Congress Bailing Out Manny Ramirez

Today's explosive news that lazy Red Sox turncoat (and current LA Dodgers slugger) Manny Ramirez has been suspended for 50 games after violating Major League Baseball's drug policy is already tearing up talk radio--but unlike previous baseball stars who came under suspicion of steroid use, Ramirez is probably going to avoid a congressional subpoena. Though Congress has actively investigated baseball's drug culture, the locus of that activity--the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee--won't be taking up the issue. I called the committee's chairman, Edolphus Towns, to ask whether he planned to look into the Ramirez drug suspension or whether he was going to pass on it, as he did Alex Rodriguez's admission of steroid use earlier this year. He's passing. "Chairman Towns is continuing to focus on the stimulus, the financial bailout, getting Americans back to work, and passing legislation to strengthen the federal workforce," his spokeswoman told me.