With the recent announcement that Manny Ramirez tested positive for a performance enhancing drug, we lost one more hero.

In the post 9/11 world, that term has taken on a new meaning.  We've come to realize that the true heroes are those men and women who put their lives on the line to protect their fellow Americans.  What's more, Ramirez can hardly be held up as the model of baseball behavior, having committed a litany of on the field sins, ranging from the ridiculous to the reprehensible.  However, up until May 7th, Manny had avoided the black mist of steroids that is swallowing up a growing list of players, both past and present.  

The first real bombshell to strike baseball regarding performance enhancing drugs fell in the form of a 2002 Sports Illustrated interview with the late Ken Caminiti in which he admitted to using steroids as a player.  In the interview, in addition to revealing his own use, the 1996 NL MVP speculated that 50 percent of major leaguers were taking PED's.  At the time, it was a genuinely incendiary statement.  Now, 13 years later, who can say what we should believe?

Over the years, steroid storms have come and gone.  From Mark McGwire's dalliance with Androstenedione and his later refusal to "talk about the past" during Congressional hearings, to Roger Clemens' public war of words with confessed PED peddler Brian McNamee, many a reputation has been riddled with the bullets of alleged use and circumstantial evidence.  It's become hard to know what to believe, and almost no one is beyond suspicion. 

There have been a few points of light out there, though.  Guys we believed were clean. In part because we had no reason to think otherwise, and also because we simply wanted to trust someone.  Anyone.  The names on that list were Rodriguez, Ramirez, Pujols and Griffey Jr.  But following Selena Roberts' exposal of A-Rod's use with the Rangers and Manny's recent positive test for HCG, a female fertility drug often taken by steroid abusers, the list has been halved. 

Yes, we can debate how much 'roids help a ball player, or how long these guys used.  Maybe Rodriguez has hit 20 illegitimate homers, or maybe the number is closer to 220.  Could be that Ramirez broke the rules for the first time this year and just happened to get busted.  Unfortunately, we can't rule out the possibility that he's never been clean.  It was sad in 2001 when Barry Bonds hit 73 taters at the age of 37 and it merely seemed reasonable to suspect steroid use.  It's downright depressing now that we know for sure that the all-time home run champ cheated.

There was even a time when we could console ourselves with the thought that only the hitters were juicing.  At least the pitchers were clean, right?  Big muscles don't help you out on the mound.  Everyone knew that.  A few journeymen hurlers got caught with their hand in the cookie jar, but we could say it was just a couple of desperate outlaws.  All that changed when the greatest right-hander of his generation turned up dirty.  After Clemens fell, we were left with only a few remaining hints of naivete.

Back to Rodriguez and Ramirez.  Sure, their numbers were outstanding.  Almost inhuman some years.  Turns out they may have been just that.  Those stat-packed seasons might have been the result of a potent drug cocktail pumping through their veins.  We didn't know that though, and for the most part, A-Rod and Man Ram were above suspicion.  Sure, they hit homers and drove in runs at ridiculous rates, but not everyone could possibly be taking the needle.  We'd never heard anything besides less than credible whispers that they'd been juicing.  Why couldn't they just be that good?  The Ruth or Mays of our era?

Turns out we can throw them on the scrap heap with the rest of the cheaters.  I think most people would admit that Rodriguez does not deserve to be painted with quite the same brush as say, McGwire.  Big Mac, though great in his day, was little more than a one-dimensional slugger.  A-Rod once hit 40 homers and stole 40 bases in the same season, and went on to win a pair of Gold Gloves at one of the most challenging positions on the field. 

Same thing with Manny.  Though he's always been a defensive liability, he has been profoundly consistent and has put up many of the best offensive seasons of his generation.  But with both players, the bottom line is that they cheated, and we just don't know what was real and what wasn't.    

The benefit of the doubt is on life support.  It's no longer enough to seem clean.  Long-term greatness and consistent body structure doesn't prove your innocence anymore.  A good name in baseball circles doesn't guarantee anything these days, either.  Who do we dare to trust in this day and age?

Albert Pujols and Ken Griffey, Jr.  are the last names on the list.  Before injuries derailed his career, Junior was the best player in the game and looked like a real threat to break Hank Aaron's home run record.  Pujols is currently baseball's most dominating hitter, and still seems to be getting better.  You could argue for the inclusion of either of their names on any all-time list you could imagine.  And they're clean.  We think.  We hope.

They can't be cheaters.  Baseball needs them.  The fans need them.  I feel like I need them.  I grew up on the records of old:  Ty Cobb's all-time best .367 career average.  Warren Spahn's 363 wins.  Aaron's 755 and Roger Maris' 61 were as iconic as any numerals I could have imagined.  Hammerin' Hank is now second on the career homer list, and Maris' season total is no longer even in the top five. 

I want some stats to still matter.  I want a ball player to rewrite the record books with clean brush strokes.  I want to look back at Junior with the same fond thoughts 15 years from now that I had 15 years ago.

Maybe that time is gone.  Maybe we all just need to accept that these guys cheat.  Perhaps we shouldn't even look at it as cheating.  Could be it's just progress.  Advanced scouting reports and weight training came along and changed the game.  They're just ways to make you a better player.  Are 'roids the same thing?  Should we just get over the fact that the catalyst for improvement here is chemical instead of mental or physical?

That's the easy way to handle it.  It may even be the practical way.  But it doesn't strike me as the right way.  It's not fair to Stan Musial and Lou Gehrig, and it's not fair to any modern player who really respects the game, his body, and his fellow competitors. 

Sad thing is, there probably isn't a viable solution to all this.  For every new substance you test for, a black market chemist will whip up something new.  For every guy who gets busted, there will be five more who think they're too smart to get caught.  Maybe someday a combination of technology and law enforcement will get PED's out of the game.  Unfortunately, that day looks to be quite a ways off. 

So what is a fan left to do?  To find peace, I think there has to be a measure of acceptance.  It is what it is.  There will be great players who are cheating.  Guys on your favorite team and guys you like.  Some will get caught and some won't.  

Don't give up on everyone, though.  I think it's better the naively cheer than to cynically sit on your hands waiting for the next star to fall.  Steroids have taken enough from us.  Don't let them suck the joy and magic out of the game completely.  Embrace Miguel Cabrera, Johan Santana, and Ryan Howard.  Pull for Pujols to crack home run number 763 someday.  And please appreciate every big play Griffey ever made, because that was true greatness we were watching.

Baseball heroes are still out there.  They're just harder to find.