Manny Ramirez set to start comeback with A's top affiliate
Manny Ramirez will report to Class AAA Sacramento on Saturday at Albuquerque, and then join the Oakland A's on May 30 in Minnesota, according to a schedule released by the team Tuesday.
One day earlier, Ramirez spoke to the San Francisco Chronicle, and he told the newspaper, "I will be ready. I'm going to go crazy to please the fans."
Ramirez, who is serving a 50-game suspension for violating baseball's drug policy, has been working on seeing as many pitches as possible and developing on his two-strike approach during extended spring training, according to the Chronicle.
"I am hitting with two strikes every time," he told the newspaper. "I don't care if I strike out because I want to see as many pitches as I can. I don't care about the results, not here. This is the time for me to work -- and then I go to Oakland.
"And I feel good, I feel great, my body feels great."
Ramirez is due to play 10 games for Sacramento, the maximum allowed under the terms of his suspension.
Manager Bob Melvin, whose team fell 4-0 at Anaheim on Tuesday, told the Chronicle that he sees Ramirez as a middle-of-the-order hitter and he doesn't have a problem batting right-handed hitters back-to-back, so Yoenis Cespedes and Ramirez are likely to be the No. 4-5 hitters.
Barring rainouts, Ramirez would play his first game for the A's on his 40th birthday.
