Fallen

There are two ways to go out. You can be taken out or you can take yourself out. Being taken out is rare, especially when you’re a star. Joe Theisman was taken out. Redskins fans and Giants fans know when and where it happened. But he’s really the exception. Most guys who played at a championship level took themselves out of the game. Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Cal Ripken Jr, Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and a host of other all-time greats simply walked away. There are all sorts of arguments to be made as to whether or not they stuck around too long. I’d argue in these cases they did not. Jordan’s 2nd comeback doubled ticket sales for a team in which he had an ownership stake, providing the revenue that would allow the Wizards to sign the free agents who took them to the playoffs. Wayne Gretzky was still able to tally points for a playoff hockey team at the end of career. Cal Ripken remained a solid defender who could still hit, Montana took the lowly Chiefs to the playoffs and Rice was still catching balls even after the Raiders collapsed in the Superbowl. But a time came for each of these men when they simply said enough is enough and hung up the equipment for other pursuits.

Today, two more stars walk this thin line. Manny Ramirez and Brett Favre are both at the crossroads, and both have arrived at this place of their own doing.

Manny Ramirez will begin serving a 50 game suspension for a positive test that indicates the use of steroids. His story is familiar. He says that he took a drug prescribed by a doctor for a health issue that produces test results consistent with those seen in people who are coming off a cycle of steroid use. He didn’t know what was in the drug, he didn’t use steroids, he’s sorry, he accepts responsibility, but he’s not a cheat. We’ve heard this before, most notably from Rafael Palmeiro, who claimed that he took B12 injections and ended up with positive steroid test results, and from Shawne Merriman, who claimed that he took an OTC supplement that had banned substances which were not part of the ingredient label.

But Manny’s story is a bit different. Baseball has been actively testing for steroids for several years now. This is the first positive test for Manny. Is it possible that he’s been using for some time and just got lucky? Sure. For some of us, the math will give Manny the benefit of the doubt. How could he have possibly gone through the past 4 years of random tests without getting caught unless he wasn’t using? It just doesn’t add up. But for others, the math will speak differently. They’ll point to Manny hitting ~250 home runs in the six years since he turned 30 as evidence that he must be getting some help. The human body isn’t designed to perform at that level once we cross our physical prime in the late 20s. The math says steroids.

In either case, Manny has removed himself from the game by taking whatever it is he took. And it may have been permanent. The Dodgers have wisely not said anything about Manny’s future. They have some time to think. But it’s certainly possible that by the beginning of July, if LA is still in first place, they may look at Manny’s now (even more) tarnished reputation and decide to be done with him. If they do, will anyone welcome Manny, with his reputation for being a clubhouse distraction and now a steroid user, into the fold? I don’t know.

And then there is Brett Favre. We’ve entered the 6th annual “will Brett play another season” summer carnival. The Jets have released him. He spoke to Brad Childress of the Minnesota Vikings about coming back. The Vikings reportedly want him to participate in off-season workouts, mini-camps, organized team activities, and as a bonus, go ahead and take care of that arm surgery that everyone else in the free world has told him he needs. Favre’s response yesterday? No thanks.

Is it permanent? Who knows? As a football fan I hope yes, mostly because this ongoing drama is annoying as hell. As a Bears fan I hope he comes back. That’s right. I hope he comes back. Men much wiser than I have written a good deal about how Favre killed the Jets last year and how he might do so again for the Vikings. Those thoughts are well founded. For those out there that still think this is the same guy who won a Superbowl against the Pats and came within Elway’s Superman impersonation of winning a second against Denver, well, think again. Since Favre’s last trip to the Superbowl his record reads something like this in the post season - 16 TDs vs. 18 INTs and a 3-5 record as a starter. Oh, and since then, for all of Marino’s records that have been broken, let’s not gloss over the fact that he also blew threw the all-time record for INTs.

The point here? This isn’t the same guy that all those Packer fans love and the Bears, Vikings, Lions and Bucs feared. That guy is gone. He’s not coming back. As of right now, Favre has decided to take himself out. If he comes back, at 39 years old, in need of surgery, and performing at a level where Thomas Jones thought he should have been benched in favor of Kellen Clemmens, then someone else will ultimately make the decision to take Favre out.