There is no dodging the truth this time

It's never polite to gloat. But with the Bruins staring down the barrel of elimination and the Celtics falling behind in Hooterville Heights, we take what we can get, and Red Sox Nation is beaming over the news of Manny getting slapped for 50 games for using a banned substance.

The German word is schadenfreude and it represents the pleasure one derives from the misfortune of others. It fits nicely in the wake of all the nonsense aimed our way when Manny was rewarded for quitting on the Red Sox late last summer.

You remember. The savant slugger went to Los Angeles, where he was embraced by fawning fans and a sycophantic media, and suddenly the popular spin was that Manny was mistreated in New England. He spoke of how Boston was a place where he had to "suffer." Left Coast nitwits bought into the fable that Manny was just a misunderstood kid who was run out of Beantown by Blue Meanies and Red Sox management.

They gave him everything in LA. They put him on billboards. They sold those cool Manny wigs with Dodger skull caps. They promoted an entire section of Dodger Stadium as "Mannywood."

And two months ago, when Manny reupped with the Dodgers (after waiting for other offers that never came and settling for less overall value than he would have in Boston), McCourt said, "What's been most enjoyable is getting to know him as a person." Then the owner announced that every future Dodgers contract would include "The Ramírez Provision."

The Ramírez Provision is a clause allowing players to specify how many dollars they wish to donate to the community. It's a great idea. Too bad they named it after a guy with a history of stiffing his former high school baseball program, the Jimmy Fund, US servicemen, and his own teammates.

Manny is not an evil guy. But the folks in LA needed this jolt of reality to make them understand that baggage comes with his mighty slugging. In Boston, it was demonstrated time and again that Manny cares about money and ego more than winning. Finally, LA folks are seeing the other side of Manny.

Dodgers fans no doubt will drive down the 405 and give Manny the Chesley Sullenberger treatment when he returns to the lineup in San Diego July 3. Manny will resume his slugging and Los Angeles should make it back to the playoffs. But everything has changed.

Manny's future has changed. Pretty safe to say that he's now a Dodger for life. And they must be loving the fact that he pulled this stunt, then bailed without a word to anyone. Manny still hasn't addressed his teammates. One of his friendly LA columnists has called for full disclosure from Manny. Good luck. That's like asking a blogger to write under his own name.

Manny is eligible for the All-Star Game (isn't that special?), and he'll resume his march toward 600 home runs, but now he's just another cheat. He's in there with Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, Roger Clemens, Jason Giambi, Andy Pettitte, and Alex Rodriguez. Down the road he's going to be in that group of megastars who may have trouble getting into Cooperstown.

Ramírez's entry into Club PED further complicates the Hall election process as voters continue to cherry-pick candidates based on cloudy character issues in addition to stat worthiness. It's a whole new ballgame for voters. Instead of asking "Is this guy a Hall of Famer?" it's become "Sure, he's got Hall numbers, but did he test positive, lie in front of Congress, confess to a grand jury, or hide behind a language barrier?"

Before we go any further, can we dispense with any argument that Manny might not be guilty? His Scott Boras-scripted statement would cause a polygraph machine to explode. It was the "bad ice cube" defense - almost as predictable as the "it's not my stuff" defense when the cops find a bag of weed in the glove compartment. In his statement, Manny uses the word "physician" instead of doctor. Physician? Sounds just like Manny, no?

For Sox fans, the bad news is that Manny got caught taking something (a woman's fertility drug, of course) that is consistent with what a guy would take after a cycle of steroids. The inescapable conclusion is that he was juicing, which leads to the uncomfortable question: "For how long?"

Boston baseball fans have enjoyed a glass house existence during the steroid era. It's always been the "other guys" who were cheating and the Mitchell Report (conveniently gathered by George Mitchell, who ranks fifth on the Red Sox masthead under the title of "director") barely acknowledged that there was a major league franchise in Boston.

Those days are over, boys and girls. Manny's a cheat, which means he may have been a cheat in 2004 and 2007, which means those trophies that were paraded from Groton to Halifax are not quite as shiny as they were last week. No team was untouched by the steroid era. Everybody was doing it. Even some of the Idiots.

Which dumps a bucket of cold water on a warm schadenfreude Sunday.

Dan Shaughnessy is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at dshaughnessy@globe.com.