Big Papi in Pinstripes?
Say it isn’t so Big Papi. Say you wouldn’t even consider playing for the New York Yankees.
With all the drama surrounding the Red Sox and the future so unsettled, David Ortiz went on record and said he would give some thought about playing for the arch rival Yankees.
Ortiz told ESPN’s Colleen Dominguez that the idea of playing in New York is something he would need to think about. He even went as far as to say that from what he hears, everything is good in New York and accoridng to Ortiz in the ESPN article, the grass appears to be greener on the other side.
“It’s great from what I hear. It’s a good situation to be involved in. Who doesn’t want to be involved in a great situation where everything goes the right way” Ortiz said.
With Big Papi set to enter free agency, the likelihood that he goes to New York is reality. He’s coming off an excellent year in terms of the numbers he put up as the team’s DH, hitting .309 with 29 homers and driving in 96 runs.
It appears that the Yankees could be looking for a fulltime DH as their current serving DH, Jorge Posada appears he’s played his last game in New York. Throw in the fact that the Yankees spend money like no other club and Ortiz in pinstripes is a real possiblity.
Ortiz mentioned he just wants to win, no matter where he goes. Boston is still one of the best teams on paper, granted that’s the problem, it’s just on paper. On and off the field this team is a mess right now and Ortiz is growing tired of all the drama.
But for Ortiz to even mutter the Yankees as an option is absurd and down right cruel to all Red Sox fans. Ortiz who rejuvinated his career in Boston since coming over from Minnesota in 2003, has become an international sensation. And he’s done it with a B on his cap.
Big Papi was instrumental in ending the curse in 2004 and was a driving force in helping the Red Sox comeback when down 3-0 to the Yankees. He’s an icon in Boston and is always one of the fan favorites.
Johnny Damon made the jump to the evil empire after being a star in Boston and everyone remembers how he was first received in Boston. It wasn’t good. In fact, he still gets booed when he returns to Beantown.
Ortiz would surely follow suit. If he up and leaves for New York without as much as giving the new GM a chance, then you can wipe out all that he’s done for this franchise. He would rip the heart and sould out of Red Sox Nation and spit in their face as he walked out the door. Besides, not everyone is cut out to play in New York.
Maybe the big slugger is tired of all the offseason noise that has been generated lately. You certainly can’t blame him for that. So head to the homeland of the Dominican Republic and get away from it all for a little while. Wait for the new GM and manager to be named and reasses things at that point. Don’t just jump into the middle of the fire and start using swear words like New York and Yankees. That’s just crazy talk.
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