Manny speaks with Dodgers brass about suspension, could face teammates soon

Manny speaks with Dodgers brass about suspension

LOS ANGELES — Manny Ramirez might face his teammates in the next few days to address his 50-game suspension for using a banned drug.

Ramirez was absent from Dodger Stadium again Sunday, three days after he began serving a penalty imposed by Major League Baseball.

“He’s still beat up by this thing,” Los Angeles manager Joe Torre said Sunday, after speaking with Ramirez on Saturday. “Again, it’s not that he feels it’s unfair, but he’s embarrassed and he still has to clear his head before he basically feels good enough to come out. Hopefully it’s in the near future, but we didn’t nail him down for a (specific) day.”

General manager Ned Colletti confirmed a report in the Los Angeles Times that he and owner Frank McCourt had spoken to the 12-time All-Star, whose bat practically carried the Dodgers into last year’s playoffs and helped the club get off to a 21-8 start before the suspension.

“All I can tell you is that we had two separate conversations. I had one with Manny, and Frank had one with Manny,” Colletti told The Associated Press. “I’d say my conversation was a positive one. And from what Frank has relayed to me, I would say the same. That’s all I’m going to say about the conversations.”

When asked if Ramirez’s voice showed any emotion, Colletti said: “Absolutely.”

The Times reported on its Web site Sunday, citing unidentified sources, that McCourt was furious with Ramirez and was demanding that the star slugger speak to his teammates about the failed drug test that led to his suspension.

The newspaper said the meeting might happen sometime after the Dodgers begin a six-game road trip this week. Los Angeles wrapped up an 11-game homestand Sunday against San Francisco.

Colletti declined to say when — or if — Ramirez would show up in the clubhouse to address the issue. But Colletti acknowledged that the dreadlocked outfielder’s separation from the ballclub remains a sensitive issue.

“Yeah,” he said. “Why wouldn’t it be? I really don’t want to get into it.”

The Dodgers play in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, beginning a three-game series against the team that beat them in the NLCS. From there, it’s on to Florida for a three-game set with the Marlins. Ramirez lives in Pembroke Pines, Fla., but Torre wouldn’t say where the 2004 World Series MVP is at the moment.

“That’s a personal thing, where he is. But he’s still here,” Torre said.

Ramirez re-signed with the Dodgers in the offseason for a $45 million, two-year contract. He was suspended Thursday for violating baseball’s drug policy.

Ramirez said he did not take steroids and was given medication by a doctor that contained a banned substance. A person familiar with the details of the suspension said Ramirez used the female fertility drug HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the banned substance wasn’t announced.

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