"In theory, the big loser in the Manny Ramirez mess should be Manny Ramirez.

His legacy is forever tainted, his shot at 600 home runs gone, his chances for election to the Hall of Fame reduced to all but nil.

But you certainly didn't get that sense from how he responded to the positive drug test, walking away rather than fighting or taking his punishment, and definitely not by how he reacted to the news, telling ESPNdesportes.com he was "at ease," that "God knows what's best" and that he was heading off to vacation in Spain.

The actual "losers" are the ones left to clean up behind him while he frolics.

For example, the Rays.

Faced with a depleted roster and slashed payroll in a pricey free agent market, executive vice president Andrew Friedman took what seemed like a reasonable risk in waiting out the winter to sign Ramirez for $2 million and Johnny Damon for $5.25 million in an unofficial package deal.

It seemed well-played at the time, with the potential - potential - for a huge payoff, especially if Ramirez took to the challenge of re-establishing himself. But what Friedman didn't know, of course, was Ramirez was not coming in good faith, but as a fraud; and one foolish enough to get caught cheating - again."