Red Sox legend David Ortiz has a laugh at former Yankee’s expense

Former Red Sox star David Ortiz calls out A-Rod’s predictions

Postseason baseball can be unpredictable. The favored team isn’t always destined to win. That makes a studio analyst’s task of predicting a series winner a challenge, one where they can’t be expected to get it right every time. You would expect a professional to nail some of those picks though, right? Alex Rodriguez failed the challenge and his former Boston Red Sox nemeses David Ortiz made sure to remind him.

During a studio segment on Fox Sports, Ortiz pointed to a graphic displaying A-Rod’s postseason picks from the Wild Card round. Rodriguez went 0-for-4 on his predictions, picking the Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets to advance to the divisional round. Three of those teams were swept in the best-of-three series while the Mets fell short to the San Diego Padres in Game 3 on Sunday.

“I mean, this is awful right here,” said Ortiz as he strolled to the graphic displayed on the studio wall. He made a buzzer sound to signal a wrong answer as he pointed to each red X on the board denoting A-Rod’s failed prediction.

Ortiz doesn’t have the best track record at making these types of predictions either, a fact he eluded to in a brief moment of self-deprecation before turning the tables on his colleague.

"“I mean, come on man, what were you thinking? You were picking basketball teams or something?”"

Rodriguez fired back by saying he’s still looking for the Red Sox on this board. Boston, of course, was nowhere to be found since they missed the playoffs with a 78-84 record. The quick comeback by A-Rod is a painful reminder of a disappointing season that will sting Red Sox fans. Big Papi wasn’t going to let the zinger spoil his fun though. He continued to hammer Rodriguez for going 0-for-4 on his picks.

The Yankees open Game 1 of the ALDS against the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday in the Bronx. A-Rod tends to have a bias toward his former team, just as Ortiz never picks against the Red Sox when they are in the postseason. It’s interesting that A-Rod picked against the Seattle Mariners, the franchise with whom he began his career. In fairness, most were hesitant to favor a team making its first postseason appearance in 21 years. However, it seems A-Rod’s blind loyalty might only extend to the team wearing pinstripes.

We can safely assume that Rodriguez will predict the Yankees to beat the Guardians in the ALDS. If his trend from the Wild Card round continues, this could signal that the Yankees are in danger of going home early.

Red Sox fans remain bitter about how the season ended for their team but there are two things we can all agree can still bring us joy this October – seeing the Yankees lose and getting a laugh at the expense of A-Rod.