LOS ANGELES -- Now that suspended Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez's Minor
League assignment is over, attention has quickly shifted toward his imminent
return to the Dodgers' lineup.

Ramirez is scheduled to return to the team Friday when the Dodgers begin a
three-game series at the San Diego Padres.

And while Ramirez's main focus this weekend will be reacquainting himself with
big league pitching, manager Joe Torre said that his challenge will be to assess
his slugger's physical condition.

"Keeping an eye on him and try to get a feel for his game-shape," Torre said of
his duties. "Mainly just to make sure that he gets his legs under him."

Ramirez, suspended for 50 games for violating MLB's drug policy, played five
games in the Minors (two for Triple-A Albuquerque; three for the Class A Inland
Empire 66ers) and worked out Tuesday morning at Dodger Stadium.

Torre told reporters that he did not see Ramirez while he was at the stadium.

Torre said that he expects Ramirez to bat in either the No. 3 or No. 4 position
in the lineup once he gets back and that Ramirez will play every day.

Friday won't be the first time that a Ramirez return to the Dodgers merited
national media attention. When Ramirez joined the Dodgers during Spring Training
after lengthy contract negotiations as a free agent, it was also a huge story.

But Torre doesn't see many similarities between the two circumstances.

"We're playing for the marbles now," Torre said. "Right now, it's something that
he's never experienced before, basically restarting the season for himself in
July. I know the players are looking forward to having him back."

Source: David Ely / MLB.com

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers manager Joe Torre said Sunday that he's "curious" to see
how Manny Ramirez responds both physically and mentally when he returns to the
club on July 3.

Torre said it's difficult to predict how Ramirez will play when he returns
because of both the 50-game layoff and the fact that Ramirez is still
embarrassed by his suspension.

"I'm certainly curious to find at what time he'll start settling in," Torre
said. "The only thing you can do is to go out and play. I think it's going to
take some time for him to get ready to play every day, which he's not used to
right now."

But Torre said he was pleased by Ramirez's performance on Saturday when he
homered, walked and singled in a rehab game with Class A Inland Empire.

Torre, however, wants to see Ramirez in left field when Inland Empire hosts
Rancho Cucamonga in San Bernandino at 6:05 PT on Sunday. Ramirez was the club's
designated hitter on Saturday.

"I would like to see him out there for six or seven innings [Sunday]," Torre
said. "But everything seems fine. He's in a good frame of mind, but I still
think it's going to be an anxious time for him."

Ramirez is scheduled to return to the club on July 3 when the Dodgers play in
San Diego in the first game of a nine-game road trip before the All-Star break.

Ramirez won't be available to play at Dodger Stadium until July 16, when the
Dodgers host the Astros.

But Torre said he's fine with Ramirez rejoining the team on the road even though
it might have made for an easier transition if the team played at home when he
returned.

"That would've been nice, but again, you would still wonder about that first
road trip," Torre said. "But now we hopefully can get it all out of the way."

Source: Rhett Bollinger / MLB.com

LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. -- Manny Ramirez went about his baseball business Saturday
night, going through pregame stretching, shagging balls in left field and taking
batting practice.

His routine didn't include talking to reporters as the Los Angeles Dodgers
slugger resumed his minor league rehab stint. He replied, "No, gracias" when
asked if he would speak.

Ramirez went 2-for-2 with a walk before leaving the ballpark after the fifth
inning.

He homered in his first at-bat, sending the second pitch from left-hander Nick
Schmidt into left field after being introduced to a smattering of boos mixed
with cheers.

He batted leadoff as the designated hitter for the Class A Inland Empire 66ers
in his third rehab game. He wore a long white sleeve on his left arm.

Fans chanted "Manny! Manny!" during his second at-bat. Facing two strikes,
Ramirez drew a walk after Schmidt uncorked a wild pitch that allowed the runner
on first to advance, and then scored to increase the 66ers' lead to 3-0 in the
third.

Ramirez singled sharply up the middle to lead off the fifth, with Schmidt just
stepping out of the way of the ball. One out later, Trayvon Robinson flied out
to center, but Ramirez had already started running to second. He scrambled to
get back to first, sliding in behind the tag of Matt Clark to end the inning.

Then he departed the ballpark, stopping briefly to sign autographs.

Ramirez hasn't spoken to the media since Wednesday, when he played his second of
two games at Triple-A Albuquerque.

Inland Empire manager Carlos Subero said before the game that Ramirez was
expected to play long enough to get four at-bats. He said Ramirez likely would
play left field Sunday when the 66ers return home to San Bernardino.

"The basic thing is that he gets whatever he needs to get ready for his first
appearance in the big leagues," Subero said. "It's not much I can do. I got to
try to line up in the 1-hole and put him in DH. The rest is up to him. I ain't
giving him no bunt sign or nothing."

Ramirez is preparing to rejoin the Dodgers on July 3 at San Diego after serving
a 50-game steroid suspension.

"They miss his presence and he misses us," manager Joe Torre said before
Saturday night's game in Los Angeles. "I think they're genuinely looking forward
to him coming back. I wish he would have more [been around team during
suspension]. But it's uncomfortable for him."

Subero said his opinion of Ramirez didn't change after the suspension was
announced.

"The talent's there," he said. "You can't just get somebody and say, `All right,
go ahead, get an at-bat and hit a home run.' I don't think nobody would be able
to do that. You got have a talent, and he has a talent to be a great
ballplayer."

Ramirez was the star attraction at Lake Elsinore Diamond, where the afternoon
high hit 106 degrees and a hot breeze failed to offer relief from the stifling
conditions.

The 66ers were the visiting team against the Lake Elsinore Storm, the San Diego
Padres' farm club. The Storm's furry green mascot named Thunder added dreadlocks
to his costume in a nod to Ramirez's presence.

Several fans donned dreadlocks under blue bandanas, while others wore Ramirez
jerseys in the sellout crowd of 7,500. The only available tickets sold for $6
and allowed fans to sit on a grassy berm in the right-field corner of the cozy
stadium.

Ramirez walked by autograph seekers when he arrived at the ballpark 2 1/2 hours
before game time in a white SUV. He entered the dugout and offered handshakes to
several of his teammates and greetings of "Que pasa?"

During batting practice, Ramirez sent one pitch over the wall in left center,
while popping up others and sending some balls deep into the outfield. The
Dodgers sent assistant general manager Kim Ng and the team's PR director to Lake
Elsinore for the game, along with a security guard.

Kids hung over a dugout railing with balls and pens in hand, squealing for
Ramirez to oblige them when he came close to grab some bats. But he didn't.

Later, though, Ramirez signed autographs for fans who swarmed a railing along
the right side of the dugout.

Ramirez wasn't the only famous name in the 66ers' lineup.

He became the temporary teammate of Preston Mattingly, the 21-year-old son of
1985 AL MVP and current Dodgers hitting coach Don Mattingly, and Scott Van
Slyke, the 22-year-old son of former Pittsburgh star and current Detroit first
base coach Andy Van Slyke.

Mattingly yielded his usual leadoff spot to Ramirez, although he retained his
position in left since Ramirez was DHing.

"It's really awesome to be able to play with him," Mattingly said. "It's good to
learn from him, watch him hit. Obviously, he's one of the greatest hitters of
all time. My dad said, 'Watch him and see what he does."

Source: ESPN.com

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Manny Ramirez went silent.

Then, Manny left the building.

The Los Angeles Dodgers slugger made himself scarce in the clubhouse and didn't
talk to reporters as he came out for warmups for his final game with the
Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes on Thursday night.

Later, with the start of the contest delayed by rain, Ramirez wore street
clothes when he walked through a back door of the clubhouse, stepped into a
sedan with an associate, Rico Perdomo, and a Dodgers' security official and
drove away.

Asked if he would stop for an interview, Ramirez replied: "No, thank you, sir."

Heavy rains hit the ballpark, and the Dodgers made the decision not to suit up
Ramirez due to weather and field conditions. The game against Nashville began
almost an hour after the scheduled 7:05 start.

"Given what the field looked like at the time and what our reports were in terms
of the weather, we just felt it would be better to be safe than sorry tonight,"
Dodgers assistant general manager Kim Ng said.

Ramirez kept a low profile after it was disclosed that Major League Baseball is
cooperating with a federal investigation into where he got the
performance-enhancing drug that resulted in his 50-game suspension.

Drug Enforcement Administration investigators, sources told ESPN on Thursday
afternoon, are looking at a Miami doctor and his son as the source of Ramirez's
banned performance-enhancing drug.

"We're aware of the investigation and our department of investigations is
cooperating with the DEA," MLB president Bob DuPuy confirmed to ESPN. He
declined to answer any other questions.

Ramirez had spoken briefly with reporters during his first two days in
Albuquerque.

Ramirez was expected to return to California on Friday for four games, beginning
Saturday, with the Dodgers' Single-A affiliate at San Bernardino.

"We've got the schedule set," Ng said. "At this point, that's what we're going
to follow." The getaway capped a wacky three days for Ramirez in New Mexico, a
taste of Mannywood in the minors.

Shortly before batting practice, the Isotopes closed their clubhouse and asked
reporters to leave 15 minutes earlier than scheduled. A spokesman confirmed the
request originated with Ramirez.

