You Can't Keep a Good Gimmick Down

From "Mannywood will return too" by Bill Shaikin at the LA Times:

When Manny Ramirez returns to Dodger Stadium, so does Mannywood.

The fans have spoken, the Dodgers say. They want their "Mannywood" T-shirts, and their special block of seats adjacent to left field.

When Ramirez was suspended May 7 for violating baseball's drug policy, the Dodgers withdrew the Mannywood promotion. He is scheduled to be reinstated July 3, and the Dodgers plan to reinstate Mannywood on July 16, in their first home game after his return.

"We decided to reopen Mannywood directly based on our fans' interest," Dodgers President Dennis Mannion said.

I don't know what methods the Dodgers use to gauge fan interest, but the team certainly seems confident Manny will be welcomed back with open arms. Maybe they suspected this all along, or maybe Manny's warm reception in Albuquerque was all the evidence they needed. In either case, it'll be business as usual starting July 16. Let's just hope it's business as usual with Manny's bat as well.

An unrelated tidbit in Shaikin's article caught my eye:

The Dodgers offered free parking for last week's series against the Oakland Athletics, and Mannion said walk-up sales increased by an average of 1,600 fans a game.

Based on announced figures, we calculated an average of 3,600 walkup sales per free-parking game. So the Dodgers average 2,000 walkups a game. Good to know.

photo by Mark J. Terrill/AP