Written by C Gally | 24 June 2009

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez was welcomed back to baseball with rousing cheers. In the minor leagues, anyway. Ramirez, easing back into playing shape after a 50-game drug suspension, suited up for the Albuquerque Isotopes as they beat Nashville 1-0. Ramirez wore No. 99 for the Dodgers' top farm club. He played four innings and was hitless in two at-bats. The capacity crowd of 15,321 was the largest in Albuquerque's baseball history.

How apropos is it that he is playing for the Isotopes? Is there anyone else in the world, real or fictional, that Manny resembles more than Homer Simpson? I think not. And apparently, the actual Isotopes were named after that Simpsons' episode where Homer goes on the hunger strike to stop the Springfield team from moving to, you guessed it, Albuquerque. Anyway, Ramirez is almost off his suspension for doing PEDs, so we are only days away from the circus that will be LA when he does come back. Hopefully I will be out of the country when that happens.

< Prev		Next >