Don't you feel bad for David Ortiz?

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Those poor professional athletes have it so rough.

Especially, Boston's David Ortiz.

The man who is supercharged by the finest Mango Salsa money can buy (wink, wink), is still yapping about wanting to play for the Red Sox for more than one season.

Ortiz is "not comfortable" playing on a one-year deal.

Poor David Ortiz.

Ortiz would pocket $12.5 million if the Red Sox pick up his option for next season. I know, it's rough getting that much money.

While the average man would be doing cartwheels from Leominster to Boston if they got that much cash, Ortiz must think it's a slap in the face if he gets that money and it's only for a one-year deal.

Oh, poor David Ortiz.

Ortiz apparently doesn't like the media anymore, either. In baseball terms, he's got rabbit ears. Yes, he's reading everything that's written about him and watching all the telecasts on TV. And it's getting to him, all the negative stuff that's being said about him.

It's nice to know that Ortiz is human and has feelings, but that's life in professional sports. One day you're the hero, the next you're the goat. When you're going well everyone loves you, and when you're not, they say you're too old, slow, in decline, etc.

Again, poor David Ortiz.

In a struggling economy, $12.5 million might not seem like a lot to a bigger-than-life Boston sports figure, but how many fans are really feeling sorry for him?

You think Joe Smith from Marlborough, who lost his job two years ago and still hasn't found full-time work really cares that Ortiz is so upset that he might only get $12.5 million for one season? No way. Mr. Smith is more worried about trying piece together multiple part-time paychecks to provide for his family.

So, again, poor David Ortiz.

As much as I love professional sports, crying about money and length of contracts really makes me laugh. Seriously? Aren't there much more important things in life to worry about? Maybe Ortiz doesn't think so, but we all know his little dilemma is so low on the average fans priority list.

Everyone, all together: "Poor, David Ortiz!"

So much for a rejuvinated offense

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sport Staff

Yes, Sox fans. It was as ugly as it seemed.

In the six-game embarasment that was the Red Sox' last road trip, they found pretty much every concievable way to lose a ballgame.

But in pretty much all of them, there was one common theme - an extreme lack off offense. And as bad as it looked, when you mull over the numbers, it's enough to make a grown man cry.

Let's start with the basics. The Red Sox managed to score a whopping 16 runs on 39 hits over the six-game stretch. Now remember that two of those games went into extras, so in reality, Boston scored 16 runs in 64 innings. Average that out and the Red Sox scored once every four innings. You can't win ballgames that way. Not against good teams.

Who can you blame? How about everybody? As a team, the Red Sox batted a dismal .176, accumulating just 39 hits in 222 at bats. At the top of the order, Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia were unproductive. The leadoff hittter batted .233, while the former MVP was just a shade better at .240. But wait, it gets worse. Here's a list of the Red Sox' key players who laid eggs in the pivotal series.

Victor Martinez: 6-for-26 (.231)
Kevin Youkilis: 5-for-23 (.217)
J.D. Drew: 4-for-19 (.210)
Mike Lowell: 2-for-13 (.154)
David Ortiz: 1-for-18 (.056)
Jason Varitek: 1-for-19 (.053)

Jason Bay was absent for most of the week because of a re-aggravated hamstring injury, but he went 2-for-8, extending his horrible post-All-Star slump. He's now batting .204 since the Midsummer Classic. (In the process, he's become a statistical enigma of sorts. He is slugging just .296, but stil has an on-base percentage of .377 in that time.)

The road trip was one of the worst stretches of offense in Red Sox history, including a scoreless streak of 31 straight innings. At least they avoided getting shut out in back-to-back-to-back games for the first time since 1981.

Say what you will about John Smoltz. The rest of the starting pitching in either series was good enough that they could have won. Jon Lester was superb in both of his starts. Josh Beckett was dominant through seven innings in his start against the Yankees. Clay Buchholz was less than spectacular, but still wriggled his way through six inning to put the Red Sox into a decent position in game three of the Yankees series. Brad Penny did not pitch well, but five runs is not exactly disastrous.

