Fans at Dodger Stadium were still in support of Manny Ramirez despite the suspension of the All-Star outfielder. But, such, was not the case earlier this morning at a famed restaurant.
The television was broken Thursday morning at Philippe's Restaurant in downtown Los Angeles.
Good thing -- it allowed diners to enjoy their breakfasts before digesting some bad news.
"It's just sad," said one fan after learning about the suspension of Dodger Manny Ramirez. "It's terrible. They ought to take all that money back and just go get somebody else."
Ramirez was handed a 50-game suspension for the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Major League Baseball confirmed that his suspension will begin on Thursday and he will be eligible to return to the team on July 3.
"The rest of the team has been really stepping up," said another fan at Philippe's. "Hopefully, they'll step up and they'll take his place. He's been making them all play better."
Ramirez blamed the positive test on a medication prescribed to him by a doctor. That explanation did little to quell the disappointment.
"Oh wow, wow... I'm very disappointed," said a woman who just heard the news. "We would have thought better from Manny Ramirez. Knowing what (Barry) Bonds did before, we would have thought that any baseball player would have known they were going to get tested.
"All the team was depending on Manny."
Ramirez is batting .348 with six home runs and 20 RBIs through the first 27 games of the season.
His suspension came a day after the Dodgers broke the modern major league record for a home winning streak to open a season with their 13th consecutive victory.
But, on the first night without him, the Dodgers not only lost their first home game of the season, but their record for consecutive wins at home to start a season ended.
The Dodgers lost 11-9 to the Washington Nationals.
Yet, many fans at Dodger Stadium on Thursday night were still in support of Manny.
However, "Mannywood", the stadium's left field stands dedicated to their star player has been eliminated.
Manny returns to the field in early July.
