Manny's return ripples through LA's lineup  ...more ?
Manny's return shakes up lineup
Dodgers' skipper, GM reflect on Manny  ...more ?
Dodgers' skipper, GM reflect on Manny
Manny deflects PED questions  ...more ?
Manny deflects PED questions
Next chapter of Mannywood set to begin  ...more ?
Mannywood set to resume
Dodgers eagerly await Manny's return  ...more ?
Dodgers eagerly await Manny's return
Furcal gives Dodgers MLB-best 50th win  ...more ?
Furcal gives LA MLB-best 50th win
Dodgers make flurry of roster moves  ...more ?
Dodgers make flurry of roster moves
He's baaack! Manny poised to return  ...more ?
He's baaack! Manny poised to return
LA 'looking forward' to Manny's return  ...more ?
LA 'looking forward' to Manny's return
Loney Lounge is open for business  ...more ?
Loney Lounge is open for business
Dodgers two-hit in loss to Rockies  ...more ?
Dodgers two-hit in loss to Rockies
Martin gets three-day respite from slump  ...more ?
Martin gets three-day respite from slump
Manny works out, will return Friday  ...more ?
Manny works out, will return Friday
Stults pain-free after rehab start  ...more ?
Stults pain-free after rehab start
Ethier's homer lifts Dodgers in 13th inning  ...more ?
Ethier homer lifts Dodgers in 13th
Streaming video now part of At Bat app  ...more ?
Streaming video now part of At Bat
Not so fast: Wolf, Martin lose track of outs  ...more ?
Oops: Wolf, Martin lose track of outs
Manny finishes fifth, final rehab game  ...more ?
Manny finishes fifth, final rehab game
Dodgers show success in slowing Rox  ...more ?
Dodgers show success in slowing Rox


Yahoo! Sports

Ramirez apologizes to fans, teammates (AP)  ...more ?

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 Friday afternoon. He refused to answer questions about steroids, laying off them as if they were pitches in the dirt.


NL Capsules (AP)  ...more ?
Albert Pujols hit his club-record fourth grand slam of the season, and Jarrett Hoffpauir drove in the go-ahead runs in the ninth inning with his first career hit as St. Louis beat Cincinnati 7-4 on Friday night. Hoffpauir, playing his first major league game after being recalled Wednesday from Triple-A Memphis, capitalized on shortstop Paul Janish's two-out error with a bases-loaded single off...
Source: Padres to extend Black's contract (Yahoo! Sports)  ...more ?
San Diego throws its support behind manager Bud Black with a contract extension, according to a source.
Manny talks a lot, provides few answers (Yahoo! Sports)  ...more ?
Manny Ramirez apologized to fans during a news conference before his return to the field after a 50-game suspension.
Dodgers Team Report (Yahoo! Sports)  ...more ?

Manny Ramirez undoubtedly will be welcomed with open arms by the Dodgers on Friday when he rejoins the team at San Diego following his 50-game suspension. But his return doesn't figure to be all wine and roses.

For starters, Ramirez can expect a chilly—perhaps even hostile—reaction from fans at Petco Park, where the Dodgers are universally despised and where Padres fans—unlike San Francisco fans who still largely support Barry Bonds—can jeer Ramirez without the slightest hint of hypocrisy.

More important, perhaps, is the fact Ramirez doesn't figure to be in anything close to midseason form when he returns. As general manager Ned Colletti told the Los Angeles Times earlier this week, 50 games is a long time.

Power Rankings: Angels are ascending (Yahoo! Sports)  ...more ?
The Dodgers and Red Sox continue to occupy the top two spots, but the other L.A. team is making a push.
Manny's return expected to be a spectacle (AP)  ...more ?
Manny Ramirez will be back in big leagues on Friday night after a 50-game suspension for violating baseball's drug policy. His return should be nothing short of a spectacle. It'll be the start of the Fourth of July weekend, and thousands of blue-clad Los Angeles Dodgers fans are expected to be at sold-out Petco Park to support the dreadlocked slugger in the opener of a three-game series...
3 NL teams win with the minimum (AP)  ...more ?
One run was enough for a victory for three National League teams Wednesday, the first time in 33 years there were three 1-0 games in one league on the same day. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time there were three 1-0 games in one league was Sept. 1, 1976, in the NL. On that day, St. Louis beat Cincinnati in 11 innings; Houston defeated Philadelphia; and New York beat San Francisco.
Dodgers beat Rockies 1-0 on Furcal's pinch single (AP)  ...more ?

