Who had Manny Ramirez in the office steroids pool?

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Who would have guessed that Manny Ramirez was on steroids?

Oddsmakers, for one.

Back in February, Bookmaker.com released a pair of lines about potential baseball cheaters.

While only a 10-to-1 bet as the first to admit to juicing, Ramirez was one of several favorites paying 7-2 for gamblers wagering that he would be the next to get caught using steroids.

Of course, Manny hasn’t actually admitted to ‘juicing,’ nor has he been technically been caught for ‘steroids.’ He’s actually in trouble for a more obscure drug called HCG. E-mails to the Costa Rica-based sportsbook and its New York-based PR firm were not immediately returned, so it’s unclear if it has paid out on any of the bets, or if somebody might still have hope of winning if and when a certain star falls from grace.

The book has released a new set of odds under the easily defined prop, ‘Who will be suspended by MLB under the drug policy next?’ When the lines opened this week, Alex Rodriguez led the way at 3-1, followed by Adrian Beltre (15-4), David Ortiz and Carlos Delgado (5-1 each), Ryan Howard and Albert Pujols (6-1 each), Alfonso Soriano (13-2), Zach Greinke (9-1) and Derek Jeter (11-1).

-- Adam Rose

Cartoon of Manny Ramirez by Steve Greenberg for LAObserved.com. For more of Greenberg’s work, visit http://www.greenberg-art.com. Used with permission.