Palmeiro back, won’t talk about steroid flap

BALTIMORE – There was no apology, no mention of the s-word.

Rafael Palmeiro returned from a 10-day suspension Thursday eager to play baseball for the Baltimore Orioles, yet unwilling to discuss the positive test for steroids that tarnished his name, perhaps forever.

“I want to say that I’m happy to be back. I’m anxious to get back on the field and playing the game that I love very much,” he said.

“It’s been a tough time for me and my family over the last couple of weeks, and at this time I’ve been instructed by my attorneys not to comment on the situation.

“The time will come soon, hopefully, that I can explain my situation.”

Palmeiro was not in the Orioles’ starting lineup for Thursday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

“I don’t think he’s done a whole lot so we’ll take it a day at a time,” Orioles interim manager Sam Perlozzo said. “We’ll see what he looks like tomorrow. He might take a couple of days, I think.”

Palmeiro was suspended by Major League Baseball on Aug. 1 for failing a drug test.

Information on the case has been forwarded to Congress; for that reason, he will not address his situation.

He did, however, position himself in the Baltimore dugout in front dozens of cameras, reporters and microphones to talk about his feelings and to speculate how he might be received by the home fans.

Palmeiro has said he has no idea how steroids got into his body, and promised to fully reveal his side of the story after the Congressional investigation is complete.

“Congress is going over all the stuff right now and I am just going to wait on that situation to be over with,” he said. “I’m just taking it one day at a time.”

Major League Baseball has told the House Government Reform Committee that it will turn over documents related to Palmeiro’s case Friday.

“We’ll begin reviewing them immediately. It’s hard to say how long that review will take, because we don’t know what’s coming at us. We don’t know how many documents, how detailed they’ll be, what questions might arise,” said Dave Marin, spokesman for committee chairman Tom Davis, R-Va.

“I don’t imagine this taking weeks. The chairman should have a conclusion sometime early next week,” he said.

At Davis’ request, Palmeiro authorized baseball to turn over information about his failed drug test.

Davis wants to investigate whether the player might have committed perjury when he testified under oath to Congress that he hadn’t used steroids.

Palmeiro’s agent, Arn Tellem, said Wednesday that the star first baseman would not address his case for now.

“It would not be appropriate to comment while the House Committee on Government Reform is doing its work,” Tellem said.

Asked about that stance, Marin said: “There’s nothing related to this committee that would prevent Rafael from speaking to anybody.”

Palmeiro said he barely did any baseball-related activities during his suspension, is unsure when he will play and uncertain how he will be received by the fans in Baltimore.

“I’m sure in the next couple of days I will get back out there on the field,” he said. “As far as the fans, you know these are great fans. I’ve always enjoyed playing here. These are the best fans in the game and I hope they can understand my situation right now. I’ll accept how they react.”

While the Orioles took batting practice, Palmeiro signed autographs for fans behind the Baltimore dugout – something he does not usually do. A young girl carried a large orange sign that read, “Welcome Back Raffy.”

Not all the fans were so forgiving.

Four fans walked into the stadium together wearing orange jerseys with the words, “Hall of Shame” in black letters on front with image of a syringe underneath. Palmeiro’s No. 25 was on the back.