David Ortiz, this year’s winner of the Roberto Clement Award, says he always wanted to come back to Boston and his comments about going to the Yankees were misinterpreted. This is the kind of stuff that is making this off season more bizarre by the minute. How were the comments? “There’s too much drama, I have been thinking about a lot of things. I don’t know if I want to be part of this drama for next year,” misinterpreted? In regards to playing for the Yankees he said, “That’s something I gotta think about,” Ortiz said in reference to potentially playing with the Yankees. “I’ve been here on the Red Sox a long time, and I’ve seen how everything goes down between these two ball clubs.” The ESPN.com article made mention that Ortiz didn’t say that he wanted to play for the Bombers, but he did add that he hears nothing but good things from those associated with the Yanks. “It’s great from what I hear,” Ortiz told Dominguez. “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?” So which one is it Big Papi, you want to leave or stay? Or is it you are looking around and you are finding that there are slim to no teams looking for a one dimensional player?
How many American League teams are seriously looking for a one dimensional Designated Hitter? You know no National League team will even look at Ortiz and more American league teams are looking to fill their DH position with positional players that they can rotate on any given night. Why is Big Papi shying away from his statements about wanting to play for the Yankees now? For the simple reason that he is reading the same thing we are. That the Yankees want to utilize Jesus Montero as the primary DH, but also want to use Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter in that slot to give them a little more rest. The Yankees could also utilize Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher on occasion. Where does that leave Ortiz? Would Baltimore rather have Vladimir Guerrero or Ortiz as their DH? Ortiz has a little more power but is he worth the extra money Ortiz is going to demand? Tampa Bay could always use one, but they never spend big money on free agents. That really leaves Ortiz with one Option, back with the Sox. But do the Sox really want him at the price he wants?
This is a very tricky situation. Ortiz had his best offensive year since 2007 last year. If you read Bosoxinjections, Ryan Hannable, Notable Numerals post about the year Ortiz had last year and why he thinks the Sox should resign him. Until his stupid comments recently, he is still a fan favorite. The one thing I have always admired about Ortiz is his enthusiasm. When ever another player hits a home run or scores an important one, isn’t it Ortiz the first out of the dugout to give the congratulatory hug? Reports are coming out about the dissention amongst the team. I don’t think you will find any player that doesn’t like Ortiz. On the surface, he appears to be the ultimate teammate. No he is not a Leader nor does he claim to be. When he received his award prior to last nights game, Albert Pujols ran across the field to congratulate Ortiz, even players on the other teams like him. The real question comes down to whether he is the best option for this team. Does Ortiz help or hurt this team being one dimensional? Look what happened when the Sox played in the National League parks this year. Ortiz went 0-11, while mainly pinch hitting but also played a game at first when Adrian Gonzalez volunteered to play right field. Will that even be an option next year? One of the moves the Sox are looking to make is finding a right handed bat to play right field. In other words, Ortiz will be riding the bench during those games next year. Maybe the Sox should look at rotating positional players as their DH. It was obvious that Adrian Gonzalez wore down as the season went on last year and Kevin Youkilis is starting to look like he can’t play in the field every day either. How would they benefit from the being the occasional DH? If the Sox do get a right hander like a Michael Cuddyer next year, what do you do with Josh Reddick or Ryan Kalish? They are both young and no where near their prime. Why not let them DH once in awhile? Then there is Ryan Lavarnway, wouldn’t he be a good option at DH also? Ortiz is going to be a major topic that the new Sox brass is going to have to address. With everything in life there are pro and cons, the same holds true with the decison on whether to bring Ortiz back or not. The decision should be made with what is best for this team and not what is being said or not said this off season. We have had enough of the personal attacks.
I don’t know if Ortiz will be back or not, but the one thing I do know is that he would help his cause if he limits his comments until there is a resolution. His newest comments about wanting to come back sounded more like desperation than sincere.
For all the latest news and analysis from BoSox Injection, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or with our RSS feed.