The Dodgers standout had been slated to play seven innings Thursday. Ng said his
innings for the California minor league games would be determined later.

For the third day, Ramirez initially was listed atop the Isotopes' lineup in
left field. He played four innings in each of his first two games.

Ramirez went hitless in three at-bats with a walk for Albuquerque, but Ng said
it was too early to evaluate his performance.

"The most important thing is that he got some at-bats," she said. "He got to
play in the field, made a couple of plays last night. He was just trying to get
his sea legs under him."

Isotopes manager Tim Wallach said the results are less important than just
getting the slugger back on the field.

"I think he looks like Manny Ramirez," Wallach said. "I know when it's time to
go, when it really counts, he's going to be ready to go. That's what this is
leading up to. He doesn't look any different to me."

Ramirez is scheduled to rejoin the Dodgers on July 3 at San Diego.

Isotopes general manager John Traub said efforts to accommodate Ramirez went
smoothly. The club increased its usual security plan and took precautions with
crowd control, especially with a threat of rain each day.

"We were ready," Traub said. "Fortunately, we worked hand in hand with the
Dodgers."

As for giving Ramirez the superstar treatment, that wasn't a problem.

"Manny came with no airs whatsoever, no expectations, no entourage," Traub said.
"I think it says something that he flew in on a commercial flight. The only
direction we got was that Manny wanted to be treated like a regular guy. Nothing
special."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Source: ESPN.com

As Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez nears the end of his 50-game
suspension, Drug Enforcement Administration investigators are looking at a Miami
doctor and his son as the source of his banned performance-enhancing drug,
sources familiar with the investigation told ESPN.

Major League Baseball officials, when contacted, confirmed the existence of the
federal investigation.

"We're aware of the investigation and our department of investigations is
cooperating with the DEA," MLB president Bob DuPuy said Thursday afternoon. He
declined to answer any other questions.

Investigators believe the prescription for human chorionic gonadotropin, known
as hCG, was written by Pedro Publio Bosch, 71, a physician who has practiced
family medicine in Florida since 1976. His son, Anthony Bosch, 45, is believed
to have worked as a contact between his father and Ramirez. It's unclear how far
along the DEA is in its inquiry but sources indicated that investigators want to
know whether either man ever procured improper or illegal prescriptions for
other people. DEA officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Pedro Bosch practices in a medical building located across the street from Coral
Gables Hospital in Coral Gables, southwest of Miami.

Bosch, through his attorney, declined to comment. Anthony Bosch could not be
reached for comment.

Anthony Bosch is well known in Latin American baseball circles, sources say. His
relationships with players date at least from the earlier part of the decade,
when he was seen attending parties with players and known to procure tickets to
big league ballparks, especially in Boston and New York.

Records show Pedro Bosch, a 1961 graduate of University of Havana, has never
faced any disciplinary action in the state of Florida, where he has been
licensed to practice medicine since 1976.

Ramirez began serving his suspension May 7 and is scheduled to return to the
Dodgers' lineup on July 3. He is currently on rehab assignment with the
Albuquerque Isotopes. At the time of his suspension, Ramirez issued a statement
explaining why he went to a personal doctor.

"Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue," Ramirez said in the
statement. "He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was okay to
give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under
the policy that mistake is now my responsibility."

Ramirez's use of hCG was discovered almost accidentally, after he tested
positive for elevated levels of testosterone during spring training. After the
positive test, MLB requested medical records from Ramirez, which were turned
over by MLB Players Association officials. Those records contained the hCG
prescription Ramirez had allegedly received from Pedro Bosch. As ESPN first
reported, Ramirez was also given a test that determined the excess testosterone
in his body came from an outside source, but rather than suspend Ramirez for
using a steroid, an action Ramirez was expected to fight, MLB decided that the
proof Ramirez had hCG was sufficient to suspend him for 50 games, and Ramirez
accepted his punishment.

HCG, commonly used as a fertility drug, is not an anabolic steroid, but boosts
the body's natural testosterone production. It is commonly used by athletes and
others coming off a steroid cycle.

Ramirez has not offered an explanation as to how he tested positive for elevated
testosterone, and sources said they did not know whether the Boschs were
connected to whatever drug Ramirez would have taken to cause the positive test.

In early March the Dodgers finally signed Ramirez to a two-year, $45 million
contract, the second year as a player option. Ramirez was hitting .348 with six
home runs and 20 RBIs at the time of his suspension.

When Ramirez released his statement after the suspension, he added a final
thought: "I do want to say one other thing," he said. "I've taken and passed
about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons."

Source: Amy K. Nelson and T.J. Quinn / ESPN.com

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Suspended Dodgers star Manny Ramirez's brief stay with the
Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes was even shorter than expected.

After a prolonged rain delay Thursday, Ramirez left Isotopes Stadium about 7:45
p.m. MT. Without answering any questions, he took off in a white Nissan flanked
by several Dodgers officials.

"No thank you," Ramirez said in response to an interview request.

"The Dodgers have decided Manny Ramirez will not play in tonight's game because
of weather and field conditions," Isotopes management said in a prepared
statement.

Ramirez was expected to play three games in Albuquerque as he prepares for his
return from a 50-game suspension for violation of Major League Baseball's drug
policy.

Ramirez was replaced in the lineup by Jovanny Rosario, who is from Santo Domingo
in the Dominican Republic, the same town as Ramirez.

Ramirez was even less communicative earlier Thursday, asking Isotopes officials
to clear the media from the clubhouse, then refusing to enter the area during
the 30 minutes it was open following batting practice.

His bat spoke fairly loudly, however, at least during batting practice. He sent
liners around the stadium, and parked a ball to each field with towering drives
that jumped off his bat.

The official line for Ramirez was four at-bats in two games. He struck out
swinging once, bounced out to shortstop twice and drew a four-pitch walk.

"He was trying to see pitches more than anything," Albuquerque manager Tim
Wallach said. "He looked at some pitches that he otherwise might have swung at.
He wanted the opportunity to see as many pitches as possible."

Ramirez is still expected to leave for California on Friday in preparation for a
probable four-game stint with Class A Lake Elsinore, said Josh Rawitch, the
Dodgers' vice president of communications. Ramirez is eligible to return to the
Dodgers on July 3 when they face San Diego.

Source: Glen Rosales / Special to MLB.com

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- This time around, Dodgers star Manny Ramirez got to run the
bases and trot after the ball in the field during the second day of his Minor
League assignment following a 50-day suspension for a violation of Major League
Baseball's drug policy.

But he still hasn't gotten a hit, going 0-for-1 with a walk.

Greeted once more by cheers from the capacity crowd, he again batted leadoff
Wednesday for the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes. Nashville starter Tim Dillard
was nowhere near the plate, however, as Ramirez walked on four pitches to the
loud displeasure of the fans. Despite a steady rain, he smoothly trotted to
second on Chin-Lung Hu's sacrifice bunt but advanced no farther.

Dillard came after Ramirez on his second at-bat in the third inning. He took two
called strikes sandwiched around a ball before hitting a routine bouncer to
short.

Ramirez was scheduled to go five innings. But since he was set to bat sixth in
the fifth inning, coupled with a slick outfield, Ramirez came out of the game
after the fourth was completed, said Josh Rawitch, the Dodgers' vice president
of communications.

It's all about getting prepared to play, Ramirez said before Wednesday's game.

"I'm getting ready to play the game physically and mentally," he told the
Associated Press. "The first thing is getting my legs ready to play."

After failing to touch the ball in his four innings in the field Tuesday,
Ramirez was tested right away Wednesday, easily drifting back about 10 feet to
catch a lazy fly from Nashville's Jason Bourgeois to start the game. He also had
little trouble turning and chasing a line-drive double off the wall that Adam
Heether hit in the second inning.

Ramirez, who is eligible to return to Los Angeles on July 3 at San Diego barring
rainouts, will play for the Isotopes again Thursday and is scheduled to go seven
innings. Then he's set to suit up for Class A Inland Empire at Lake Elsinore on
Saturday, playing as many as four games for the 66ers.

And with the Dodgers continuing their hot play without him, Ramirez said he's
not worried about his contributions at the Major League level.

"They're playing great," he said. "I don't have to worry about 'Oh, I've got to
do this or I've got to that.' "

Source: Glen Rosales / Special to MLB.com

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Shortly after arriving in Albuquerque, Manny Ramirez vowed
that he wouldn't do interviews until his suspension ends.

"I ain't talking today, baby," he declared. "Write what you want."

Manny being Manny, that lasted about an hour.

Manny Ramirez wore his Albuquerque Isotopes hat during pregame warmups Tuesday.

One of the first questions was about whether he used steroids.

"I'm not talking about it anymore," he said. "I already said what I'm going to
say. I'm here to do my rehab, you know, and [go] to the game and get a couple
at-bats and get back to the big-league team."

The Los Angeles Dodgers slugger is in Albuquerque to get into playing shape as
he prepares to return from a 50-game suspension for violating baseball's drug
rules.

He was listed as leadoff hitter and playing left field Tuesday night for the
Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate. Albuquerque Isotopes manager Tim Wallach said
Ramirez will play four innings on Tuesday, five on Wednesday and seven on
Thursday.

"It's more to get him on the field, to get him some innings out in left field,
physically get him moving around," Wallach said. "The at-bats are important as
well, just to see live pitching."

