Andrew Kamenetzky: Manny’s return is a distraction and admitting so is half the battle

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In the world of sports, whenever a team faces a bump in the road ranging from ‘smallish’ to ‘batten down the hatches and hang on for dear life’ happens, we are typically guaranteed two responses.

1) Athletes will be asked by a gaggle of writers if said event is a ‘distraction.’

2) Said athletes will do their best to insist said event is not a ‘distraction.’

There are, however, cases big enough in which the rules’ exceptions are observed. For example, Manny Ramirez returning to the Los Angeles Dodgers from a 50-game suspension for testing positive for a female fertility drug that is banned by baseball. It’s impossible to pretend the impending media circus taking its big top to San Diego for a series against the Padres won’t be in the back, front and every corner of the team’s collective heads. Thus, I was glad Joe Torre and several Dodgers didn’t pretend otherwise.

Mind you, acknowledging this turn of events carries long odds of ‘distraction’ isn’t the same thing as declaring it a ‘problem.’ Or that a 50-29 start is on the verge of getting sabotaged. Everyone approached seemed sincere in expressing confidence that the Dodgers can navigate this madness. It was simply a matter of not attempting to sell ‘business as usual’ that only a moron would buy. Devoting so much energy toward a transparent snow job is potentially more exhausting than whatever comes from honesty.

So let’s just call it like it is. Manny’s return is a distraction. But remember, while the words are similar in sound and spelling, ‘distraction’ and ‘destruction’ have very different definitions.

Torre made no bones that nuttiness awaits the Blue. But the odds of a closed-door meeting coming as a result seem, for the time being, rather low. ‘I really don’t like to call attention to something unless I see that there’s something that needs to be talked about. Otherwise, you’re just opening up a can of worms.’

Dodger outfielder Matt Kemp may have stated this situation wasn’t a distraction, but in fairness, that was in part because I asked him how to avoid letting it become one. The set-up -- admittedly bad on my end -- left him few outs. But to some degree, Kemp doesn’t see this situation as too far outside the norm.

‘The media’s always gonna be here, especially when you got a guy like Manny.’

Besides, even if dealing with a slew of reporters is a drag, it’s the least Kemp thinks he and his teammates can do for Ramirez, considering how his 2008 arrival unified the clubhouse in dramatic fashion. Ironically, Kemp believes Manny’s presence helped everyone weather the storm during his absence. ‘We focused on having fun no matter what and when he got suspended, it basically carried over. Our team never changed and we learned a lot from it.’

Among those I spoke with, veteran infielder Orlando Hudson was the most blunt about how annoying the barrage of Manny questions will be. ‘Personally, I wish they could bring him in on a helicopter and drop him on the field, man. I’m so not looking forward to it,’ said the O-Dog, who wasn’t just tossing around a good line.

For those fearful of a rift brewing over this situation, don’t sweat it. Hudson gets that the media has a job to do and ‘the world wants to know what’s going on in the Dodger clubhouse,’ so he’ll answer the hundreds of questions he knows are coming. Accepting a situation without bitterness and being happy about it are two very different things.

I liked Rafael Furcal’s take on why getting asked a zillion times about Manny won’t make taking care of business difficult. ‘If you don’t want to answer some bad question, you don’t answer,’ said Furcal with a grin.

The T-shirt referenced in the earlier video reads ‘Free Manny,’ and according to Furcal, it was given to Ramirez by a fan. Raffy later found the shirt hanging in his locker, where it’s remained ever since.

Beginning today, one fans’ cause du jour reaches its conclusion.

-- Andrew Kamenetzky