Mannywood tainted; Melvin fired; Price rocked

The legend that was Manny Ramirez took a huge hit Thursday. And he has no one to blame but himself

When Manny failed a drug test and was suspended 50 games, you could picture all the Hollywood billboard being taken down and painted over.

I mean, Mannywood billboards.

Most reactions around baseball hold court with previous suspensions: Not surprised.

But folks in Mannyland must feel deceived today. One fan said it felt like his dog died.

The Dodgers gave him $45 million for two years, promoted Manny as the face of the franchise, his voice is on commercials in between innings and they even built a Mannywood section (for $99, Manny's number, you get two tickets in the Manny section along with two Manny T-Shirts).

One Mannywood fan calling in on XM today said he paid $40 to have two anti-Manny shirts custom-made to show his hatred for the dreadlocked one in the Manny section.

Manny issued an apology statement, said he only took what his doctor thought was legal. Sorry, Manny, that doesn't hold water. You are responsible for what you put in your body. End of story.

GM Ned Colletti came out and said all the right things, that they do not condoned Manny's actions and are disappointed. None of that is surprising.

A little shocking is that Manny failed the drug text because he took HCG (or human chorionic gonadotropin), which is used as a sexual booster and to build testosterone production. It's banned because it is also used as a masking agent after a player comes down off a steroid cycle.

This doesn't incriminate Manny, but public opinion will. Perhaps, with each Arod and Manny that get caught, the bar on what will be acceptable to Hall of Fame voters comes down a small notch.

Fantasy Spin: Juan Pierre owners (if there were any left out there) are the biggest winners. If he's still on your wire and you need steals, he's a must-add, as he'll get most of the starts as Manny sits until July 3. Losers include most of the Dodgers lineup, albeit not much, but taking one big bat can have a way of affecting everyone's production. Starting pitchers also take a small hit, as each will have 10 starts without Manny, which may translate to 1-2 less wins apiece.

Melvin Fired: The Arizona Diamondbacks (who fell to 12-17 after today's loss at San Diego) have just fired their manager Bob Melvin, according to a source. No official announcement has been made.

Price rocked in Charlotte: For the second straight game, ALCS hero David Price was roughed up, this time giving 4 runs, 5 walks and 6 hits in 4 innings at Knights Stadium. The wind was blowing 11 mph to right, but no HRs were hit. Most disturbing, if you're holding onto Price for what was believed a May call-up, is he didn't strike out a single batter after 79 pitches. It's too early to give up on him in keeper leagues, but if you're holding a warm spot (and that includes yours truly) in a mixed league, it might be send him back into the waiver wire wilderness. The only glimmer of hope is Rays fifth pitcher Jeff Niemann struggled again tonight, yanked in the fourth inning. I'm guessing a mid-June call-up at this point, but it's only speculation.