An Honest Red Sox Fan

One of the reasons I was so upset about Alex Rodriguez's name being the only one made public from the infamous list of 104 users of PEDs was how fans from other teams--especially those rooting for Boston--could point the finger at A-Rod while--hypocritically, of course--secretly dreading which one of their beloved players was on that list as well. The discovery of Manny Ramirez's PED use is a step in making things a bit fairer in that regard.

"I always thought that, for the rest of my life, I would look at [the Red Sox's 2004 World Series Champions] banner and think only good thoughts. Now, there's a mental asterisk that won't go away. I wish I could take a pill to shake it from my brain. I see 2004 and 2007, and think of Manny and Papi first and foremost. The modern-day Ruth and Gehrig. One of the great one-two punches in sports history. Were they cheating the whole time? Was Pedro [Martinez] cheating, too? That 2004 banner makes me think of these things now. I wish it didn't, but it does. This makes me sad. This makes me profoundly sad."

- ESPN's Bill Simmons, die-hard Red Sox fan.

Read the whole piece here.