LOS ANGELES - Here’s how you know you are not in Boston anymore: You drive up Elysian Park Avenue toward the entrance to Dodger Stadium on game night . . . and they wave you in. Free parking. For every fan.
No wonder Manny loves this place.
There was no charge to park at Dodger Stadium for three games against the Athletics this week. And there was no Manny Ramírez, either. At least not when the clubhouse doors swung open at 3:40 p.m.
With two weeks left in his 50-game suspension for joining Club PED, Manny has been working out early in the morning at Dodger Stadium. Veteran coach Manny Mota gets to the ballpark at 8 for the private Manny workouts. Same for batting practice pitcher Rob Flippo.
Ramírez missed a couple of days this week because he’s had a sore throat. It’s been in the news. “Manny has a cold.’’ Like “Sinatra has a cold’’ in the old days.
Even in absentia, Manny’s a presence here. There are still Manny billboards around LA and Dodger Stadium. Manny Bobblehead Night remains scheduled for July 22. And the Manny No. 99 jerseys are in the shops on the first and ninth floors of Dodger Stadium.
“We buried them inside the racks for a while, but now they’re back out front,’’ said a woman selling pricey garb near the dugout suites. “And I have not heard one person say one bad word about Manny.’’
Dodgers manager Joe Torre says Manny will play some rehab games at San Bernardino starting next weekend. “It’ll be a circus wherever he goes,’’ said the skipper.
Meanwhile, everything is on schedule for Manny to return to the Dodger lineup two weeks from tonight when LA opens a weekend set in San Diego. The second game of that series is a nationally televised Fox game.
Manny’s first home game back should be July 16. I’ll go out on a limb and predict that Manny’s reception in LA will be something akin to Neil Armstrong’s parade though the Canyon of Heroes after the 1969 moon landing.
The Dodgers have performed well in Manny’s absence. Since Ramírez was shamed and shelved May 7, LA owns the best record (23-15) in the National League. The Dodgers and Red Sox have the best records in baseball, and wouldn’t it be nifty to watch a Boston-LA World Series.
In the clubhouse, Manny’s locker (he gets two stalls, befitting a star of his magnitude) are stuffed with bats, uniform tops, fielding mitts, batting gloves, and shoes. I observed no pregnancy test kits, no female fertility drugs, no letters reminding that he’s late with his Mensa dues.
Former Red Sox second baseman Mark Loretta dresses in the stall next to Manny’s. I asked Loretta when he first heard about Manny’s suspension.