It wasn't certain if Ramirez will see the series finale on Friday.

"I'm sure they'll let me know on that soon," Wallach said.

Ramirez is expected to rejoin the Dodgers on July 3 at San Diego. He shrugged
off questions about his public image, coming after several Albuquerque fans said
Monday they disapprove of his drug use but were still excited to see him play.

"People love me everywhere I go," Ramirez said. "I'm excited to bring a lot of
joy to a lot of people here. I feel good. I'm happy that I'm here."

Ramirez, who flew into Albuquerque aboard a Southwest Airlines commercial
flight, took the field for warmups wearing a red Isotopes hat over his
dreadlocks. He wore a white sports garment and white pants.

He said his plan was to work back into playing shape. Asked if he was close, he
replied: "Not really close. I haven't played like in 50 days, but I'm going to
catch up slowly, day by day."

Isotopes infielder Blake DeWitt, who has shuttled between the Dodgers and
Albuquerque this season, said Ramirez can be a positive influence in the minor
league clubhouse.

"He knows how to get ready," DeWitt said. "The guy's done this a long time. He's
had a ton of success. ... I'm sure he's going to be trying to see a lot of
pitches, get his timing down."

Wallach said he spoke with Ramirez and offered to do whatever the slugger needs
to prepare for his return to the majors. He also said they didn't bother to go
over the signs.

"I told him he's got the green light, not to worry about the signs," Wallach
said, laughing. "I won't be bunting or hitting-and-running with him. If he wants
to run, he can run."

In Chicago, Dodgers manager Joe Torre was thrilled that his suspended slugger
was playing ball again.

"I don't care what the results are, I just want to get him in game situations,"
said Torre, whose team was playing the White Sox. "He hasn't been missing for
this period of time before. As much work as you do in the weight room and
running on the field, it's still not the same as playing in a game. It's the
game situation that sort of changes the atmosphere and your approach. I need to
get him a number of games to get into the competition."

Source: ESPN.com

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- J.J. Gutierrez, a 15-year-old baseball fan, didn't mince
words when asked about Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez.

"He's a cheater," Gutierrez said. "But I still want to see him play."

Gutierrez and his father, Julian, were among a steady stream of fans who lined
up four- and five-deep at the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes' box office Monday
to buy tickets for this week's series against Nashville.

Ramirez is preparing to return from a 50-game suspension for violating
baseball's drug rules. He is eligible to be reinstated on July 3, when the
Dodgers are in San Diego and agreed to a stint in the minors to ease back into
form.

"It's just a matter of competition," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said last
weekend. "It's the idea of going out there and playing a game."

Ramirez has no shortage of drawing power for the Dodgers' top farm team.

Isotopes general manager John Traub said the 15,000-seat stadium is expected to
sell out for Tuesday night's game, including outfield berm seating. Tickets for
the remaining three games are going fast.

Fans began buying tickets Friday amid speculation Ramirez might be coming to
Albuquerque. The club sold almost 7,000 tickets that day, compared to typical
pre-game reserved sales in the hundreds for a midweek series in June.

"And then it got busy," Traub said. "Friday was nuts. Friday was a vacation
compared to what followed."

Since Torre told reporters on Saturday evening that Ramirez had agreed to begin
his minor-league assignment in Albuquerque, Traub said the Isotopes have sold
about 20,000 tickets for this week's four home games.

Traub had a message for fans planning to buy walk-up tickets.

"If you want to see Manny, you can see Manny," he said. "But we're telling
people not to wait until the last minute. If they do, they're going to be
standing in line and they'll miss his first two at-bats."

Which might be the extent that Ramirez plays.

The Dodgers haven't said how many innings Ramirez will play in each game or, for
that matter, whether he will complete the four-game homestand. He's tentatively
scheduled to play for the Dodgers' Class A team in the California League next
week.

The prospect of seeing one of baseball's biggest stars wasn't lost on fans who
lined up at midday in Albuquerque. Chris Lawson of Rio Rancho, N.M., bought four
tickets for Tuesday and plans to take his son.

"It's exciting. Manny's a phenomenal player despite the allegations or issues
surrounding him," Lawson said.

Asked about Ramirez's drug suspension, Lawson said: "I wouldn't say he's a great
role model. Hopefully, he'll learn from it. I mean, he's got great talent. He
doesn't need the drugs."

Linda McNall made the 60-mile drive from Santa Fe to purchase five tickets.
She's taking her daughters and granddaughters because "you just don't get a
chance very often to see somebody who plays at that level."

As for the reason Ramirez will be in Albuquerque, McNall said she disapproves of
players using drugs but can look past it.

"That's been dealt with in another way," she said. "He has been on suspension.
They're dealing with it in baseball. I think that's OK."

Source: ESPN.com

LOS ANGELES -- Manny Ramirez is hitting better now than he was before the start
of his 50-game suspension for violating MLB's drug policy.

That's the opinion of the guy whose pitches Ramirez has been hitting.

Rob Flippo, whose regular job is to serve as bullpen catcher for the Dodgers,
has spent some overtime throwing extra batting practice to Ramirez in his
morning workouts at Dodger Stadium.

And Flippo said the Ramirez, who will start a Minor League assignment Tuesday
night in Albuquerque, is more ready than anyone really knows.

"For me, he looks more like he did last year than he did at any time in Spring
Training," said Flippo. "From Spring Training and right until he got suspended,
he was still trying to find a rhythm. Even in April, he still looked like a
hitter going through Spring Training games. He was still trying to get it to
click."

Which was understandable, because Ramirez signed late, reported to the Dodgers'
first Arizona Spring Training almost three weeks after the rest of the club,
tried to rush his way onto the field, was slowed by a tight hamstring and never
looked comfortable.

Ramirez's journey back to the Major Leagues will begin Tuesday night at Triple-A
Albuquerque, and fans can follow his every move on MiLB.TV. After his Trade
Deadline deal from the Red Sox to the Dodgers last year, Ramirez was
other-worldly, hitting .396 with 17 homers and 53 RBIs in 53 games. This year,
prior to his May 7 suspension, Ramirez hit .348 with six homers and 20 RBIs in
27 games. Ramirez also found clubs reluctant to pitch to him, receiving 26 walks
in the 27 games compared to 35 walks in the 53 games last year.

"I can tell just by watching how the balls carry," said Flippo. "You can tell --
the way his rhythm is going when he has it together. You can tell if he looks
comfortable. You can tell when a guy is fighting it. Everything is looking easy
for him, as easy as when he came to us.

"One thing I can tell, when I throw a good pitch down the middle, I expect that
to be hit. With him, even when I don't give him a good pitch, he still drives
it. In Spring Training, if he got one of those bad pitches, he didn't hit it
that good. Last year, when he joined us, no matter where the pitch was, he hit
it hard. And right now, it's the same thing with him."

The 42-year-old Flippo is in his eighth season as the Dodgers' bullpen catcher
and batting practice pitcher. A Stockton native, he attended San Joaquin Delta
College, Fresno State, the University of the Pacific and received a masters
degree from the University of South Alabama. He played and coached in the
Dodgers' Minor League system before joining the staff.

Flippo said Ramirez's workouts, under the direction of Dodgers coach Manny Mota,
are much as they were during Spring Training.

"He's not doing anything different than his regular batting practice," Flippo
said. "It's like when he came into Spring Training. He would sometimes ask for a
little extra live throwing, in the cage mostly. He didn't ask me to come, but I
usually get to the ballpark early anyway when my family's not in town -- maybe
I'll workout -- and when he saw me, he asked if I could throw to him. He really
doesn't ask for anything special. Maybe for me it means an extra hour.

"When he wants extra swings, it's not like we're out there for hours. He might
ask for 25 throws, that's it. And almost always he's going the other way. A lot
of good hitters are like that, they want to drive every pitch the other way."

Flippo said for a batting practice pitcher, it's actually satisfying when the
hitter obliterates one of your offerings. That's what Ramirez has been doing
lately. And Flippo has learned to appreciate Ramirez's rare skills from the
distance of 60 feet, six inches.

"Until last year, I had never seen him on a regular basis," Flippo said. "He
comes to us and he never seemed to be off balance on a swing or get fooled by a
pitch, but he did in Spring Training and he did in April. He never seemed to be
in his rhythm. But he does now."

Source: Ken Gurnick / MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- Suspended outfielder Manny Ramirez agreed to start a Minor League
rehab assignment Tuesday night at Triple-A Albuquerque, Dodgers manager Joe
Torre announced Saturday.

Ramirez was suspended on May 7 for 50 games after violating the Major League
Baseball drug policy. Club management is hoping he will play three games in
Albuquerque, take a day off to travel to California, then resume the Minor
League assignment with four games for Class A Inland Empire in final preparation
for his return to the Dodgers lineup July 3.

Torre said he did not know Ramirez's plans beyond reporting for Tuesday's game.

"The only thing I know for sure is that he agreed to be there," he said.

Torre said he believes that Ramirez would benefit by seeing Minor League game
action before returning from the suspension. The drug policy allows for a
10-game transitional Minor League assignment -- but only with the player's
consent.

"It's just a matter of competing," he said. "Do I think he could play without
embarrassing himself? Yes. But it's best just to play games and get acclimated.
I think that's important. He doesn't need to put up numbers."

