I’m deriving particular joy from Manny Ramirez’s suspension, namely because it’s been the exact opposite of Alex Rodriguez’s recent steroid revelations. There have been no press conferences where Manny has started (fake) crying, he wasn’t seen with his supposed supplier in Spring Training, he isn’t hanging out with Kate Hudson … he’s just somewhere out there in the ether, going on road trips with David Ortiz and occasionally peeking his head out to the world. I like to think he’s been watching reruns of “Alf” all day long.

Yesterday, though, he showed up in the Dodgers clubhouse, just the second time he’s met with his teammates since the suspension. And he even apologized to fans for the first time.

But for the reporters that got inquisitive, here’s what he had to say:

“I come to say hi to the guys,” Ramirez said. “I’m just happy to be back, man.”

[ ... ]

“Whatever happened, that’s in the past,” he said. “I don’t want to be a distraction to this team. I didn’t kill nobody. I didn’t rape nobody. That’s it.”

Oh, but you have Manny, you have. Don’t you read Bill Plaschke? You’ve killed the spirit of Dodgers fans far and wide, while raping their faith in the very game of baseball. For shame.

HT: CSTB