Ramirez not talking about "criminal record"

SAN DIEGO -- When he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers a few weeks into spring training, his first words were, "I'm baaaack."

At 3 p.m. PDT Friday, Manny Ramirez walked into a news conference here and announced, "Showtime!"

Freed to enter a major-league ballpark following his 50-game suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs, Ramirez, penciled in to bat third for tonight's game against the Padres, apologized to fans and teammates for "not being there."

But it clearly is an uncomfortable Ramirez who is back, and it's clear that he's not providing any details on anything related to steroids.

"I'm not talking about my criminal record," he joked at one point during the 12-minute news conference.

Asked right out of the gate when he started using steroids and what his regimen was, Ramirez deflected the question.

"First I want to say God is good and good is God," Ramirez replied, with agent Scott Boras sitting to his right. "I'm happy to be here. I missed the game. I'm happy to play."

Asked what he would say to the fans, he was vague.

"I want to say I'm sorry to the fans and to my teammates," Ramirez said. "They are always there for me. I'd like to thank (Dodgers owner) Frank McCourt for his support."

He said the general reaction to him has "been great everywhere I go. People are there for me. They gave me support. It hasn't been that bad."

Asked what he was sorry for, Ramirez demurred.

"I'm not getting into that," he said. "If you want to talk about the game. ... Not being there for (teammates). Not being able to play the game. I'm a huge part of the Dodgers. ... When I say I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Asked specifically whether he was sorry for taking steroids, Ramirez said: "I already answered that question, sir."

Manager Joe Torre has Ramirez batting third and Andre Ethier fourth tonight.

Perhaps part of Ramirez's apology should be directly to Ethier.

"I think his batting average suffered because of (Manny's) absence," said Torre, who also attended Ramirez's "news" conference. "I think he put a lot of pressure on himself."

Ramirez made it clear he is happy to be back.

Did he learn anything? Sure, he said.

"What I learned is if you do the right thing, you never have to look back," he said. "That's what I learned."

Ramirez not talking about "criminal record"

DARTH VADER Since: Feb 26, 2007	Posted on: July 4, 2009 3:30 am Ramirez not talking about "criminal record" GET OVER IT SCOTT MILLER! MOVE ON WHY DONT YOU. YOUR STORY IS TOTAL OVERKILL. JUST IN CASE U HAVEN'T HEARD... MANNY IS MANNY! GOT IT! [ Reply to Comment ]
craigflorida Since: Aug 16, 2006	Posted on: July 3, 2009 11:24 pm Ramirez not talking about "criminal record" Our sick generation can't get a handle on this. We loathe Canseco and Bonds, accept a commisioner whois an owner and ..I am not going to get all worked up again over that BUM Selig. People actually dreamed ARod would get the home run record and make it clean. I puked all along at that notion. Said all along they ALL were on steroids. ANd so, once agona our generation is totally lost in space. We re as stupid as stupid can be. They will laugh out loud at how stupid the fans were of this generation. How completely inconsistent in their random and disjointed thought patterns. Those less stupid fans in the future (what we call ...history..as in..history will judge) ... Will set Manny in his proper place. His slot in the Hall is no more secure than any of them. Less so in fact. he is a certain cheat and a medicore defensive player, He did not hit as well as Bonds and MCGuire when they were all juiced. Maybe not as well as Sosa either. He now slots well below Griffey, probably Chipper, Bonds, McGuire, ARod and some others but I shan't go on. [ Reply to Comment ]
THLR19 Since: Dec 6, 2006	Posted on: July 3, 2009 10:12 pm Ramirez not talking about "criminal record" What I learned is that 50 games is far too short - 300 seems about right to me. [ Reply to Comment ]
PensPackCavsBuc Since: Jun 5, 2009	Posted on: July 3, 2009 9:49 pm Ramirez not talking about "criminal record" It's ok Manny. Seems you were forgiven long ago by the vast majority. Not only is your steroid use not on the agenda, I've heard rumors you touched a blind man and allowed him to see. Word has it you also sit on the toilet each morning and produce, not sh!t, but a lovely pile of charisma. This guy is no different than ANYONE else who tested positive for steroids. The Bonds example, even though he never tested positive is a common one. And how about Roger Clemens as well? Accusations of steroid use surface there and he becomes a martyr for the media machine. To set things straight, if I were asked whether I thought either of those 2 players used steroids, I would say undoubtedly yes, that they both did. However, the point is, they were set to the stake and burned by society as a whole when simple accusations were made. Manny tests positive, proving beyond any doubt that he has taken steroids, and is welcomed back with open arms? It's a load of hypocrisy and downright injustice that this guy is recieving the attention he is, and the fact that the bulk of it seems to be articles about his long awaited return are flat out sickening. [ Reply to Comment ]
kenoja Since: Jun 15, 2007	Posted on: July 3, 2009 9:00 pm Ramirez not talking about "criminal record" "What I learned is if you do the right thing, you never have to look back," he said. "That's what I learned." What I have learned is that we all must be wrong about this steroid issue. It's all a big mistake, no one has ever taken steroids. They could not have all conspired as one never to admit to this could they? There has to be one honest ballplayer who has put on a uniform in the past 2 decades. Jose Canseco cannot possibly be the only professional ballplayer who cheated. I believe that we were all wrong, everything is ok and we owe the players a huge apology. How can we been duped by the 500 foot homeruns, and pitchers throwing 100 mph at 40. Its just hard work. I'm sorry Manny we'll never question you again. Sorry we inconvenienced you with our suspicions. Carry on boys! It's showtime!!! [ Reply to Comment ]

