legacy in Beantown.

Boston tried desperately to jettison Ramirez over the years, not just through trades, but also through waivers. They never had a taker. And, like I mentioned earlier, they won two titles.

Then, in 2008, with Manny in a contract year, he tanked a couple months, blaming a balky knee (which, oddly enough, hasn't bothered him in LA). Finally, after a seven-and-a-half-year relationship, the Sox acquired Jason Bay in a three-team trade which saw Ramirez head west. For the rest of the season, it turned out to be a win-win for Boston and Los Angeles (Pittsburgh, unfortunately, got Brandon Moss and Craig Hansen from the Sox. Ouch.). Bay and Ramirez torched pitching throughout the rest of the regular season and into the postseason before the Sox and Dodgers were bounced in the ALCS and NLCS, respectively.

In April of 2009, both Bay and Ramirez got off to hot starts. That trend won't continue in May, June and part of July. For the next 50 games, Boston can bask in the fact that they have a left fielder. The Dodgers, not so much.

Sources have claimed the positive test was due to a sexual-enhancement drug. Others have their own doubts. Regardless, it doesn't change anything for me.

I grew up in the steroids era, so I'm pretty indifferent to anybody, even superstars such as Ramirez, being found guilty of steroid use. Call it cheating if you are old school, or because it's fashionable or whatever. By the late '90s, however, virtually everyone was on the same playing field. It wasn't even illegal until recently.

But under the new rules, Ramirez will pay the price and rightfully so. Not only will the 50-game suspension cost him almost $7.7 million, but it will also irreparably damage his legacy in the eyes of many.

When Manny hangs up the cleats for good and is Hall of Fame eligible in the coming years, I may look back on his career and his impact on Boston from 2001-2008 and feel some sort of sympathy for one of the greatest players to don a Red Sox jersey. I hope I do. For now, I don't. The terms under which he left don't help matters, but it's more than that. I guess as long as Jason Bay is being Jason Bay and Manny is wearing another uniform, I can't feel too bad for the guy.

Regardless, I haven't forgotten what he did for the Sox during the prime of his career. I hope that when he does retire, people remember what he helped do for the city of Boston, whether he was on steroids, Viagra or Flintstone vitamins. That, above anything, should be his legacy.