David Ortiz: “Playing here used to be fun … it’s starting to become the s***hole it used to be”

[Big Bid'Ness]

From:hardballtalk

There hasn’t been any huge drama in Red Sox land in, like, hours, so David Ortiz went off on a big anti-media rant in the clubhouse before today’s game.

CSNNE.com has the details (and video), starting with Ortiz being asked if he was having fun this season:

Not really. Too much s***, man. People need to leave us alone and let us play baseball. It’s starting to become the s***hole it used to be. Playing here used to be so much fun. Now, every day is something new, not related to baseball. People need to leave us alone. Every day is something new, some drama, some more s***. I’m tired of that, man. I’m here to play baseball, man.

Well then.

For much of this week multiple Red Sox players, including Ortiz, have denied various reports that the clubhouse environment has turned toxic.

His comments aren’t likely to go over well with fans or the media, but it’s easy to see why Ortiz is frustrated. Not only are the Red Sox above .500 despite an ugly 4-10 start, going 31-23 since then, but he’s hitting .313 with 18 homers and a 1.012 OPS in 68 games for his best production since 2007. He’s playing amazingly well, the team is on a 93-win pace since a terrible first two weeks despite an incredible number of key injuries, and all anyone wants to talk about are off-field issues, real or imagined.

From:CSNNE.com

BOSTON -- Less than 24 hours removed from a big win that was boosted by his own grand slam, an unhappy David Ortiz complained about negative media portrayals of the Red Sox and the distractions surrounding the team.

Levine: What's the point, Papi?

''I'm just tired of dealing with the drama here," said Ortiz. "This is baseball, man. It seems like everything that goes on around here is like one of those Congress decisions that will affect the whole nation. It ain't like that, man. This is baseball. We're supposed to have fun, to have our performance out there at the highest level. Every day is something new, some drama, some more [expletive]. I'm tired of that, man.

"I'm here to play baseball, man."

Ortiz is playing very well, too, with a .313 average and a team-high 18 homers and 49 RBI. He also leads the Sox in slugging percentage .614.

But Ortiz maintained that, despite his personal success, he's not having much fun.

"Not really -- too much [expletive], man,'' he said. "Too much [expletive]."

Ortiz, who agreed to a one-year, $14.575 million contract hours before a scheduled arbitration hearing last winter, was asked if he wanted to return to the Sox next season.

"I don't know; I'll think about it," he said, adding a wink. "[But] this ain't all about me. I'm not the only player here. We have 25 guys who care just as much as I care about playing ball here and providing winning ballgames. It seems like every day there's something new about players. People need to just leave us alone and let us play ball. The only thing we can control is [playing] ball.

"[The media] control the microphones, the papers, everything.''

Of playing in Boston, Ortiz added: "It's becoming the [bleep]hole it used to be. Look around, bro. Look around. Playing here used to be so much fun. Now, every day is something new, not related to baseball. People need to leave us alone, [let us] play ball and do what we know how to do."

"Obviously, that's what we'd love to have,'' added manager Bobby Valentine. "It is what it is. David handles [the atmosphere] as well as anyone I've ever seen. You might have caught him on a bad day today. He's really pretty good with drama, like ninth-inning drama.''

Valentine said dealing with controversy and outside issues "is part of the game, part of the challenge. In a great baseball community like this, you have to overcome the opposition and the distractions.''

Having managed in Texas, New York, Japan, Valentine has a wealth of experience in other markets. He was asked if it takes a certain player to succeed in Boston.

"You need a bigger support system here,'' he said. "You need to be able to turn the page quicker, I guess. So, yeah, probably. I've never done DNA studies before people came to my team. You try to find out some things about them. But you never find out everything.

Valentine guessed that Ortiz "was trying to speak for more than just himself, maybe [create] a distraction for the rest of them, put it on his shoulders.''

 

[The Guid]

If the people that "just want to play baseball" actually shut their mouths and fucking played baseball, maybe they'd stop stirring shit.

Alright, that's not gonna happen in Boston but I feel no sympathy for that team as a whole. Stop whining, play your child's game and collect millions.