Yesterday, Marc Ambinder highlighted something he said that he heard on the ESPN highlight show SportsCenter from Gov. Bill Richardson about disgraced slugger Manny Ramirez’s appearance on the Albuquerque Isotopes today.

Richardson, according to Ambinder, called Ramirez’s appearance, “a fantastic day for New Mexico.”

Ramirez is on a rehab assignment in Albuquerque not for an injury, but for a 50-game suspension for testing positive for a banned substance.

However, in the only video on ESPN.com that I could find (embedded below), ESPN reporter Colleen Dominguez quotes Richardson as saying it is a “great night in New Mexico.” And it appears that Richardson was talking about the atmosphere at the ballpark — where a record crowd of 15,189 attended Tuesday night’s game, not that Ramirez himself was there.

The Isotopes average about 7,000 fans per game when Ramirez isn’t playing. Last night’s game had a little more than 13,000 fans, many of which sat through light rain for the first four innings to see Ramirez and the Isotopes play.

The Isotopes are the AAA affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Ambinder said, “the circumstances of this “fantastic” turn of events being, let’s remember, the entirely just punishment of an epic cheat who has forever tarnished baseball.”

Baseball fans can debate whether Ramirez’s steroid use has tarnished baseball more than the other 24 players who have been suspended for performance enhancing drugs or others like Alex Rodriguez, Andy Pettitte, Gary Sheffield who have admitted to using performance enhancing drugs.

Not to mention Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa who have reportedly tested positive. Or others like Mark McGwire and Roger Clemens who have never tested positive for performance enhancing drugs but just about every sports talk radio host and guest would tell you they cheated.

This isn’t to excuse Ramirez, but to point out that saying Ramirez tarnished the game is a bit of hyperbole from Ambinder. The same as saying, based on the ESPN report below at least, that Richardson called Ramirez coming to Albuquerque after serving most of his suspension for cheating was “a fantastic day for New Mexico” when, in fact, Richardson said the crowds at Isotopes Stadium made for “a great night in New Mexico.”

Also, judging by the lines last night when I attended the Isotopes game, the vendors and Isotopes surely counted it as a great night for their bottom line.

And, for the record, Ramirez is 0-3 with a walk in four plate appearances, with a strikeout and two groundouts. The crowd, however, has cheered every time he has come up to bat and most likely will again tonight.