Mannywood. You couldn't make this stuff up.

Human Chorionic Gonadotropin(hCG). Artifically high Testosterone. A personal health issue that requires the use of a female fertility drug that is also a masking agent for high testosterone.

According to ESPN's T.J Quinn Manny Ramirez was tested under Major League Baseball's drug testing program and was found to have higher than normal levels of testosterone. Quinn also says that subsequent research found that Manny was prescribed hCG under the direction of a physician in Florida. Manny did not fail MLB's drug test. So either hCG was not in his system or the tests did not recognize it. The medication must have been listed in his medical files. How else would Major League Baseball have been able to determmine that Manny was using it?

There are a million questions. Why was he taking hCG? Was/is he on steroids and trying to mask it? Does he have a personal health issue? Was he afraid of MLB finding out about the issue?

Responding to these questions when talking about Manny is difficult. However, would it be beyond reproach to think that Manny did have a health issue, as Yahoo Sports is reporting, and was forced to work with a private physician because he was embarassed to divulge the problem to the Los Angeles Dodgers team doctors? This would make sense since Manny has decided not to appeal the suspension. He obviously wants to move forward from this quickly. If it were steroid related wouldn't he and his agent fight the suspension or at least spin the issue in the media?

Either way, no one is reporting that Manny took anabolic steroids or anything along the lines of what Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, or weird A-Rod have been accused of taking or have admitted to taking. Manny accepted the suspension. Manny will come back in June or July. Manny will either tear the cover off the ball when he comes back or he will not. How he performs after the suspension will shape public perception, his chances of making the Hall of Fame, and indirectly the perception of the Red Sox World Series Championships in 2004 and 2007.

So until there is some proof of steroid use or Manny's performance deteriorates dramatically upon his return this issue should not be damning to: Manny's credibility as a baseball player, his past success, or the past success of the Boston Red Sox.