I don't know if it was the rain at Isotopes Park or if it was an overdose of fever pitch in atmosphere there Tuesday night, but day and night 2 of Manny Ramirez's stay in the Duke City didn't have the buzz of day and night 1. Some of the out-of-town media, including the MLB Network, have moved onto other things. ESPN is still around. In fact, Manny spoke to us and ESPN in the clubhouse prior to Wednesday night's game. Though he didn't say much, at least it was something! You can see and hear it here on krqe.com (shameless plug). Still no comment from Manny about the 50-game suspension but we'll keep trying.

While the crowd was once again heavily pro-Manny, I did see one sign in the stands implying Ramirez should go a certain taco business to get a steroids-type product...we won't name names here to protect the innocent. 13-thousand, 77 rain-soaked fans did get a chance to boo and many did when Ramirez walked in his first at-bat...not exactly what people paid to see. Ramirez went 0 for 1 with a groundout to short, but hey, at least he got on base and advanced to second on a bunt. And he did get to catch a fly ball out and play a wet baseball off the left field wall, hitting the cutoff man and holding the hitter to a single. Though baby steps, it's progress in his comeback.

Manny is expected to play at least seven innings in Thursday night's Isotopes game against Nashville, before heading to southern California for three A-ball minor league games and returning to the Dodgers July 3rd in San Diego. What will the third and final act of Albuquerque Manny-mania bring? Stay tuned!