Ramirez under pressure from Dodgers to face team mates

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles Dodgers officials are eager for disgraced slugger Manny Ramirez to speak to his team mates about his failed drug test, with next weekend a likely opportunity when the Dodgers are in Miami.

Ramirez, 36, has kept a low profile since Major League Baseball suspended him on Thursday for 50 games after he tested positive for a performance enhancing drug.

Although the power-hitting outfielder has been in telephone contact with Dodgers officials over the last three days, manager Joe Torre was keen for the dreadlocked Ramirez to face up to the team once he was ready.

"He's embarrassed and he still has to clear his head before he feels good enough to come out," Torre told reporters before the Dodgers started Sunday's game against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium.

"He's still beat up over this thing. It's not that he thinks it's unfair.

"I think it's important that players get a chance to see him. I don't think we need anything formal. I think they just need to physically see him."

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Torre said he understood Ramirez needed more time to compose himself before linking up with the Dodgers.

"He feels very badly right now and is embarrassed by the whole thing," he said. "He is trying to gather his thoughts. It doesn't mean these guys out here like him any less. He just needs support to get through this thing."

It took less than 24 hours for the Dodgers to suffer their first defeat at home this season after Ramirez's suspension was announced on Thursday.

The National League team had posted a 21-8 record in this campaign, the best mark in the major leagues, before blowing an early 6-0 lead to lose 11-9 to the lowly Washington Nationals.

On Friday, they were beaten 3-1 by the Giants but they finally managed to win their first game without Ramirez when Eric Stults threw their first shutout of the season for an 8-0 thumping of the Giants on Saturday.

The NL West-leading Dodgers were wrapping up an 11-game homestand against the Giants on Sunday before they start a six-game road trip in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Next weekend, they take on the Florida Marlins in Miami where Ramirez has an off-season home. For Dodgers officials, this represents the ideal venue and time for the disgraced slugger to pay his team mates a visit.

(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)