Fireworks expected for Manny Ramirez's return

SAN DIEGO — Manny Ramirez will be back in big leagues tonight after a 50-game suspension for violating baseball's drug policy.

His return should be nothing short of a spectacle.

It will 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 against San Diego.

Harry the Heckler will be there, too.

"Oh, it's going to be a lot of fun," said Harry Maker, who for years has been ragging on opponents from his seat in left field. "I was hoping that we could have at least one slugger in the game that wasn't tainted. Now Manny has just disappointed me, and he's going to have to pay for it. I am not going to let up all weekend long."

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.

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

Ramirez largely avoided reporters during his minor-league rehab assignment. When he visited Dodger Stadium in early June, he said he was ready to move on and didn't want to be a distraction.

"I didn't kill nobody, I didn't rape nobody, so that's it, I'm just going to come and play the game," he said.

"Manny's used to distractions, anyway, but I think the players will be happy to have him back," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said Wednesday.

Notes

• Former major-leaguer Jim Leyritz, 45, was arrested in South Florida on charges of domestic battery against his ex-wife, two months before his trial on a DUI manslaughter charge is to begin.

• Major League Baseball has loaned millions to Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks, Yahoo! reported. The league said it is assisting Hicks with the sale of the franchise. Texas reportedly needed $15 million after failing to make payroll.

• Two 16-year-olds from the Dominican Republic received big free-agent signing bonuses. OF Wagner Mateo got $3.1 million from the Cardinals and C Gary Sanchez got $3 million from the Yankees.

• Red Sox OF Jason Bay, a native of Trail, B.C, became a U.S. citizen in naturalization ceremonies in Boston.

• Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman, part owner in a group trying to buy the Padres, threw out the ceremonial first pitch before San Diego's game against Houston. He bounced it in the dirt.

• Cubs LHP Neal Cotts, who pitched in 19 games before being sent to the minors, underwent Tommy John elbow-ligament replacement surgery.

• RHP Stephen Strasburg, former San Diego State pitcher and the No. 1 overall draft pick by the Washington Nationals last month, won the Dick Howser Trophy as college baseball's player of the year.