Ramirez may stay silent on details

Midway through the Dodgers’ six-game homestand, Manny Ramirez was still at his Florida home, according to sources familiar with the situation who weren’t authorized to speak on the matter.

When Ramirez will leave Miami to start working out at the Dodgers’ spring training complex in Arizona remains uncertain. He isn’t expected back at Dodger Stadium until next month.

But Ramirez’s strategy for how he’ll address the media appears to be taking shape, as sources in his camp are indicating that he’ll apologize for violating baseball’s drug policy but won’t detail the events that led to him being suspended for 50 games. One source said that Ramirez might cite legal reasons for remaining silent on the matter, noting the possibility of suing the doctor who prescribed him HCG, a female fertility drug that is on the baseball’s list of banned substances.

The apology probably would be enough for Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, who said he wanted Ramirez to show the public that he was “truly remorseful.” McCourt said he wasn’t interested in learning why Ramirez failed a drug test in spring training.

Left unanswered would be why Ramirez had a testosterone level four times higher than that of an average male or how no trace of HCG was found in his system, as previously confirmed by sources with specific knowledge of his test results. (A prescription for HCG found in Ramirez’s medical records was the reason why he drew a 50-game ban.)

Ethier sliding

Andre Ethier didn’t discount the theory that Ramirez’s absence from the Dodgers’ lineup was responsible for his recent dip in form.

“I guess the quality of pitches that I’m seeing might be a little different,” he said.

In the 29 games Ethier played before Ramirez was suspended, he hit .317 with six home runs and 27 runs batted in.

Over the next 11 games: .125 with no home runs and two runs batted in.

Consequently, Ethier went into the Dodgers’ series finale against the New York Mets on Wednesday night with a .257 average.

Of Ramirez, Ethier said, “He changes our lineup big time. There’s no hiding that fact.”

Manager Joe Torre said he didn’t think Ramirez’s absence necessarily affected the way Ethier was being pitched, noting that Ramirez was hitting in front of Ethier and not behind him. “It doesn’t make sense for it to be an issue unless he feels he has to replace him,” Torre said.

But the manager said he made it a point to speak to Ethier on Tuesday.

“He’s not here and we can’t all of a sudden do more and make up for it,” Torre said.

Short hops

Orlando Hudson, who bruised his left shoulder attempting a diving catch Tuesday night and was listed as day-to-day, was back in the Dodgers’ lineup. Hudson is the only player to have started each of the Dodgers’ 42 games. . . . Matt Kemp was out of the lineup because Torre said he wanted to get Xavier Paul a start. Paul started for only the second time since being called up from triple-A Las Vegas on May 7 to replace Ramirez on the active roster. . . . Eric Stults, who was scratched from his scheduled start on Wednesday because of a sprained left thumb, will start the Dodgers’ series opener in Colorado on Monday. Eric Milton will start Tuesday.

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dylan.hernandez@latimes.com