Ramirez has been working out at Dodger Stadium for nearly a month. But the club
is wary of Ramirez's hamstring muscles, which turned 37 during the suspension
and gave him trouble when he signed late, tried to rush his Spring Training
regimen and had to be shelved for more than a week of exhibition games.

Torre also said Ramirez was grazed by a pitch from a Dodgers farmhand during
Saturday morning workouts at Dodger Stadium.

"He was hit on the left hand by a breaking ball," said Torre. "The e-mail said
it was nothing, but it should be reported. I asked [bullpen catcher Rob Flippo],
who was there, and he said it was nothing."

Source: Ken Gurnick / MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- The Dodgers are hopeful Manny Ramirez begins his rehab assignment
Tuesday in Albuquerque, but they aren't confident enough that he will to
announce it, and they lack the authority to demand it.

Manager Joe Torre on Friday wouldn't provide any details about Ramirez's
upcoming schedule after issuing preliminary updates the previous two days that
were overwhelmed by shifting media speculation.

"There's really nothing we know for sure until something happens," said Torre.
"It will have to come from somebody higher than me."

Club officials, however, said nothing has been finalized.

Torre has determined, however, that Ramirez needs to see Minor League game
action before returning on July 3 from a 50-game suspension for violating the
MLB drug policy, which allows for a 10-game transitional Minor League assignment
-- but only with the player's consent.

The circus atmosphere that undoubtedly will follow Ramirez to either Albuquerque
or San Bernardino, or both, next week doesn't sway Torre from believing Ramirez
not only needs to play the field in Class A, but to also face Triple-A pitching.
Ramirez has been working out at Dodger Stadium for nearly a month.

"When you're talking circus, we'll be going to New York after his return in San
Diego," Torre said. "He played for Boston for seven years. He understands it.
Whether he can handle it or not, it's not a shock. Whatever he [encounters in
the Minor Leagues] will be minor compared to New York. Do I think there is a
benefit for having those at-bats? I do. A certain amount of practice he'll be
able to benefit from."

Ideally, Ramirez would play all of the games in one location, but the schedules
of the clubs make that problematic, which is why the Dodgers hope he plays
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in Albuquerque, takes Friday off, then joins
Inland Empire for games Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

"I think he's excited about the prospects of reaching out and touching it,"
Torre said of Ramirez's long-awaited return to game action. "Playing is what he
knows, and there's nothing in him to get in the way of that. Will it be
uncomfortable for a while? It probably will be. He won't be allowed to just play
baseball.

"When he came over to us last year, he said he just wanted to play baseball and
go home. It will be a time before he's able to do that. Once we get home, he'll
be more able to do that. His first experience will be a major thing to deal
with, people yelling out, being hunted by the media."

Source: Ken Gurnick / MLB.com

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers manager Joe Torre spoke with suspended outfielder Manny
Ramirez on Wednesday about starting a rehab assignment next week, but nothing
was finalized.

Torre said Ramirez missed another workout because of a cold or flu.

"He's still bothered by a sore throat," said Torre. "We talked about sometime
early next week, he'll play some games. I think in San Bernardino. We're
thinking about the convenience of the thing. We're still communicating. Nothing
is scheduled. We have to get him back on the field. We hope he can work out
tomorrow."

San Bernardino is the Dodgers' Class A Inland Empire affiliate. However, its
schedule doesn't appear to be entirely cooperative. The California League
All-Star break is Monday-Wednesday, then the 66ers resume play Thursday-Saturday
at nearby Lake Elsinore, before returning to San Bernardino.

Ramirez, suspended on May 7 for 50 games for violating the Major League Baseball
drug policy, is eligible to return to the Dodgers on July 3 and is allowed to
play in as many as 10 Minor League games while suspended in preparation for his
return.

Source: Ken Gurnick / MLB.com

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez on Tuesday made his first public
comments since being suspended on May 7 for violating Major League Baseball's
drug policy.

During an unscheduled meeting with reporters prior to the Dodgers' game against
the Padres, Ramirez declined to elaborate on his initial statement made after
the 50-game suspension was handed down, offering no further details about what
led to the suspension. He is eligible to return to the Dodgers on July 3.

"That's in the past," Ramirez said. "Whatever happened, that's in the past. I'm
coming to play my game and move on. What happened, happened. I spoke to [owner]
Frank McCourt, I apologized, I spoke to [manager] Joe Torre, my teammates and
I'm ready to move on. I didn't kill nobody, I didn't rape nobody. That's it."

The 37-year-old Ramirez said in a statement when the suspension was issued that
he was given a banned medication (human chorionic gonadotropin, a female
fertility drug) by a doctor for a medical condition. Ramirez could have applied
for a "therapeutic use exemption," but he did not.

Anti-doping experts said the absence of hCG in Ramirez's drug test, coupled with
the 50-game suspension MLB handed down, indicated that the Dodgers outfielder
used steroids, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

HCG -- not a steroid but a substance banned by MLB's drug policy -- was not
found in his system. But a prescription for the drug was found in medical files
that were turned over to MLB after Ramirez's drug test during Spring Training
showed a synthetic testosterone level four times normal for an average male.
Ramirez reportedly dropped an appeal because the prescription was conclusive
evidence of a violation.

Ramirez would not address any of that. He said he continues his morning
workouts, which included running the bases for the first time Tuesday.

"I'm just happy to be back and say hi to the guys," he said. "I come in the
morning and I run, ran the bases today. It was good. When they go on the road I
stay here and work out."

He said he will probably need a week of Minor League games to get game-fit, as
is allowed by the terms of the suspension. Ramirez said he's been watching the
Dodgers play since he's been out, sometimes called teammates afterward to offer
batting tips, and he made special mention of Juan Pierre, who has played
spectacularly in Ramirez's absence.

"They've been playing great. When I come back, maybe I'm Wally Pipp," he said,
referring to the New York Yankees first baseman who missed a game and was
permanently replaced by Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig.

Torre said he didn't know if the commotion surrounding Ramirez's return would
prove to be a distraction for the rest of the club.

"I don't know the answer to that," Torre said. "Early on for a period of time, I
think, obviously, when he spends a lot of time here it becomes less of a
novelty. But the fact that we're really not home that much at this juncture
because we're gone this weekend and we're gone next weekend and beyond that to
Chicago."

Nonetheless, Torre said he was surprised to see Ramirez on Tuesday.

"I can't speak for everyone else, but he did [surprise] me," he said. "We had
heard possibly he would show up last week, and he has been showing up, but not
when we're here. I still think he's uneasy being around until he starts playing
the game, that's what he wants to do, that's what makes him the most
comfortable, and I think anything other than that is going to make him a little
antsy."

Ramirez said he believes the fans will welcome him back.

"I'm happy they support me and love me here and they know I let them down, but
I'll come back and make it up and move on," he said. "I'll just come and play
every day and play hard and that's it. Fans say, 'Hey, we miss you, we're
waiting for you to come back.' That's a good thing. I went to Miami, everywhere
I go people are crazy with me, 'Don't worry about it, man. You go and do your
thing and come back better than ever.' Everywhere I go. What can I do? They love
me.

"It's going to be crazy [at home]. On the road, it'll be the same. They boo me
anyway. I love it, man. When they boo you the most, you focus, and that's a good
thing."

Ramirez said the hardest part of the suspension is simply missing the games.

"I'm not used to sitting for 50 games," he said. "When I come back, I'll be
ready. Seems like 100 games. Just want to come and play the game. Just want to
come and play. Need no more motivation. Like I say, sitting around at home for
50 games -- it's tough, you love the game. Something like this happens, makes
you better, makes you stronger. I'll be fine when I come back."

Source: Ken Gurnick / MLB.com

No, I don't, and if you ask Manny, he'd give you the same answer," said Torre.
"I understand a lot of it is a popularity contest and you want to give the
manager the best players, but to me, the significance of the All-Star Game is to
reward players who had a good first half.

"They don't always do that. But I always feel it's great to have young players
[given] a chance to make the club. Look at Evan Longoria, and rightly so.

"Manny's popularity is why he's gotten votes. Realistically, he didn't have,
except for reputation, a right to be an All-Star. It probably isn't the right
thing for him this year, from the baseball aspect, I've got to think."

I like Joe Torre, but he's got this completely backwards.

I mean, from the "baseball aspect?" Really?

From the baseball aspect, Manny Ramirez belongs in the All-Star Game. The fans
vote for their favorite baseball players, plus the All-Star Game has
traditionally been reserved for the best baseball players. Granted, there's
often space for players having the best seasons and for players who are neither
great nor having a great season, but happen to play for a team that's bereft of
talent. Still, there would be little argument if Ramirez were voted to the
National League team despite missing 50 games with a baseball injury.

This isn't about baseball, though. It's about drugs and cheating. And I'm sorry
because I'm not generally one to moralize, but a player who's been suspended for
50 games for cheating simply doesn't belong in the All-Star Game. No way, no
how. I know the commissioner's hands are often tied by the players' association,
but this really shouldn't even be an issue. There should be a rule, something
like this, already: Any player suspended, due to violation of Major League
Baseball's drug policy, shall be ineligible for the next All-Star Game.