Some could point to the bullpen being the problem, having been tagged with the loss in three of the six games and some of the blame could be placed on it, but consider how much they have had to pitch over those last six games and it's not hard to see that they miss having a long man like Justin Masterson (though I doubt anyone would be willing to hand Victor Martinez back). And had the Red Sox been able to muster anything more than nine hits in the combined 28 innings of the two extra-inning games they played, maybe, just maybe those games could have been a lot shorter.

You have to also tip your cap to the opposing pitchers, especially the Yankees, but some of the blame has to fall on what was supposed to be one of the better, most balanced lineups in baseball. Now the Red Sox sit at a .262 batting average as a team, planting them behind the Seattle Mariners in that department. That's just not going to do it for a team that wants to hold onto its postseason dreams.

Big Papi a Big Fraud

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Well, well, well. It looks like Mr. Mango Salsa Man, David Ortiz, isn't such a Beantown Hero is he?

The Boston designated hitter was called out yesterday as being one of the 104 Major League Baseball players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003, along with sidekick Manny Ramirez.

Is anyone really in total shock about Papi that he used performance-enhancing drugs? Well, apparently he is, considering he doesn't even know what he took. Ya, sure and I'm the best sports writer in the country.

Isn't this the same guy that has been extremely vocal during spring training about never using and how MLB should throw the book at everyone who is caught using? 

Papi's a fraud, bottom line.

Are those Red Sox World Series titles tainted now since both Ortiz and Manny -- the two feared hitters in that Boston lineup -- were dirty players during that run? That's for you to judge.

The bottom line is he disrespected the game by cheating, even Red Sox fans can't argue that statement.

Will Ortiz be treated just like the other stars who have been caught using and still are playing -- Manny, Alex Rodriguez -- with a steady dose of boos at every ballpark? 

Do Red Sox fans still love Ortiz (based on the standing ovation he got during yesterday's game, they still love him)? Is he forgiven in your book?

How do you view Ortiz now?

It's sad, but Big Papi is a Big Fraud now.

Beckett dominant again against Braves

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Josh Beckett has been dealing yet again as the Boston Red Sox beat the Atlanta Braves 4-1 down in Georgia. It doesn't hurt he took to the bump against an organization he's now 6-0 in his last 7 starts. In the past month, Josh Beckett is 5-1 with a 1.48 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 43 K's. With the exception of that one clunker against the Phillies, he's been extremely dominant and looks like the '07 Josh Beckett. Add in the fact that Jon Lester is 3-1 with a 2.18 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 44 K's and you have one of the best 1-2 tandems in baseball. Don't forget about Tim Wakefield's 9-3 record on route to what should be his first All Star game.

Realistically, the Boston Red Sox are built around pitching. They have very good starting pitching, with great depth in AAA. They also have the most consistent bullpen in the majors with the likes Jonathon Papelbon, Hideki Okajima, Ramon Ramirez & Manny Delcarmen. All four of those relievers have an ERA under 2.50.

The secondary story of the game was the continued resurgence of David "Big Papi" Ortiz. He hit his 8th homer of the season last night and 7th of the month. While I may not be 100% ready to say he's back to a lesser version of his old self, I will say that I am getting close. His average is still only .269 with a .333 OBP. His slugging is .590 with an OPS of .923. Both are very respectable. He has been able to cut down on his strike outs. He does have 15 K's in 20 games in June, but compare that to May where he struck out 26 times. Big Papi is making me look terribly wrong for saying his career was over, but I don't think it's a coincidence his resurgence starting about the time he started taking those eye drops. Ortiz had been complaining about blinking too much at the plate, and the eye drops seem to have stopped that. Hitting, and confidence at the plate, is such a fragile thing even for a professional. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how he progress throughout the season.

