Now What?

Barry Bonds ... Roger Clemens ... Sammy Sosa ... Mark McGwire ... Jose Canseco ... Manny Ramirez ... Alex Rodriguez ... David Ortiz?

Big Papi has some serious explaining to do. His name is now linked with those who have used illegal substances to help advance their baseball careers. A list of players who failed what was supposed to be a confidential test back in 2003 has sprung more leaks than Titanic and in the process, has sunk the reputations of some of baseball's biggest stars.

A report in yesterday's New York Times, Ortiz is on the list of players who failed the test in '03. Back then, Ortiz was just beginning his stretch of dominance that made him the most feared left-handed hitter in baseball not named Bonds and launched the Red Sox to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007.

During this year's spring training - in the wake of Alex Rodriguez being on the '03 list - Ortiz made strong comments about steroid users. Ortiz stated that all known users of performance-enhancing drugs (PED) should face a one-year ban from the game.

Now that his name has surfaced, Ortiz looks foolish and hypocritical. For his part, Ortiz has not shied away from the controversy. In a statement he released after yesterday's 8-5 win over the A's - in which he crushed a three-run homer to give the Sox the lead in the seventh inning - Ortiz said he would like to know what drug caused him to fail the test and that he will be honest with the public when he gets his answer.

Even if Ortiz is found to have failed over a minor miscommunication - like taking a medicine to recover from an illness, for example - the '04 and '07 Red Sox will forever be tainted. Ramirez was also on the '03 list and coupled with his failed test and 50-game suspension this year, no one knows just how long he was taking PEDs. Who knows how many other members of those glorious Sox teams was on the juice?

Just because those championship teams are tainted does not mean that we as fans can not still celebrate them. Those were real moments and the memories of Ortiz' greatness are only diminished, not completely erased. It's not like Ortiz and Ramirez were the only players who illegally sought out an edge. It was a widespread problem that effects more teams and players than we are aware of at this point.

Now, if Ortiz failed because he was directly taking steroids, I hope he follows his own advice and takes off a year from baseball. Owning up to his mistakes is the one way he can still be a role model for the thousands of children who proudly wear his No. 34 on their back and the only way he can begin to scrub away the bad feelings this incident has caused.