Baby simple, and completely appropriate. Yes, it's too late to do anything about
Manny. And, yes, someone should have thought of this a long time ago. But we
shouldn't ever have to deal with this question again.

Source: Rob Neyer / ESPN.com

Commissioner Bud Selig is keeping an eye on the All-Star voting numbers, and is
weighing his options in the event that suspended outfielder Manny Ramirez wins
election to this year's showcase event in St. Louis.

Ramirez is serving a 50-game suspension for use of a performance-enhancing drug.
He will be eligible to return to the Dodgers' lineup on July 3 if none of the
team's games are rained out between now and then. The All-Star Game will be
played on July 14.

In the first round of voting revealed this past week, Ramirez finished fourth
among National League outfielders, just 34,000 votes removed from a spot in the
starting lineup.

Selig told The Arizona Republic that he is analyzing his options.

"I'm going to think about that," Selig said. "He doesn't come back till July 3.
Normally, I'm sensitive to the wishes of the fans. If the fans choose someone,
I'd like to honor that. But we've been testing players for a long time, and it
bothers me that someone would [cheat] at this stage in the game. I've got some
time to think about this one."

Source: MLB.com

LOS ANGELES -- Outfielder Manny Ramirez worked out at Dodger Stadium on Monday
morning for the first time since he was suspended for violating the MLB drug
policy on May 7.

With his teammates in Denver to face the Rockies in a Memorial Day game, Ramirez
returned to California from his Florida home and apparently will continue
working out at Chavez Ravine while the club is out of town through the week,
playing in Colorado, then in Chicago against the Cubs.

There also has been talk of Ramirez working out at the club's Camelback Ranch
complex in Arizona.

Ramirez, who received a 50-game suspension, will be eligible to be activated
July 3 if the Dodgers have no rainouts.

On May 15, Ramirez met briefly with the club at the team hotel in Miami. Ramirez
has a home in the Miami area. Club officials said Ramirez had been in contact
with the training staff and said he had been working out in Florida.

MLB rules allow suspended players to work out with their clubs, but they must be
off the field by the time stadium gates open.

Suspended players also are allowed to serve a 10-day Minor League rehabilitation
assignment at the end of their suspension to assure they are in game shape for
their return, and Ramirez is expected to agree to that.

Since Ramirez left the club, its record is 10-7 and its division lead has
increased from 6 1/2 games to 7 1/2 games. Juan Pierre, who has started all 17
games in left field since the suspension, is batting .397 with 16 runs scored.

Source: Ken Gurnick / MLB.com

MIAMI -- There were no detailed explanations, nor angry confrontations, when
suspended outfielder Manny Ramirez met with, and apparently apologized to,
teammates and uniform staff Friday at the team hotel.

"It was uncomfortable, I'll give you that," said manager Joe Torre. "He was a
little anxious, you could sense an uneasiness I hadn't seen. He was remorseful,
no question, and embarrassed. He went around, shook hands. The guys were happy
to see him. It was more for him to show his face. He's embarrassed. He wanted to
team to know how sorry he is."

The first meeting between Ramirez and the club since he was suspended on May 7
for 50 games for violating the MLB drug policy lasted less than 10 minutes. The
meeting followed a stern suggestion from club chairman Frank McCourt that
Ramirez needed to face his club as part of the healing process.

Even players not staying at the club hotel -- several, like Ramirez, have homes
in the area -- showed up for the meeting.

"It was something we had to do," said Torre, who called the meeting
"conversational."

Torre said Ramirez was uneasy.

"He walked in the room, you could sense Manny was the center of attention and it
gave him a sense of uneasiness and it made them uneasy. I don't think there was
any anger. Everybody is in pretty good spirits once the silence was broken. My
advice to him -- it is what it is. Get ready to come back. Don't hide from it."

Asked if Ramirez had let down him or his team, Torre said:

"In his mind he has. A lot of questions are asked. Maybe not from my
perspective. I have a relationship. We're not as good a team without him, or not
as powerful a team, put it that way. But it's like being on the DL. You don't
have him. You continue to do what you do. He feels he let them down. It's like
children, they do something wrong, you continue to love them. I'm here for
support, not to pass judgment. I have to take care of the club, and he's part of
the club. We're going to welcome him back. We're not going to disconnect from
him."

Torre said he expects Ramirez to begin working out next week, either at Dodger
Stadium or the club's Arizona training facility, possibly in a combination of
the two depending on whether the club is home or away. Torre also said he
expected Ramirez to address the media, "at whatever time he feels is
appropriate." Torre suggested that would be better sooner than later.

Teammate Andre Ethier said Ramirez was "sorry" and "remorseful." Player
representative Russell Martin said the meeting ended with Ramirez hugging many
of his teammates. Casey Blake said Ramirez was apologetic.

"Yeah, sure -- but nobody needed it or expected it," said Blake. "I don't think
anybody was looking for an apology. I think it was heartfelt. I don't think
anyone was worried about it or it was on anybody's mind. You can tell he's
genuinely concerned about his team and his teammates. I'm sure he feels bad. We
didn't expect him to say anything, to apologize. Everyone knows how he's
feeling. It's nice to see him again.

"He's a great guy. He's a man. You've got to be a man to play this game. He made
a mistake and stood up to it. He was himself. We didn't really say anything.
Just shook his hand, said, 'What's up.' It was brief, five or 10 minutes. He
knows he made a mistake. I know I forgive him."

If there are teammates upset with Ramirez, it hasn't become apparent.

"I don't think anybody here is angry with him," said veteran pitcher Randy Wolf.
"Obviously, we want him back, but we have to wait a little bit. The reason there
is not anger is everybody likes Manny. He's still a teammate. He'll be back in
July and we'll be trying to win a championship with him here. Nobody wants to be
divisive and make it tense in the clubhouse.

"The reality is, he's suspended 50 games. We have to move on and play without
him and play well until he comes back, when he'll be a good mid-season
acquisition. He just let us know what's up. He kind of told us."

Source: Ken Gurnick / MLB.com

Banned slugger Manny Ramirez will likely meet with Los Angeles Dodgers manager
Joe Torre and the team on Friday when they visit the Florida Marlins, a source
told ESPN.

It has not been determined when the meeting will occur, the source said. There
had been some speculation Ramirez would meet with the team in Miami, where he
maintains an offseason home.

Ramirez apologized to Dodgers owner Frank McCourt during a meeting Sunday to
discuss his 50-game suspension for using a banned drug.

McCourt said at the time he wanted Ramirez to speak to his teammates about the
suspension.

"If Manny takes the steps that I'm hopeful he will, I think this will be
something that won't damage this franchise at all," McCourt said. "We all make
mistakes, and it's how we deal with those mistakes that really differentiates
one from the other. And if Manny does with others what he did with me yesterday,
I think we'll be on the road to full recovery."

Although Ramirez is eligible to work out with the Dodgers during his suspension,
the all-star outfielder has yet to do so. Dodgers manager Joe Torre told ESPN on
Wednesday he did not know if or when Ramirez would take the opportunity.

"It's up to Manny," Torre said Wednesday night prior to the finale of a two-game
series in Philadelphia. "Right now, I think he's struggling with his feelings."

Source: ESPN.com

Bud Selig has gone into hiding.

These should be days of triumph for the beleaguered commissioner. He ought to
wave a Mannywood T-shirt before the nags in Congress: Look, boys, we caught a
big fish!

Instead, these are days of silence. In the six days since Manny Ramirez was
suspended for violating baseball's drug policy, we have heard not a word from
Selig.

There is no joy, not to the players and teams with which Ramirez performed,
their accomplishments suddenly subject to suspicion. There is no glory for
Selig, only the depressing realization that the past might haunt him and the
future might taunt him.

Selig pounced on Alex Rodriguez this spring, responding to the revelation that
Rodriguez had failed a 2003 drug test with a statement that said he had "shamed
the game" and bragging about advances in baseball's testing program.

Yet Selig has said nothing about Ramirez, about the case that best validates
those advances, about the extraordinary investigation that supported the initial
test.

When Selig pointed the finger at Rodriguez, critics pointed right back at him,
as the commissioner of the steroids era. Selig is enormously sensitive about his
legacy, and friends say he won't volunteer to take another hit by speaking up
about Ramirez.

That leaves the men in uniform to take the hits, warranted or otherwise. The
Boston Red Sox rolled into town Tuesday, the team for which Ramirez starred en
route to World Series championships in 2004 and 2007.

Dustin Pedroia, the second baseman on the 2007 team, dismissed the suggestion
that Boston fans might now wonder whether to believe in that team.

"That's ridiculous," Pedroia said. "We would have won the championship with or
without him. He had some big swings, and his presence brought a lot to the
table, but it takes 25 guys to win a championship."

Terry Francona, the Boston manager since 2004, tersely rejected the notion that
his championships might somehow be tainted.

"Why?" Francona said.

Ramirez tested positive for a banned substance.

"When did he test?" Francona said.

This spring.

"You're just digging up stuff now," he said. "I'm proud of our guys."

It's not just Selig with a legacy at stake, or Francona, or the Red Sox. It's
just about everyone in baseball, including the team across the field from the
Red Sox on Tuesday.

The Angels won the 2002 World Series with three players -- Brendan Donnelly,
Scott Schoeneweis and Series MVP Troy Glaus -- since tied to the use of steroids
in subsequent years.

