What they’re saying

MIKE SCIOSCIA,

Angels manager:

“You kind of have an inkling of some guys who might have changed their body type or did some things that were artificial. And some guys you know that just worked hard and are natural players. I think baseball can separate most of that.”

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CHIPPER JONES,

Atlanta Braves:

“You can’t have arguably the greatest pitcher of our era, arguably the two greatest players of our era and now another very, very good player be under this cloud of suspicion and not feel like it has ruined it for everybody. But what are you going to do? You can’t be born in a different era. It is the Steroid Era.”

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BRONSON ARROYO,

Cincinnati pitcher and

former teammate in Boston:

“It’s kind of shocking that he got caught up in anything, honestly.

Manny likes to play stupid, but he’s a pretty bright guy. And he’s definitely aware of a lot of things that he tries to act like he’s completely oblivious to.”

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TRAVIS TYGART, U.S.

Anti-Doping Agency CEO:

“We have no knowledge of the Ramirez case, but it’s highly unlikely an otherwise healthy, young athlete would need HCG [human chorionic gonadotropin] for a legitimate medical reason. That said, if there was valid medical need, his high-priced representatives should be fired for not ensuring that he was informed of the process that could have granted him permission to use it.”

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RUTH WOOD, an expert in steroid abuse at USC:

“They use [HCG] to essentially jump-start testosterone production.”

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DR. GARY WADLER, chairman of the committee that determines the banned-substances list for the World Anti-Doping Agency:

“It’s not infrequently part of the mix of the poly-drug approach to doping. It typically is used most when people are coming off a cycle to restore to normal biophysiological feedback mechanisms.”

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JOSE CANSECO,

former major leaguer and

admitted steroid user:

“I had to use [HCG] when I quit steroids cold turkey. I had to go to a doctor to get it and get my levels back. Yeah, they may not be taking steroids now, but they may have and now their testosterone level is not back to normal. HCG is one of those chemicals -- it works, but it takes time.”

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JUAN MARICHAL,

Hall of Fame pitcher:

“This is something regrettable because Manny is one of my favorite players and I thought his numbers, his average, his home runs and RBIs were clean.”