Ramirez makes apologetic return

Manny Ramirez took batting practice before the Dodgers-Padres game last night. He avoided questions about steroids during a news conference but did make apologies.

SAN DIEGO -- Manny Ramirez returned to the big leagues as only he could.

Wearing sunglasses and with his famous dreadlocks in a ponytail, the Los Angeles Dodgers' slugger apologized to fans and teammates during a news conference yesterday afternoon. He refused to answer questions about steroids, laying off them as if they were pitches in the dirt.

"I'm here. I'm excited. I can't wait to get into the field," Ramirez said as his 50-day suspension for violating baseball's drug policy ended.

How he'll hit remains to be seen. But he was cheered by a hundred or so fans as he bounded up the dugout steps and onto the field at Petco Park two hours before the first pitch of the Dodgers' game against the San Diego Padres.

There was a playoff atmosphere during batting practice, with dozens of photographers following Ramirez and extra security on the field.

Ramirez also brought along a new catch phrase.

"Showtime tonight!" he said as he walked out of his pregame news conference.

Ramirez's ban was based on evidence he used human chorionic gonadotropin, a fertility drug that's banned by baseball, a person familiar with the suspension told The Associated Press after the suspension was announced on May 7, speaking on condition of anonymity because those details were not released.

HCG is popular among steroid users because it can mitigate the side effects of ending a cycle of the drugs.

Ramirez refused several times to talk about the reason for his suspension.

"First I want to say that God is good and good is God. I don't want to get into my medical records right now. I'm happy to be here. I missed the game. I'm ready to play. I was practicing in Triple-A and I can't wait to get into the field."

He did apologize.

"Well, I want to say I'm sorry to the fans, to my teammates that they're always there for me," Ramirez said. "I want to thank Frank McCourt for his support," he added, referring to the Dodgers' owner.

Asked what he was sorry for, he said: "Not being there for them. For not playing the game, because I'm a huge part of the Dodgers and I'm proud to wear that uniform. When I say I'm sorry, I let those fans down, that they go out there to see me."

Ramirez seemed relaxed yet said he felt "a lot" of anxiety. "But I'm pretty sure I can handle it. This is not my first rodeo. So I know I'm going to be fine. I know I can play this game. I'm going to enjoy it the most I can."

He also admitted being embarrassed by the whole episode.

"But we're humans. We learn from our mistake," he said.

Teammate Andre Ethier was happy to see Ramirez back.

"It's nice. It's just a thing where I guess we got our team back to square one where we were when we started the year," Ethier said. "We got a little sidetracked with him getting suspended. But we're ready to go and in the same place or even a little better position than when we lost him."

Ramirez was suspended on May 7, and the Dodgers lost 11-9 that night to the Washington Nationals, leaving them with a 5½-game lead atop the NL West. They entered last night's game with a 7½-game lead.