Manny Ramirez started a minor league rehab assignment with triple-A Albuquerque on Tuesday night. It marked the first game Ramirez has played since he was suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball for violating the league’s drug policy.
Ramirez refused to talk to reporters before the game saying only, “I’m not talking about it anymore. 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.”
It was “Manny vs. Manny” as Ramirez faced Nashville Sounds pitcher Manny Parra. Ramirez went 0–2 with a strike out on a foul tip and a ground out to short stop. Manny was replaced in the 5th inning by Dee Brown.
Albuquerque Isotopes manager Tim Wallach expects Ramirez to play seven innings on Thursday.
The Dodgers hope Ramirez will play two more games in Albuquerque, take a day off to travel to California, and then resume the minor league rehab assignment with four games for Class A Inland Empire.
The Dodgers hope to have Manny in their lineup for their July 3rd contest at San Diego.
Ramirez’s 50-game suspension will not be completed until July 3rd, but the drug policy allows for a 10-game transitional minor league assignment if the player agrees to it.
According to a recent MLB.com article, Dodgers manager Joe Torre believes the assignment would benefit Ramirez. “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 recently working out at Dodgers stadium, even taking batting practice with Rob Flippo, the Dodgers bullpen catcher.
According to Flippo, he seems to have found his rhythm. “For me, he looks more like he did last year than he did at any time in spring training,” said Flippo.
Ramirez was hampered by a tight hamstring during spring training after reporting almost three weeks late while negotiating his contract.