"It doesn't diminish anything we accomplished," Angels Manager Mike Scioscia
said.

And, really, how can it? The Angels beat Barry Bonds in the World Series.

Joe Torre got to the playoffs with Roger Clemens, Jason Giambi, Andy Pettitte
and Alex Rodriguez in New York, with Ramirez in L.A. Is he a tainted manager?

The Mitchell Report identified 86 players linked to performance-enhancing
substances. George Mitchell himself said he suspected there were many more.

We'll never know which players were clean. We'll never know which teams were
clean.

Lou Merloni, the onetime Boston infielder, said last week that he sat in a Red
Sox team meeting one spring in which a doctor discussed the proper use of
steroids. The Red Sox denied it.

But you never know. In the Mitchell Report, former Angels General Manager Bill
Stoneman recalled a seminar at baseball's winter meetings in 1998, in which two
doctors asserted to team executives and physicians that "there was no evidence
that anabolic steroids were bad for you."

We cannot -- and should not -- say the Angels of 2002 were illegitimate
champions, or the Red Sox of 2004 and 2007. We don't know what they might have
been taking, or what their opponents might have been taking, or what half the
league might have been taking.

"You'd have to go back to the beginning of time in baseball and evaluate
everything," Boston catcher Jason Varitek said.

Never mind the asterisks.

Let us look to the future, innocence lost, vigilance in its place.

Let us temper our righteousness with the realization that revelations from the
past might flare at any time, that the use of performance-enhancing substances
can be controlled but not eradicated so long as there are performances to be
enhanced.

"It's never going to go away," the Angels' Chone Figgins said. "We can help with
the testing, and the testing is going to get better. But, as far as going away,
it's never going to happen."

Selig never can stand in front of a stadium, basking in applause beneath a
banner that says, "Mission Accomplished." On this issue, he'll have to be
content with the sounds of silence.

Source: Bill Shaikin / latimes.com

It would have been so much easier if we didn't like him so darn much.

If he hadn't smiled at us from the batter's box, danced in left field on Cinco
de Mayo, called himself a singles' hitter, and made fun of his defense all the
time.

It made you feel like you were the only fans that really knew him, the real
Manny Ramirez, and all those uptight people back in Boston just didn't get him.

He wasn't flaky or cranky like everyone thought. He was wacky and made silly
wise-cracks.

But only us cool people in Los Angeles could see that. Because we were the only
ones who would really given him a chance, who appreciated Manny for being Manny.

And he seemed to love us right back.

"The thing that was toughest for Manny, in the feel I had from talking to him,
is how he disappointed everybody. He really loved it here," Dodgers manager Joe
Torre said last week, in trying to help the whole city come to grips with
Ramirez's 50-game suspension for violating baseball's drug policy.

"He loved how the fans just get turned on by him, when he plays games with them.
His personality really matches up well from what's been going on from last year
to this year."

So when the shocking news came down last week that Ramirez had screwed up, is it
all that surprising most of the city reacted like a father who just got a call
from the cops saying his teenage son had been caught joyriding?

We're mad. Disappointed. Sad.

But we just like him so darn much we're not ready to break up just yet.

Morally, we know using performance-enhancing drugs is a lot worse than taking
the car keys out of Mom's purse and sneaking out for a late-night 7-Eleven run,
so we don't feel all that good about it feeling this way.

But when you love someone, that's what you do.

Even Torre, the unflappable, hardened New Yorker, fell hard for Ramirez. For
Ramirez's personality, the professional way he prepared for every game, his
brilliance at the plate, and the way he changed the Dodgers' clubhouse culture
last season.

"Maybe the problem I have is I get close to these guys," he said. "I look at
them a little differently than somebody that doesn't know them as intimately as
I feel I do.

"As far as my relationship with players, I want to believe in every player. I'd
rather I'm disappointed every once in a while than to never have that trust.
Maybe I'm naive, but I chose to be that way, I really do."

Torre's not naive. Neither is Los Angeles. We all just trusted the wrong guy.

Anyone who has ever taken back a cheating boyfriend or girlfriend can relate.
They're charming and self-deprecating, they make us feel special, convince us
they've changed. So much so that you can't picture them ever not being this way.

Manny Ramirez loafing to first base? Pushing the Red Sox's 64-year-old traveling
secretary over tickets? Arguing with Kevin Youkilis in the dugout?

Not the Manny Ramirez we came to know.

The real truth is, the Manny Ramirez whom Boston fans came to hate and the Manny
Ramirez whom Dodgers' fans fell in love with are one and the same.

When the Dodgers' re-signed him this offseason, I wrote that "throughout his
sure-to-be Hall of Fame career, Ramirez has been a crystalline figure. Always
sparkling bright, but always reflecting the light from different angles.

"Captured, controlled and cajoled he can be the brightest star in baseball.
Which is why the Dodgers were willing to make him the second-highest paid player
in baseball.

"But if the weather changes, and even in temperate Los Angeles that can happen,
he can also be the biggest headache in baseball."

Only one part of that statement is now incorrect. After violating baseball's
drug policy, Ramirez is no longer a sure-to-be Hall of Famer.

All of his other-worldly talent now seems ... other-worldly in the worst way.

We can still love him, still support him, and cheer when he hits a home run.

But it can never go back to the way it once was.

Source: Ramona Shelburne, columnist / dailynews.com

Manny Ramirez abruptly dropped an appeal of his drug suspension within hours of
a scheduled hearing last week, cornered not by test results but by a
prescription for a banned substance that appeared in his medical records,
sources told The Times.

The substance -- human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) -- is classified as a
performance-enhancing substance in baseball's drug policy.

Although a test result revealed elevated levels of testosterone and triggered an
investigation, Ramirez ultimately accepted his suspension on the basis of a
little-known clause in baseball's drug policy enabling the commissioner to levy
suspensions "for just cause," the sources said.

Within the first two weeks of April, Ramirez was notified that he had tested
positive for abnormally high levels of testosterone during spring training. His
test showed between four and 10 times the normal range of testosterone, ESPN
reported Monday night.

Further testing revealed the testosterone to be synthetic, as opposed to
naturally occurring within Ramirez's body, the New York Daily News reported.

In their appeal, Ramirez and his representatives planned to argue the
testosterone indicated the presence of DHEA, a steroid precursor banned under
Olympic rules but not under federal law or baseball's drug policy, the San Diego
Union-Tribune reported.

However, that drug policy also includes a requirement that players must turn
over medical records for reasonable cause. The union provided Ramirez's records,
which included a prescription from a private physician for HCG.

Ramirez had not obtained a therapeutic-use exemption from baseball, which
certifies the use of banned substances for proven medical need.

That "non-analytical evidence" -- that is, evidence beyond a positive test --
was the basis for the 50-game suspension. On the eve of the hearing scheduled
last Wednesday, Ramirez dropped his appeal, and the suspension was announced the
following day.

Scott Boras, the agent for Ramirez, has declined to comment on matters involving
the suspension, including why the appeal was dropped. Baseball's drug policy
restricts the commissioner's office and players' union from comment.

However, sources said that the appeal was dropped because the evidence of the
prescription without the existence of an exemption gave baseball indisputable
proof of a violation of the drug policy. In addition, Ramirez could complete his
suspension before the second half of the season, rather than risk waiting weeks
or months for a hearing that would be unlikely to succeed and could turn up
additional evidence.

Baseball officials agreed not to contest the issue further, because a 50-game
suspension is the maximum punishment for a first offender and the
testosterone-related case would have been more difficult to prove.

In a statement issued by the players' union, Ramirez said he took "a medication,
not a steroid," prescribed by a physician unaware that the substance was banned
under baseball's drug policy.

Although anti-doping experts have said HCG is commonly used to replenish
testosterone after a cycle of steroids, sources close to Ramirez have suggested
the HCG was prescribed to combat issues surrounding sexual performance.

Ramirez is 36. Among men ages 30-39, about 2% have significantly low levels of
testosterone, said Dr. Glenn Braunstein, chairman of the Department of Medicine
at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Braunstein, an expert in reproductive endocrinology, said such patients
generally would be treated with testosterone, not with HCG.

"There's no reason to use it in healthy male adults," he said.

In rare cases, he said, HCG could be prescribed. In the case of a healthy male
in Ramirez's age group, he said, the odds of such treatment would be less than 1
in 1,000.

Times staff writer Dylan Hernandez contributed to this report.

Source: Bill Shaikin / MLB.com

Reporting from Philadelphia — Dodgers teammates Rafael Furcal and Guillermo Mota
have spoken to Manny Ramirez in the last couple of days, they said Tuesday, and
both described the slugger as distraught over his 50-game suspension for
violating baseball's drug policy.

"He's recuperating," Mota said.

Ramirez has not met with the team or the coaching staff since his suspension
last Thursday, although he did meet with owner Frank McCourt over the weekend
and has spoken to Manager Joe Torre and General Manager Ned Colletti by phone.

Ramirez is planning to return to Florida in the next couple of days, making it
likely that he will meet with the team during the Dodgers' three-game series
with the Marlins that starts Friday, according to a source familiar with the
situation who is not authorized to speak publicly.

Furcal, who is batting only .238, said Ramirez called him to talk about some
mechanical problems he thinks Furcal may be having at the plate. But the two did
not talk about the suspension, Furcal said.

