Where Have You Gone, Papi?

By Erik Pesta
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff


I get it, Tito. I really do. You are a player's manager and you let your guys work themselves out of slumps. You've won two World Series trophies and probably have forgotten more about baseball than I will ever know. I admit this up front. But please, for the love of all things holy, get David Ortiz out of the three-hole in the lineup. He is officially killing your team. In yesterday's excruciating extra-inning loss to the Angels, Ortiz left 12 men on base. Twelve!!! Whole teams don't leave that many men on base in an entire game. I keep looking at that stat and can't stop shaking my head. I've been writing for weeks now that Ortiz needs to be moved down in the order. This is not an "I told you so", and I wish I was wrong. But he can't catch up to a fastball and teams don't fear him anymore. He has nothing left. Zip. Nada. Bupkus. His 2009 numbers: .220 batting average, 15 RBI, 0 homeruns, .317 slugging percentage and .650 OPS. Those are utility infielder numbers, not, "cornerstone of our lineup/we always have a chance with this guy" numbers. He used to be the hitter teams never wanted to see in the late innings of close games. Now, they are happy it's him and not Pedroia, Youkilis, Bay or Lowell stepping into the box with runners on. It used to be so different. He used to have swagger. Sox fans knew they were never out of a game with Papi looming in the next inning. I remember a game a few years ago against Cleveland. The Sox were down at home and Fausto Carmona came in to pitch for the Tribe. The specifics of the situation escape me now, but I remember imploring the Sox, saying over and over, "Just get to Papi. Just get to Papi." Well, they did. Fenway fans rose to their feet, he hit a bomb to center to win it, and I ran around my apartment, screamed like a fool and woke up my sleeping, pregnant wife. Things like that happened on a regular basis. But they don't happen anymore, and nobody misses the old Papi more than I do. These days, I'll take any signs of life out of a guy who looks to be completely overmatched at the plate. With each passing at bat, I feel more and more like it's not going to happen. I dread seeing him come up in big spots, because it hurts to watch him fail over and over again. If yesterday's game wasn't a huge red flag to Francona, telling him something needs to be done about the situation, then he'll never move Ortiz out of the third spot in the batting order. I just hope it doesn't de-rail a season in which the Sox look like they have a legitimate shot at the World Series.