AP Photo/Chris Carlson

Manny Ramirez's suspension brought on some angry reactions Thursday.

By John Kruk and Eric Young, ESPN

Editor's note: The news Manny Ramirez had been suspended 50 games for taking a banned substance rocked baseball Thursday. John Kruk and Eric Young answered a few important questions:

How does Manny Ramirez's 50-game suspension impact the clubhouse and the Dodgers' chances?

This is devastating to a young team that follows Manny Ramirez around like a puppy dog. They love this guy and look at him as a great teammate. They've been betrayed by a guy they trusted, and that's going to be tough for these guys to handle. This is a relatively young clubhouse that only got younger in the offseason with the departure of Jeff Kent and Nomar Garciaparra. What really bothers me, and what should bother players in his clubhouse, is that this was a mistake that could and should have been avoided. These aren't the early days of drug testing when people didn't understand what was going on. Every player should make it his responsibility to bring his personal medications to a team trainer to confirm that it's OK to put those drugs in his body.

When that doesn't happen, we're left with an excuse like this that, although it might be plausible and even true, still reeks of the same thing we hear when an Olympic athlete gets caught. Trust me, that isn't the correlation Major League Baseball wants in the minds of its fans.

Luckily for this organization, the Dodgers will still be able to win this division because of how weak it is. Even without Manny, the Dodgers have enough capable hitting to take this division.

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I hung out in this locker room last season when the Dodgers played the Astros and was absolutely amazed at how quickly Manny had taken over this team. He had eight or nine players by his locker at all times listening to his music and talking hitting. If Manny went to the cages, so did seven or eight other guys.

He transformed the work ethic of some players on this team. He clearly had an amazing run with the Dodgers last season, but his hitting might not have been the biggest asset he brought to the table. He led by example last season, by keeping the team loose and never letting it get down on itself.

When a team is as young as the Dodgers are, players can get down on themselves after back-to-back bad at-bats or a three-game losing streak. Ramirez let the little stuff roll off his back and just kept going out there and playing at a high level. After a while, that attitude rubbed off on this team and we saw it at the end of last season when they started to take off. We were seeing it at the beginning of this season.

It's going to be very interesting to see how this team handles the three-game losing streaks that teams inevitably go through in a season without its leader. This team is still talented enough to win the division even without Manny, and he'll give the Dodgers a big boost when he comes back. They have enough hitting to win this division and are still the favorites in my mind.

As a former player, do you feel cheated?

John Kruk: Yes, I feel incredibly cheated as a player because I played in that era. I feel cheated as a fan because I don't know whether the numbers I'm seeing players put up out there are actually for real or whether they are augmented. People come up to me and ask me how many home runs I hit and I'm embarrassed to tell them the number because the number is so paltry. But you know what? At least I know that number was through my talent and hard work.

Also, on occasion guys will mention that my 10-year career could've been 15 if I had help. My reaction is always the same: Sure, I could've played another five years, but what would happen if I was in the Mitchell report and had to explain that to my kids? I like telling my kids to do as I do and not just as I say. No amount of money is worth having to sit down and explain to my children that I was a cheater.

This could cheapen everything that he has worked for because it doesn't make any sense. It bothers me a great deal when these types of allegations hit guys like Manny and A-Rod because they are more talented than 90 percent of the players in the majors. Is it insecurity or arrogance that makes them feel they need to get an edge in this game?

Actually scratch my use of the term "edge" because they aren't getting an edge. Getting an edge is going to the film room and studying opposing pitchers. Gaining an edge is hitting off a tee for hours in the offseason. Gaining an edge is legally working out in the offseason so a player is ready for those tough times in the middle of the season when everything drags on and on.

Doing what these guys are being accused of isn't gaining an edge, it's cheating -- plain and simple.

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Eric Young: I feel cheated as a former player and especially as a former Los Angeles Dodger. I had the pleasure of being drafted by and growing up in this organization. I was treated with class, so it hurts me to see it sullied because of the misstep of one of its players. This has put a stain on the Dodgers' recent success, and that's a shame.

Speaking as a player who made the choice to play the game cleanly, I'm angry. There's no need for a player who is this good to take a shortcut like this and cheat. It cheapens the game, his legacy, baseball's legacy and the legacies of the players who played with him. I hate that this is what we're talking about instead of the games and great stories that are going on in the game. Heck, the Kansas City Royals are playing great baseball and instead we're having to talk about this -- and it hurts.

It also hurts because I know that, despite playing the game cleanly, I'm always going to be looked at suspiciously because I played in this era. Right or wrong, every player in this generation is now sullied by these horrible allegations.

Past Baseball Tonight Clubhouses: May 6 | May 5 | May 4 | May 3 | April 30

TOUCH 'EM ALL

Who went deep? Keep track of all the home runs hit each day on "Baseball Tonight" and on the Baseball Tonight Clubhouse page.

For more, check out the Home Run Tracker page.

Home Run Tracker
NAME	HR	OPP	PITCHER	SITUATION
H. Ramirez, Fla	4	Atl	Jurrjens	Bot 1: 2-1, 2 Outs. None on.
D. Ross, Atl	3	Fla	Sanchez	Top 2: 1-1, 0 Outs. 1 on.
C. Kotchman, Atl	1	Fla	Sanchez	Top 3: 0-1, 2 Outs. None on.
H. Ramirez, Fla	5	Atl	Jurrjens	Bot 6: 2-2, 2 Outs. None on.
J. LaRue, StL	1	Pit	Ohlendorf	Bot 5: 0-0, 0 Outs. None on.

The complete list of Thursday's homers