"We didn't talk about anything else," Furcal said. "I didn't want to ask him
about that. You know, everyone's asking him about that. I didn't want to bother
him with it."

As to whether they expect to see Ramirez in Miami, neither Furcal nor Mota who,
like Ramirez, have homes in South Florida, offered a guess. But Torre was
optimistic.

"There's a chance," Torre said. "We haven't been given any definitive
information. And when I've spoken to Manny I've gotten the same drift. He's
really beaten up over this. He's embarrassed . . . and I think it's going to
take him time to clear his head. We want to see him as a team. The players are
here, they're supporting him. But right now he's not ready for it."

The Dodgers have also discussed the possibility of sending Ramirez to their
spring training complex in Glendale, Ariz., to work out in preparation for his
July 3 return.

Source: Kevin Baxter / latimes.com

LOS ANGELES -- Manny Ramirez's 50-game suspension for violating MLB's drug
policy was partially the result of information obtained from the Dodgers
outfielder's personal medical records that were turned over by the Players
Association, according to an ESPN.com report.

Citing unnamed sources, the ESPN.com report claimed that a Spring Training urine
test showed elevated levels of testosterone in Ramirez's system. That led MLB to
request the World Anti-Doping Agency in Montreal to determine if the reading was
the result of natural or synthetic sources, and the result was synthetic,
meaning it had been ingested.

In addition, the ESPN.com report claimed, as per the MLB drug testing policy,
such test abnormalities allow for the requesting of a player's medical records,
including those from any of the player's health care providers.

Although Ramirez was prepared to contest the findings and claim the test result
came about because he had taken "a steroid precursor known as DHEA," which is
not on baseball's banned list, the medical records the union turned over in fact
showed that Ramirez had been prescribed human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG).

That drug, used mainly for female fertility issues, is banned by MLB because it
is also known among male steroid users as a substance that can help kick-start
the body's production of natural testosterone, which is stymied when using
synthetic testosterone (aka steroids), according to the report.

The report stated that, according to doping experts, the synthetic testosterone
could not have come from the hCG, meaning there were two different substances
for which Ramirez needed to answer, and there was no defense for the hCG because
of the documentation that it had been prescribed.

According to the ESPN.com report, that evidence convinced Ramirez not to
continue a legal fight, but to accept the 50-game suspension and release a
statement that it was the result of taking doctor-prescribed medication and not
a steroid.

The suspension will keep Ramirez sidelined until at least July 3 and, because
suspensions are without pay, it will cost him about $7.7 million of his $25
million salary, although $15 million of his salary is deferred.

Source: Ken Gurnick / MLB.com

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt received an in-person apology from Manny Ramirez on
Saturday and expects Ramirez to issue one to his teammates and fans next.

"We had a lengthy conversation," McCourt said Sunday. "I thought it was
important the conversation be eyeball to eyeball and not over the phone. It came
as a result of a phone call to me by him.

"I found him to be very sorrowful. He was really apologetic. He's very sorry. He
knows he disappointed not only me but everybody in the front office, Joe
(Torre), everybody down there, his teammates and his fans and the community.

"He's hurt. He also knows he brought the hurt on himself."

Ramirez failed a drug test, reportedly for using the women's fertility drug HCG,
and was suspended 50 games. He is expected to return to the Dodgers lineup on
July 3, but he has yet to return to the Dodgers clubhouse.

"If Manny takes the steps that I'm hopeful he will, I think this will be
something that won't damage this franchise at all," McCourt said. "We all make
mistakes, and it is how we deal with those mistakes that really differentiates
one from the other. And if Manny does with others what he did with me yesterday,
I think we'll be on the road to full recovery."

McCourt addressed the media for the first time since news broke Ramirez failed a
drug test. McCourt said he was angry at first, but remaining that way wouldn't
do any good. Before McCourt signed off on signing the free agent in spring
Advertisement
Quantcast
training, he and Ramirez had a meeting at McCourt's home.

McCourt said spending time with free agents will be required before signing them
from now on. The Dodgers signed Ramirez to a two-year, $45 million deal.

"It just seems to me with this very strict testing procedure, that at this stage
of the game, surprise would be a good word," McCourt said of players testing
positive for performance-enhancing drugs. "It seems the message is out there
loud and clear - zero tolerance."

The Dodgers cannot punish Ramirez any further than the 50 games as part of the
collective bargaining agreement. Even if it was plausible to release Ramirez,
McCourt said he would not have done that.

Ramirez is still in Los Angeles, but he could join the Dodgers on their roadtrip
to Philadelphia and Florida. Ramirez is able to work out with his teammates
during the suspension.

"He's still beat up by this thing," said Torre, the Dodgers manager. "Again,
it's not that he feels it's unfair. He just is embarrassed and still has to
clear his head. Basically, he doesn't feel good enough to come out."

Ramirez must come out of hiding at some point, and if he does while the team is
on the road he's sure to avoid an even bigger media circus.

"I think I'm most disappointed," McCourt said. "We put a lot of confidence in
Manny and built a relationship there. Whenever a relationship like that is
violated, there's a level of disappointment. We all make mistakes, so what we
really need to do is focus in on that we'll move forward."

Source: Jill Painter, Staff Writer / dailynews.com

Thanks for sharing this story. It's a good opinion piece.

Lynne

=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=

-
-- In mannyacs@yahoogroups.com, Angelica Chilson <angelica1222@...> wrote:
>
> thought you all might enjoy this column from the Los Angeles Times, for a
somehwat different perspective.... i think this is one of the most reasonable,
fair, articles I've read on the issue yet...
>
> Dodgers' Manny Ramirez has some explaining to doT.J. Simers
>
> May 8, 2009
>
> I liked Manny. Still do.
>
> Right now he's a big disappointment, but I've had bigger ones in life. Don't
even get me started on the RV mutiny or Derek Fisher.
>
> Here I am worried all this time about dogs or kids coming across Gary Matthews
Jr.'s HGH stash, and maybe it's the cheater who has been standing beside me a
good part of the last year.
>
> Yeah, I still like Manny, but he's stupid, the only explanation for any
athlete in this day and age allowing performance-enhancing drugs to be linked to
their name.
>
> He's let a lot of folks down, beginning with himself.
>
> The blue carpet was rolled out, the reputation makeover proceeding quite
nicely, but then he goes out of his way to empower the "I told you so" mob.
>
> It's a depressing world we live in at times, a lot of folks actually taking
delight in someone's colossal blunder or human frailty, just so they can feel
better about predicting it.
>
> On a positive note they all seem confined to Boston with access to the
Internet, or are columnists who regularly write on the front page of sports
sections.
>
> As far as most of them are concerned, the story is over, Manny finished. But
this story is just beginning to be written.
>
> Now I have no idea whether it was HGH, HCG, ABC or whatever letters of the
alphabet Ramirez put into his body. I don't care, although the mention of a
female fertility drug does leave the door open for a punch line or two when he
returns.
>
> I also don't give a hoot whether he received bad medical advice, sounds
accountable in statements crafted by agent Scott Boras, or wants to curl up in a
ball.
>
> Right now he should be in the batting cage before the game, which his 50-game
suspension allows, and then sitting in Mannywood down the left-field line with
the folks who paid no attention to the "I told you so" mob.
>
> I'd have him buy his own ticket -- if Frank McCourt hasn't already thought of
it.
>
> Manny should be the first guy in the clubhouse greeting his teammates after
each game, maybe his bat removed from the lineup but no excuse for not giving
everyone the pep he's brought to that clubhouse. And I said pep, not PEDs.
>
> Some think he should have addressed his teammates before the game, but then
Larry Bowa is like that.
>
> But Manny's teammates know all about him, how he feels, what they must do in
his absence and what he will be like when he returns in a few days. And he
better return in a few days, hiding or the perception that he's hiding doing
even more damage.
>
> OK, so he will probably spend a few days in Florida with his wife and kids,
licking his wounds or injections, but then it will be time to come clean. Of
course had he been clean all along, none of this would have been necessary.
>
> I still like Manny, but he's going to have to stand before everyone, no
excuses, no vague explanations, names and details so no one need go looking for
more information. No loose ends, and "I'm just on vacation" not cutting it this
time.
>
> If he's been using stuff for months, even years, he needs to say so as the
healing process begins. Say anything less than the whole truth and nothing but,
only to have it emerge later, and ripping that scab open he might never recover.
>
> He's already lost the Hall of Fame argument with sports writers around the
country, who look upon themselves as watchmen of the sport.
>
> They didn't like the way he abused the game in his final days in Boston, and
most have long memories, because they think the game of baseball is sacred or
something. Sometimes one has to wonder what they're on.
>
> Manny's arrival here last season and immediate success really didn't do much
to change minds elsewhere, which accounted for his availability this past
off-season. Now the naysayers have a new supply of ammunition.
>
> Here in L.A. he could not have asked for better treatment, and while not
knowing at the time it would prove to be a halfway house for a guy on drugs,
Manager Joe Torre said it hurts Ramirez knowing he "disappointed people,"
although it just doesn't have the same ring coming from Torre as it would from
Manny.
>
> But as Torre said, before his team's blowing a 6-0 lead in an 11-9 loss, "We
still need Manny and will welcome him back."
>
> Some folks were saying Manny's latest blunder was "sad." Others reacted as if
"angry." These people really do need to be on something.
>
> Does Manny going stupid change anyone's life other than his own, and that of
McCourt, who gets a first-place cushion, saves more than $7 million and then
gets Manny again for the stretch run?
>
> "I think our society is all about pointing fingers," Torre said, while
stressing the importance of keeping the game clean. "But let's move on, and
maybe send a message that this is not the way to do things."
>
> Maybe L.A., Dodgers fans and certain columnists have been burned by Manny's
belly flop, but tell me you don't like Manny. It has been so much fun having him
in a Dodgers uniform, anyone around here trying to rewrite L.A. history now a
hypocrite of sorts.
>
> At the same time we've been given a great reminder that no matter how gifted
the athlete, re: Kobe Bryant, we really don't know what's going on inside.
>
> But we also know from experience that an L.A. crowd can be moved to chant,
"MVP," no matter what sins have been committed, so long as a top-grade
performance follows.
>
> So there's a good chance we already know how this whole thing is going to end,
probably a Sunday game against the Giants in late September, 50,000 people on
their feet screaming, "Manny, Manny."
>
> t.j.simers@...
>

