He goes and stays out of it

On a day that opened a pressure-packed can of questions without many answered, one query rang clearly and loudly as the Dodgers approached their first of 50 games without Manny Ramirez: How would the Dodgers’ television and radio networks handle the news of Ramirez’s drug suspension?

To their credit, they did not avoid it. Both pregame shows, on Prime Ticket and 790 KABC radio, gave the Ramirez story its due. On radio, Rick Monday said, “Unfortunately, this afternoon did not have the flavor of talking about the club that is 21-8 and 13-0 at home. It has moved to news, and I think it affected different people in many different ways.

“We’ve really had the rainbow of feelings -- from shock to sadness to maybe irritation. . . . [The Dodgers] have lost basically a family member. They know how long it’s going to be. But now this club has to rally around one another and they’ve got to go forward.”

Charley Steiner said the news made the game “seemingly secondary.” For at least one night, it was.

Vin Scully, however, has long seen his role as a broadcaster painting strokes of what develops between the white lines.

He began the telecast by acknowledging that “the Dodgers and the city of Los Angeles and all of California and for that matter all of baseball is still shocked and stunned over the suspension of Manny Ramirez.”

“We’ll have more to say about that a little bit later on. But no one man stops baseball, and the game tonight should be a good one.”

Further discussion meant a snippet of Manager Joe Torres’ pregame session with the media, with Torre calling the news “a distraction” creating “a void in the clubhouse and on the field, but our job is to go out and play as the Los Angeles Dodgers are supposed to play. And that’s to win.”

Advertising and marketing are larger ships to move on the spot, and one television commercial promoted a 14-game mini-plan, with footage of a Ramirez bobblehead doll and cheering fans wearing Ramirez jerseys.

Now they will need new advertising: How will the Dodgers and their fans cope with a 50-game-minus-Manny plan?

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What Manny did

The news of Ramirez’s 50-game drug suspension prompted ESPN on Thursday to jump into developing-story mode, a condition that showcases what ESPN does best.

ESPN devoted four segments of its midafternoon “SportsCenter” to the Ramirez story -- interviewing major league players, former Ramirez teammates, sportswriters, investigative reporters and their own analysts.

These were the opinions of ESPN baseball analysts Steve Phillips and Eric Young about the effect Ramirez’s suspension would have on the Dodgers.

Phillips: “They’re still going to be in first place [when Ramirez returns]. They’ve got a 6 1/2 -game lead right now. They’re going to be in first place.”

Young, asked whether the Dodgers would still be in first place when Ramirez returned July 3: “Oh, without a doubt. . . .

“This team has got good pitching [and] with that pitching, this team will still have a big lead when Manny comes back. So there’s no reason at all for the Dodgers to panic.”

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All aboard

NBC’s coverage of the 135th Kentucky Derby was the most-viewed Derby in 20 years, according to Nielsen Media Research. The race averaged 16.3 million viewers, 2 million more than in 2008 and the most since 1989, when 18.5 million watched Sunday Silence win.

The upward spike in the ratings is surprising considering the hype surrounding last year’s “super horse,” Big Brown.

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Good today

Lakers. At Houston. Game 3. On ESPN, 6:30 p.m.

Also, at 7 p.m. on Prime Ticket, the Dodgers continue life without Manny against the San Francisco Giants.

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Good on Saturday

The NBA undercards: Denver at Dallas on ESPN at 2 p.m., followed by Cleveland at Atlanta at 5 p.m. on Channel 7. Also: Giants at Dodgers at 12:30 p.m. on Channel 11, renewing what Forbes magazine calls the best rivalry in baseball, dismissing the East Coast brawl known at Yankees-Red Sox as only second-best; third-round coverage of the PGA Players Championship on Channel 4 at 11 a.m.

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Good on Sunday

The Lakers and Rockets play again, Game 4 on Channel 7 at 12:30 p.m. After, the Celtics and the Magic play their fourth game, on TNT, beginning at 5 p.m. At 2 p.m. on Fox Sports West, the Ducks and Detroit Red Wings play Game 5 of their second-round playoff at 2 p.m. This is notable in that most local cable viewers have access to FSW, as opposed to Versus.

Also: Giants-Dodgers (1 p.m. on Prime) and Angels-Kansas City (12:30 p.m. on Channel 13) conclude their weekend series; Channel 4 carries coverage of the PGA Players Championship at 11 a.m.

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mike.penner@latimes.com