Manny being…forgiven?

SOMEBODY BOO THIS MAN!!!

But seriously, all the hoopla will reach a climax tonight when Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Manny Ramirez returns to the lineup after a 50-game suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs. While the world has gotten the chance to see Manny “rehab” over the last week or so in minor-league games, this will be his first game back in the majors.

You read that correctly- Manny was allowed to “rehab” while serving his suspension. Because, you know, he should be allowed to play professional baseball while he serves time for cheating.

There are so many things wrong with this situation that I don’t have the strength in my fingers to type everything in this blog. However, I will attempt to cover a few of the biggest issues I have with the whole story.

Manny will return to the Dodgers tonight as the team begins a weekend series in San Diego against the Padres. Yeah, that Padres team that once hosted another cheater by the name of Barry Bonds, who on one occasion was nearly hit with a syringe thrown by a fan while Bonds played left field at Petco Park for the San Francisco Giants.

We probably won’t see any syringes being hurled in Ramirez’s direction tonight because there will be a lot of Dodgers fans willing to make the two-hour trip to see the return of a steroid freak.

Another reason why syringes won’t be in the air tonight is because we have all been taught to believe it’s different with Manny. Bonds was a total jerk, and people strongly disliked him. Nobody hates Manny; he’s a care-free goober who just messed up, so we should forgive him and just move on!

I guess this means we should accept people who rob and kill and break the law in other ways if they do it colorfully and don’t forget to smile while they commit the crime.

Another thing that will be sad to see is the hypocrisy that awaits Manny when the Dodgers return to L.A. for home games. The Dodgers’ fanbase has already made no secret that a majority of fans will welcome Ramirez back with open arms, and that forgiveness is the best solution for this instance.

Yes, those same fans that would stand behind Barry Bonds with signs such as “Barroid Bonds” and inflated asterisks that suggested every time Bonds took a swing, he was further tainting the game.

Of course, they were right, but the situation we will see with Manny will really negate all of their booing and heckling of Bonds in the past.

The franchise has seemed to guide the Dodgers’ fanbase into thinking that Manny’s PED use really isn’t that big of a deal. The players have answered questions with a smile and have basically replied the same way every time: “That’s just Manny being Manny.”

The Dodgers’ brass has made it public that the “Mannywood” section in left field will be re-opened as if the whole cheating thing never happened. This is the area in the left-field bleachers of Chavez Ravine where fans pay extra to get a t-shirt commemorating Manny’s presence.

The fact that the same people who used to taunt Bonds will pay extra to honor Manny Ramirez, knowing what we know now, is just…special.

The media also needs to back off and stop giving Manny the attention he has craved during this event. If you so desired, you could have seen every single at-bat of Manny’s “rehab” stint on ESPNews. Reporters have been staked out for weeks, waiting for a statement of either apology or carelessness from Ramirez himself.

Guess what? He hasn’t spoken. It probably has something to do with prolonging the spotlight for longer.

So when Manny Ramirez steps to the plate tonight for his first at-bat since returning from suspension and 20,000 Dodgers fans rise from their seats to applaud, shake off whatever disgust you have for the situation and just find it in yourself to laugh.

Lord knows laughing off idiocy has worked for Manny.