LOS ANGELES -- Two days after being suspended for 50 games for the use of
performance-enhancing drugs, Manny Ramirez still hasn't reached out to his
teammates yet but it's something Dodgers manager Joe Torre would like to see
from Ramirez.

Torre said the players would like to hear from Ramirez and that it doesn't have
to come in the form of a formal team meeting.

"I don't think addressing the team is necessary but I think it's important that
players get a chance to see him," Torre said. "I don't think we need anything
formal. I think they just need to physically see him."

Torre also hasn't talked to Ramirez since Thursday but he did speak to Ramirez's
agent, Scott Boras, on Friday and said Boras also thinks Ramirez should reach
out to his teammates.

"We're all on the same page with what we want to happen," Torre said.

Torre said he's fine with the fact that Ramirez is taking his time because the
slugger is apparently having a difficult time with the whole situation.

"I think he feels really badly and is embarrassed by the whole thing," Torre
said. "I think he's still trying to gather his thoughts at this point."

Source: Rhett Bollinger / MLB.com

thought you all might enjoy this column from the Los Angeles Times, for a
somehwat different perspective.... i think this is one of the most reasonable,
fair, articles I've read on the issue yet...

Dodgers' Manny Ramirez has some explaining to doT.J. Simers

May 8, 2009

I liked Manny. Still do.

Right now he's a big disappointment, but I've had bigger ones in life. Don't
even get me started on the RV mutiny or Derek Fisher.

Here I am worried all this time about dogs or kids coming across Gary Matthews
Jr.'s HGH stash, and maybe it's the cheater who has been standing beside me a
good part of the last year.

Yeah, I still like Manny, but he's stupid, the only explanation for any athlete
in this day and age allowing performance-enhancing drugs to be linked to their
name.

He's let a lot of folks down, beginning with himself.

The blue carpet was rolled out, the reputation makeover proceeding quite nicely,
but then he goes out of his way to empower the "I told you so" mob.

It's a depressing world we live in at times, a lot of folks actually taking
delight in someone's colossal blunder or human frailty, just so they can feel
better about predicting it.

On a positive note they all seem confined to Boston with access to the Internet,
or are columnists who regularly write on the front page of sports sections.

As far as most of them are concerned, the story is over, Manny finished. But
this story is just beginning to be written.

Now I have no idea whether it was HGH, HCG, ABC or whatever letters of the
alphabet Ramirez put into his body. I don't care, although the mention of a
female fertility drug does leave the door open for a punch line or two when he
returns.

I also don't give a hoot whether he received bad medical advice, sounds
accountable in statements crafted by agent Scott Boras, or wants to curl up in a
ball.

Right now he should be in the batting cage before the game, which his 50-game
suspension allows, and then sitting in Mannywood down the left-field line with
the folks who paid no attention to the "I told you so" mob.

I'd have him buy his own ticket -- if Frank McCourt hasn't already thought of
it.

Manny should be the first guy in the clubhouse greeting his teammates after each
game, maybe his bat removed from the lineup but no excuse for not giving
everyone the pep he's brought to that clubhouse. And I said pep, not PEDs.

Some think he should have addressed his teammates before the game, but then
Larry Bowa is like that.

But Manny's teammates know all about him, how he feels, what they must do in his
absence and what he will be like when he returns in a few days. And he better
return in a few days, hiding or the perception that he's hiding doing even more
damage.

OK, so he will probably spend a few days in Florida with his wife and kids,
licking his wounds or injections, but then it will be time to come clean. Of
course had he been clean all along, none of this would have been necessary.

I still like Manny, but he's going to have to stand before everyone, no excuses,
no vague explanations, names and details so no one need go looking for more
information. No loose ends, and "I'm just on vacation" not cutting it this time.

If he's been using stuff for months, even years, he needs to say so as the
healing process begins. Say anything less than the whole truth and nothing but,
only to have it emerge later, and ripping that scab open he might never recover.

He's already lost the Hall of Fame argument with sports writers around the
country, who look upon themselves as watchmen of the sport.

They didn't like the way he abused the game in his final days in Boston, and
most have long memories, because they think the game of baseball is sacred or
something. Sometimes one has to wonder what they're on.

Manny's arrival here last season and immediate success really didn't do much to
change minds elsewhere, which accounted for his availability this past
off-season. Now the naysayers have a new supply of ammunition.

Here in L.A. he could not have asked for better treatment, and while not knowing
at the time it would prove to be a halfway house for a guy on drugs, Manager Joe
Torre said it hurts Ramirez knowing he "disappointed people," although it just
doesn't have the same ring coming from Torre as it would from Manny.

But as Torre said, before his team's blowing a 6-0 lead in an 11-9 loss, "We
still need Manny and will welcome him back."

Some folks were saying Manny's latest blunder was "sad." Others reacted as if
"angry." These people really do need to be on something.

Does Manny going stupid change anyone's life other than his own, and that of
McCourt, who gets a first-place cushion, saves more than $7 million and then
gets Manny again for the stretch run?

"I think our society is all about pointing fingers," Torre said, while stressing
the importance of keeping the game clean. "But let's move on, and maybe send a
message that this is not the way to do things."

Maybe L.A., Dodgers fans and certain columnists have been burned by Manny's
belly flop, but tell me you don't like Manny. It has been so much fun having him
in a Dodgers uniform, anyone around here trying to rewrite L.A. history now a
hypocrite of sorts.

At the same time we've been given a great reminder that no matter how gifted the
athlete, re: Kobe Bryant, we really don't know what's going on inside.

But we also know from experience that an L.A. crowd can be moved to chant,
"MVP," no matter what sins have been committed, so long as a top-grade
performance follows.

So there's a good chance we already know how this whole thing is going to end,
probably a Sunday game against the Giants in late September, 50,000 people on
their feet screaming, "Manny, Manny."

t.j.simers@...





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Gina, Lynne, and all -  
 
I believe Manny when he says he passed previous drug tests. If he hadn't, he
would've been suspended.  This drug test, unfortunately, was different. However,
it does give me hope that up until now,  he's been clean, as testing hasn't
shown otherwise.
 
But as for now...
 
I don't see any reason why I can't support him while still being realistic about
what he has done. I"m not saying he's "innocent". He took a banned substance
recently. We know this. That is all we know. Plenty of fans supported Jason
Giambi, A-Rod, and others who have gone through similiar things. I'm not
condoning what he may have done, but I can still root for him to get past it.
 
I just hope that this is a one time mistake.  I worry what this means for his
legacy, but I do think that if he continues to play well when he comes back, and
if he doesn't have any further issues with stuff going forward, that hopefully
it will be just one of the many crazy footnotes to his wild career.
 


--- On Fri, 5/8/09, Gina <opghost@...> wrote:


From: Gina <opghost@...>
Subject: [mannyacs] Re: I'm in shock...
To: mannyacs@yahoogroups.com
Date: Friday, May 8, 2009, 10:02 AM








Lynne,

First of all, I hope and pray that you will be ok with the fires. Please let me
know if you need anything.

Second, I believe Manny. Am I naive? I don't know. Maybe I just want to believe
him? I'm not sure. But, I do believe him. As he stated, he has tested negative
the last 15 years. Why would he start now? I really do believe him that it was
taken for health reasons. And, if that is true, the can pull his medical records
(with his permission) and prove it. If it's true, I'm sure he will want his
medical records pulled to prove it.

Another reason that I believe Manny is that he had no need for steroids. He was
playing fine without them.

The only thing that I don't get is that it seems as if any medication perscribed
to a baseball player would have to be run by the team, the mlb or someone.
Wouldn't it?

We'll have to follow this one closely. But, I have a feeling (a wish?) that he
will be found innocent. I'm standing behind him on this. I would imagine most of
us on this list will do the same. We are his true fans. Maybe we could each
write him a letter of support?

Gina

--- In mannyacs@yahoogroup s.com, "Lynne" <lynne@...> wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
> Please let this be a dream. I'm city is in flames from an out-of-control brush
fire. Then I got to Yahoo! Sports and see that Manny has been suspended. Can
this day get any worse?
>
> Lynne
>



















[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]