The Washington Times’ Thom Loverro chronicles the return from suspension of the man he calls “Senior Steroid”, along with the heavy ‘tude from the other notable S.S. in the Orioles clubhouse :

You might be happy to know that inside the clubhouse, the Orioles are sticking by their teammate, according to interim manager Sam Perlozzo.

“When we are inside the clubhouse, we are together as a team,” Perlozzo said.

Togetherness can be expressed in different ways. Some teammates walked up to Palmeiro and shook his hand. Others gave him a hug.

Sosa looked around at the media in the clubhouse and strutted around with a smirk as if to say, “Boy, I am glad this isn’t about Sammy.”

He shouldn’t be so smug. There, but for the grace of Dominican citizenship, goes Sammy Sosa.

The three players accused of using steroids in Jose Canseco’s book “Juiced” who testified before Congress took different routes. Palmeiro was the defiant one, waving his finger at the committee and declaring he had never taken steroids — ever.

Mark McGwire was the pathetic one, his voice quavering as he tried not to face the question of his own purported use.

And then there was Sosa, the lawyerly one, who read a statement from his mouthpiece that he has “never taken illegal performance-enhancing drugs” and never “broken the laws of the United States or the laws of the Dominican Republic.” For those not versed in the laws of the Dominican Republic, steroids are not legal there.

You might think Sosa would be a little contrite or humbled by seeing the experience that his teammate Palmeiro is going through, becoming a national joke and an embarrassment to the game. But then again, you would think after Palmeiro’s show before Congress in March, the last thing he would ever do is go near steroids.

There is a level of arrogance in premier athletes you don’t find in most people, and it manifests itself sometimes in strange ways. Yesterday Sosa, after barely acknowledging Palmeiro as he arrived, let his arrogance show through by treating what was a horror show for his team as a joke.

He continued to smirk as he sat on the couch in the clubhouse, laughing and yelling “No media, have to get out in 10 minutes,” and then yelling, “Just kidding.”

That Sammy Sosa. What a cutup.