Manny Ramirez could face circus in San Diego first

Send in the clowns

Joe Torre talks about the circus atmosphere that will surround Manny Ramirez in New York next week, but no one threw a syringe at Barry Bonds in New York.

That happened in San Diego, where Ramirez makes his eagerly awaited return on Friday.

“You may have a few knuckleheads that throw some disparaging comments his way,” said Scott Linebrink, who pitched for the Padres when the syringe was pitched at Bonds.

“I think a lot of people will be excited to see Manny and all that he brings to the game. He’s a great ballplayer. He attracts fans just like Barry Bonds or Albert Pujols.”

Ramirez was suspended after baseball officials discovered a prescription for HCG, the hormone that triggers a positive result on those do-it-yourself pregnancy tests. Anti-doping experts say athletes can use HCG to restore testosterone levels after a cycle of steroids.

Bonds told a grand jury six years ago he had never knowingly used steroids, but the federal government alleges he lied.

Linebrink, who played five years in San Diego, said the Padres attract “pretty much a beach crowd.” So who among such a mellow audience would have tossed a syringe at Bonds?

“They may have come from L.A.,” Linebrink said.

He was joking. We think.

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With Fehr out, a new fear

Donald Fehr might be departing as leader of the players’ union, but the specter of steroids past and present continues to haunt baseball.

The Oakland Athletics had a reunion last week for their 1989 World Series championship team, but neither Mark McGwire nor Jose Canseco showed up. If Canseco had appeared, Carney Lansford said the rest of the team might not have.

“Not after his book and all the lives he ruined,” Lansford told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Canseco shot back on Comcast Sports Net, calling Lansford “ignorant” to say he had ruined the lives of millionaires, even if they had used steroids.

It has been two decades since the Bash Brothers, and Fehr and Commissioner Bud Selig finally did implement a drug-testing program, with a shove from Congress. For a sport that claims its testing program is the toughest among pro leagues, however, this could be bad news: The feds are investigating the Florida doctor who wrote that HCG prescription for Ramirez.

Government agents, not baseball officials, uncovered evidence that steroids, human growth hormone and/or HCG had been obtained from pharmacies in Alabama, California and Florida by 16 players, including Troy Glaus and Gary Matthews Jr., according to the Mitchell Report.

Those shipments generally predated baseball’s testing program. If the feds link the doctor associated with Ramirez to additional players and recent shipments, Congress almost certainly would question the effectiveness of that testing program.

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That’s Ozzie being Ozzie

Ozzie Guillen was a three-time All-Star shortstop for the Chicago White Sox. He manages the team now, and his shortstop is Alexei Ramirez, who made two errors Thursday that Guillen described as “lazy.”

“I made a big mistake when I said in January he’s going to be a better shortstop than Ozzie Guillen,” said Guillen. “I never thought I was that bad.”

-- Bill Shaikin