Ortiz still has a lot more to prove

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Another home run for David Ortiz.

That makes six on the year and five in June with eight games left in the month.

So as the weather gets hotter, will Ortiz's bat follow suit? His recent production would suggest yes, but this is one fan that remains skeptical.

The Red Sox need Ortiz to produce in the DH spot for one reason more than any - they don't have anyone to replace him with. No one on the bench or in Pawtucket could provide the kind of offense you desire at the designated hitter position, otherwise, you have to think they at least you have been given a look at this point.

So many fans have come to the conclusion that the Red Sox don't need Ortiz because the team has managed to be successful thus far without him. Jason Bay has been an RBI machine. Kevin Youkilis has thrived in the three spot. Most importantly, the Red Sox are in first place and still winning.

But what happens if things go wrong? Mike Lowell, who has played a major part in helping people forget Ortiz's struggles, now has sat out two games with discomfort in his surgically repaired hip. Losing a valuable guy has to make you start thinking, "What if?"

What if Bay hits a prolonged slump? What if Youkilis goes down or Lowell needs to miss significant time? Or there are other less dramatic questions. For instance, what if Nick Green remembers he's the guy who didn't have a job this time last year? What if the Red Sox will need offensive production from other means.

Ortiz has to be that guy. The DH cannot be a hole in the batting order.

His recent success has to give you hope, but at the same time, can we count on Ortiz to be David Ortiz when it really counts? He's connecting when he was missing and he's hit some mistakes out of the ballpark. But when it comes down to it, can Ortiz still hack it against the best of the best as he'd be called upon to do if/when the Red Sox make the postseason?

He's still late on a good fastball and still looks confused at times. You have to hope if you're a Sox fan that this will continue to improve as he gets more comfortable. But at the same time, you have to realize that all season this has not looked like the David Ortiz fans have come to know and love. Something is off and sometimes big, aging ballplayers just lose something, especially ones coming off of injury. He just might not make it back to become "our" David Ortiz ever again.

Big Papi not a big zero

By Jorge Bannister
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Fanatics tend to blow things out of proportion sometimes. Like, hitting numbers.

The time to worry about a hitter, or their numbers, isn’t May, like many fans have with one David Ortiz. I’d like to think the end of June is when you start to panic.

True to my thinking, Ortiz went 3 for 9 in his series with the New York Yankees. Two of his hits were solo homers — one to center field, the other to left over the Green Monster. Because of these two homers, many in Red Sox Nation (and believe me when I say I almost vomit when I write and/or say that phrase) are posing the question: Is Big Papi back?

I hate to admit it, but it’s the right question to pose. After all, he is 9 for 29 (.310 average) in the month of June with 3 homers and 7 RBIs. He’s finally above the Mendoza line with a batting average of .203, but still isn’t hitting his weight (Ortiz is listed as 230 pounds).

This is a slugger who’s getting paid $13 million dollars, so I can see where the urge in urgency lies — especially to this fan base.

Ortiz’s at-bats in this series have been positive. He went 0 for 2 with two walks in the middle game of the series, including a ball crushed just short of the warning track in center field for a fly ball out. Was it just a long flyout? Yes. Is it going to show up as a normal F8 in the scorebook? You bet ya. But, the ball was crushed.

It’s probably the weirdest things in sports: When ballplayers are breaking out of a slump they start mashing the ball but it’s usually right at someone. Then the opposite-field hits start piling up. Then a pitcher gets brave enough to try to sneak one past the player on the inner-half of the strike zone and the player pulls the ball, crushing it. Viola, you’re out of the slump.

When he isn’t being walked, he’s in “phase two” of breaking out of a slump, hitting the ball hard the other way and with power — as evidence by his opposite-field home run into the Monster seats last night.

If the Red Sox continue to get support from everyone else in the lineup, I don’t see why Terry Francona would move Ortiz back up to the 3-hole. He’s very productive in the 6-hole, and brings more balance to the lineup there.