Let me first say that I don't think Manny Ramirez should be playing left field in the All-Star game.

But I also don't think that Major League Baseball should come down with any rules prohibiting it.

How many times have underperforming or undeserving stars been voted into the All-Star Game by the voice of the fans? It's an exhibition game of baseball stars more than it's a game dotted with players putting up the best numbers over the first half of the season. The vote by the players and managers that puts together the reserve team can take care of the players snubbed by the fans, but the starting lineups should continue to be influenced by the fans that have made the game of baseball great.

If people want the Manny Being Manny Show in St. Louis this July -- complete with the firestorm of controversy and drug discussions that would go along with it -- then they should have their dreadlocked anti-hero.

My take on the fervor around Ramirez' potentially getting voted into the NL starting lineup ahead of Ryan Braun, Carlos Beltran and Alfonso Soriano is a little different from the norm, however. It reaffirms something that I've thought for quite some time, but wasn't sure if I would ever had concrete proof positive of it. I take it as a vote from the fans of Major League Baseball that they don't give a flying crap about steroids and PEDs (Performance Enhancing Drugs) in baseball, and it's a subject that's more media-driven than fan-based.

It's something that media people like myself have done a very good job of wringing our hands and gnashing our journalistic teeth over, but the fans don't care as long as it's a goofy, likable star like Manny Being Manny rather than the ultimate villain, Barry Bonds. They don't care as long as the balls keep flying out of the park at a rapid pace. The mere fact that Ramirez, a cheater caught in the act, could be anywhere near earning recognition from fans is the ultimate proof that fans are fed up with the 'roids talk. Perhaps we should heed our audience about what they do and don't want to hear about, and instead focus more on the game than the eye-glazing discussions of designer drugs and BALCO scandals.

Me, I'd rather about talk about the titanic three-run bombs that Ramirez should be hitting in the bottom of the ninth at Chavez Ravine instead of imagining Manny hiding out wondering if his rabid fan base is going to push right into the Mid-Summer Classic. I might just be alone on this one, though. Here's this week's Peter Gammons segment with Mike and Mike on ESPN Radio.

Frank McCourt said it would be a great honor if Manny Ramirez is voted into the All-Star Game. Should MLB create some kind of rule that would prohibit players serving a suspension like Manny is from participating in the All-Star Game? PG: I think it’s something they could and probably should just because of the buzz that it would create around the All-Star Game. The All-Star game is nothing but an exhibition and you know how I feel about it affecting the World Series, but at the same time you want it to be a feel-good event. I think there would be a lot swirling around that would turn out to be negative, and it would be very divisive.

Manny will have paid his dues, lost his money, and spent his time and had the embarrassment. I get all that, but it would probably be in the best interests of the game to not have that swirling around.

Should there be a rule about it like there is with the Shawne Merriman situation in the NFL? PG: Oh, I think they have to create a rule. Fans are just going to punch out and there’s so much online voting. For some reason there’s this perception in Los Angeles that there’s some kind of conspiracy involving Manny, which is silly. I don’t think the Commissioner’s office would have any reason to want Manny out of the game.

He flunked a drug test and he’s admitted fault and so forth. If Manny has missed more than half the games in the first half of the season because of a drug suspension, then I think it’s very hard for the Commissioner’s Office and Major League Baseball to say ‘Oh good, let’s have him start the game’ and ‘Let’s have him in uniform at the All-Star Game’.

I don’t think Manny would be against that. I think he obviously enjoys some of the notoriety, but I also think that he would rather fly under the radar here and just fly home, maybe, to his house in Brazil for three days.

Juan Pierre is hitting over .400 since Manny went out of the lineup and it seems like the Dodgers haven’t even skipped a beat while all this has been going on. PG: They have surprised me and it’s great for Juan Pierre. He’s one of the most likable players. Getting Juan Pierre and Dontrelle Willis back and doing well is a great thing if you’re a baseball fan because they’re so likable and they both try so hard. It’s surprising that he’s hit this well and it’s a great streak.

Obviously he hasn’t replaced Manny’s production, but they’ve played very well. My theory is that Manny is going to come back to prove to the world about who and what he is, and the Dodgers will be even better. The maturation process for players like James Loney and Andre Ethier has been terrific and I think they’ll be an even stronger team in the second half for what’s happened to them in Manny’s absence.

Dodgers beat Cubs yesterday which brings us to Carlos Zambrano and his outburst? How embarrassing was that for Zambrano? PG: Well, I think one thing for his birthday he’ll get a coupon so he can go to the Joe West baseball umpiring school for free. That was a great ejection call he had. Yeah, he lost it. I thought the umpire made the right call and got it right. And even if he didn’t it was so close. But I understand the emotion and it’s part of what makes Zambrano such a good pitcher.

I don’t know if that was embarrassing, but I thought that the Todd Tichenor umpiring exhibition in Minnesota on (Thursday) was an embarrassment. Okay so he missed a call at home plate and then he rejected Mike Redmond and Ron Gardenhire. Then he lost his temper and ejected Jason Varitek and Terry Francona. Francona almost ended up in the hospital with high blood pressure and last year he misinterpreted a sign that Bud Black was making for a double-switch and ejected Bud Black.

Double-A would be a good place (for him). You can’t have umpires throwing people out of games for no reason and that was an embarrassment that I’m sure major league baseball is going to take care of. He obviously doesn’t belong in the big leagues umpiring.

Mark Teixeira said recently that Joe Girardi is the best manager he’s ever played for. It’s amazing how quickly things can turn around in New York, isn’t it? PG: Well it is, and it’s amazing that Joe Girardi has become so smart since A-Rod came back. Obviously Teixeira has really taken off with A-Rod behind him although their runs per game are almost exactly the same with A-Rod in the lineup. The difference is that the Yankees pitching has stabilized. The Yankees pitching staff has gone down two runs per game since A-Rod has come back. That’s not A-Rod’s doing, but it’s the stabilization of the team.

I think we’re seeing with Alex in the lineup how good the Yankees can really be. Phil Hughes is pitching better and there’s a chance that Wang can come back and be a part of the rotation, and I think that’s really the story. But I think it’s amazing that Joe Girardi can be “under fire”. So the Yankees weren’t playing well? I think people can overrate managers’ impacts on teams.

Yeah, okay sure Cecil Cooper is under fire in Houston and it seems that Clint Hurdle is always under fire in Colorado when his bullpen is imploding, but that was really silly about Joe Girardi. I think his worth as a manager has been borne out and I’m really glad to see Teixeira take his back. I hope this isn’t interpreted as a shot to Bobby Cox, Buck Showalter, Mike Scioscia or Ron Washington, who he has also been managed by.

I think it’s a good thing and the Yankees need to make it very clear that they’re rallying around Girardi, and I think what Teixeira is doing is taking some accountability for his slow start and the Yankees slow start coinciding.