Manny Ramirez's suspension didn't slow down the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers played their 50th and final game without Ramirez, beating the Colorado Rockies 1-0 Wednesday on pinch-hitter Rafael Furcal's RBI single in the eighth inning. During Ramirez's absence, the Dodgers went 29-21.


Rockies' Jason Marquis beats Dodgers with 2-hitter (AP)  ...more ?

If the Colorado Rockies are going to catch the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, they'll need more of what Jason Marquis gave them Tuesday night against the team with baseball's best record. Marquis pitched a two-hitter to become the league's first 10-game winner, leading the resurgent Rockies to a 3-0 victory.


Manny's return is timely for the Dodgers (Yahoo! Sports)  ...more ?
Manny Ramirez is due to return Friday. It's none too soon for Los Angeles in a suddenly tightening NL West.
Ethier's 13th-inning HR lifts Dodgers over Rockies (AP)  ...more ?

Andre Ethier and the Los Angeles Dodgers are making a habit of fantastic finishes. Ethier's two-run homer in the 13th gave the Dodgers a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night in the opener of a suddenly significant series between NL West teams. It was Ethier's fourth walk-off hit this season and the 14th time the Dodgers have won in their final at-bat.


Manny Ramirez goes 1 for 3 in final rehab game (AP)  ...more ?
Ready or not, Manny Ramirez is headed back to the big leagues. The suspended slugger played what is expected to be his final minor league rehab game Monday night for Class-A Inland Empire, going 1 for 3 with two strikeouts. He is eligible to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night in San Diego after serving a 50-game suspension for violating baseball's drug policy.
Stars help give baseball a pulse in inner cities (Yahoo! Sports)  ...more ?
Prominent black players Orlando Hudson, Juan Pierre and Ken Griffey Jr. spend quality time with young players.
AccuScore: Playoff shifts after week 12 (Yahoo! Sports)  ...more ?
AccuScore uses past player performance statistics to describe how players perform under different environmental,...
Ramirez drops to seventh in NL All-Star voting (AP)  ...more ?
Manny Ramirez dropped one spot to seventh place in All-Star voting among NL outfielders with four days remaining in balloting for starters. The Los Angeles Dodgers star, whose 50-game drug suspension is slated to end Friday, had 1,343,011 votes and trailed Philadelphia's Raul Ibanez (2,970,139), Milwaukee's Ryan Braun (2,654.061), the Mets' Carlos Beltran (2,085,028), the Cubs'...
Mariners win 4-2 as Beltre heads for surgery (AP)  ...more ?

Knowing they face the next couple of months without injured third baseman Adrian Beltre, the Seattle Mariners sounded a lot like the Dodgers did in early May when they learned that Manny Ramirez was suspended for 50 games. The Dodgers still have the best record in the majors with less than a week to go before Ramirez is eligible to return.


Griffey HRs in Mariners' 5-1 win over Dodgers (AP)  ...more ?

The Seattle Mariners overcame some distressing news from ailing third baseman Adrian Beltre, and evened their interleague series against the Los Angeles Dodgers with another dominating performance by Felix Hernandez. Hernandez scattered four hits over eight innings, Ken Griffey Jr. and Russell Branyan each hit home runs, and the Mariners beat the Dodgers 5-1 on Saturday night for their eighth...


Dodger arrested for suspected DUI (AP)  ...more ?
Authorities say Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Ronald Belisario has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. California Highway Patrol officer Francisco Villalobos says Belisario was pulled over just before 2:30 a.m. Saturday in Pasadena after CHP officers observed him talking on his cell phone.
Ethier's 3 HRs lead Dodgers over Mariners 8-2 (AP)  ...more ?
Once again, Andre Ethier's talent impressed Don Wakamatsu. Ethier was about 12 years old when he attended a winter baseball camp in Phoenix that was run by Wakamatsu, now the manager of the Seattle Mariners. Fifteen years later, Ethier put on a power display for him, hitting three home runs and driving in a career-high six runs for the Los Angeles Dodgers in an 8-2 victory over the Mariners on...