Our sick generation can't get a handle on this. We loathe Canseco and Bonds, accept a commisioner whois an owner and ..I am not going to get all worked up again over that BUM Selig.

People actually dreamed ARod would get the home run record and make it clean. I puked all along at that notion. Said all along they ALL were on steroids.

ANd so, once agona our generation is totally lost in space. We re as stupid as stupid can be. They will laugh out loud at how stupid the fans were of this generation. How completely inconsistent in their random and disjointed thought patterns.

Those less stupid fans in the future (what we call ...history..as in..history will judge) ...

Will set Manny in his proper place. His slot in the Hall is no more secure than any of them. Less so in fact. he is a certain cheat and a medicore defensive player, He did not hit as well as Bonds and MCGuire when they were all juiced. Maybe not as well as Sosa either.

He now slots well below Griffey, probably Chipper, Bonds, McGuire, ARod and some others but I shan't go on.

Ramirez not talking about "criminal record"

It's ok Manny. Seems you were forgiven long ago by the vast majority. Not only is your steroid use not on the agenda, I've heard rumors you touched a blind man and allowed him to see. Word has it you also sit on the toilet each morning and produce, not sh!t, but a lovely pile of charisma.

This guy is no different than ANYONE else who tested positive for steroids. The Bonds example, even though he never tested positive is a common one. And how about Roger Clemens as well? Accusations of steroid use surface there and he becomes a martyr for the media machine. To set things straight, if I were asked whether I thought either of those 2 players used steroids, I would say undoubtedly yes, that they both did. However, the point is, they were set to the stake and burned by society as a whole when simple accusations were made. Manny tests positive, proving beyond any doubt that he has taken steroids, and is welcomed back with open arms? It's a load of hypocrisy and downright injustice that this guy is recieving the attention he is, and the fact that the bulk of it seems to be articles about his long awaited return are flat out sickening.

Ramirez not talking about "criminal record"

"What I learned is if you do the right thing, you never have to look back," he said. "That's what I learned."
What I have learned is that we all must be wrong about this steroid issue. It's all a big mistake, no one has ever taken steroids.
They could not have all conspired as one never to admit to this could they? There has to be one honest ballplayer who has put on a uniform in the past 2 decades. Jose Canseco cannot possibly be the only professional ballplayer who cheated. I believe that we were all wrong, everything is ok and we owe the players a huge apology.
How can we been duped by the 500 foot homeruns, and pitchers throwing 100 mph at 40. Its just hard work. I'm sorry Manny we'll never question you again. Sorry we inconvenienced you with our suspicions. Carry on boys! It's showtime!!!

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