Manny's Back!!! ... and Says He's Sorry

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Manny Ramirez is back in the big leagues, initially looking pretty much like a guy who missed 50 games. Returning from his suspension for violating baseball's drug policy, the Los Angeles slugger barely hit the ball out of the infield in the Dodgers' 6-3 win over the San Diego Padres on Friday night.

But he performed a lot better in his second game back, hitting a home run on Saturday -- although it wasn't enough to keep the Dodgers from losing that one to the Padres, 7-4.

Before Friday night's return to the field, Ramirez did at least provide a lot of energy to the team with baseball's best record.

And afterward, he said "It was great." Ramirez added "I was kind of nervous at first, but once I stepped to the plate I was fine."

"Showtime!" he said as he walked into a news conference about four hours before the first pitch on Friday. He wore sunglasses and has his famous dreadlocks back in a ponytail.

"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.

 "I'm here. I'm excited. I can't wait to get into the field."

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 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."

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 admitting being embarrassed by the whole episode.

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

Then, a few hours later -- with more than half the crowd at sold-out Petco Park wearing Dodger blue and cheering him on -- Ramirez went 0 for 3 with a walk. The farthest he hit the ball during that game was a popup that second baseman David Eckstein caught in shallow center field.