Orlando Hudson On Eve of Manny’s Return
July 3, 2009 – 7:00 am by Bunk
Hard to believe that Manny Ramirez will have fulfilled his obligatory 50 game suspension as of Friday. When Ramirez was sidelined for being caught using performance enhancing drugs, the Los Angeles Dodgers were streaking out of the gates to start the 2009 season. Since then, the Dodgers have had their ups and downs – but mostly ups. They still hold a 7.5 game lead in the National League West over the San Franciso Giants, who haven’t exactly been playing poor ball themselves.
Orlando Hudson, a friend and teammate, joined KLAC in Los Angeles to talk about the club’s mindset on the eve of Ramirez’s return and how he and his teammates are more than ready to embrace his return.
On the mindset of the club now that Manny Ramirez is set to return from his suspension:
“It won’t affect the clubhouse at all. We’ve got a great manager who knows how to control and handle the media, he’s been doing it for years. All the stuff that was going on in New York, he handled everything like a pro. If you put most people in Mr. Torre’s shoes and all the things he had to go through and all the things he’s been through and the championships and the stuff in the clubhouse, a lot of guys couldn’t handle that He’s just the perfect man for the job and it won’t be a distraction at all tomorrow. We’ll all embrace Manny with a lot of love and once tomorrow comes, we’ll all be happy seeing him back in the 3 hole and back out in left field, doing his thing like always. You gotta do your job too and they’ll all be asking questions, but we still gotta play baseball.”
On if the team has forgiven Manny?
“Nobody’s mad at Manny. No, not at all. Everybody’s still got love for Manny. Today we came down, we were all laughing, talking, having a great time. Nobody’s got no bad feelings in no way, shape or fashion with Manny. Whatever happened, happened. We weren’t there so I can’t comment on that but one thing I can say is everybody embraced him with open arms. Big smiles, lot of hugs, a lot of cracking jokes and really getting back at it tomorrow.”
Has the culture changed since he left?
“Nothing has changed in the locker room at all since Manny’s been gone. We’re all still having fun. Last year the guys knew they could win without Manny because last year because before they got Manny last year, they beat us pretty good when I was in Arizona. They were a good team. When they added Manny, what more do they need? Now they got Manny and it’s already a dangerous lineup that they already had. The chemistry in the locker is still the same, they have the same chemistry on the field, they have a lot of fun playing good baseball. Now he’s back and we just gotta keep the same mentality and keep grinding every day.”
Listen here to Hudson on KLAC in Los Angeles
Tags: KLAC, Los Angeles Dodgers, Manny Ramirez returns from suspension, Orlando Hudson, steroids in baseball
