"There's too much drama, man," Ortiz told Dominguez in reference to the Red Sox. "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."
But would Ortiz really consider defecting to the other side of baseball's biggest rivalry?
"That's something I gotta think about," Ortiz said. "I've been here on the Red Sox a long time, and I've seen how everything goes down between these two ballclubs."
Ortiz stopped well short of saying he wanted to play for the Yankees, but did express respect for the organization.
"It's great from what I hear," Ortiz said of the Yankees. "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?
"They lost just like we did, they just went to the first round of the playoffs. I ain't heard nobody coming out killing everybody just because they lost."
Ortiz said the drama in Boston, the issues circulating since the end of the season, need to be addressed.
"The owners need to take care of it right now so everybody can come in with a fresh mind next year and do what they're supposed to do."
Ortiz is coming off a season in which he hit .309 with 29 homers (though just one in September) and 96 RBIs. He made $12.5 million this year after the Red Sox picked up his player option last fall, and at several points this season has expressed his desire for a multiyear contract.
Two weeks ago, Ortiz told ESPNBoston.com that Boston is a tough place to play, but also expressed a desire to return. On Wednesday, he said he didn't understand those who think the Red Sox should part ways with him.
Ortiz, who has hit 320 homers and driven in 1,028 runs in nine seasons with the Red Sox, helped lead Boston to its first World Series title in 86 years in 2004 and another one in 2007. But playing so long for the Red Sox has clearly worn on him, and the final straw might have been the firing of manager Terry Francona (whom he supported) and the widely reported departure of GM Theo Epstein to the Cubs.
"There's too much drama (in Boston), man," Ortiz told Dominguez. "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.
"Too much drama. My head is spinning way too much to deal with everything that is going on. I have unplugged, you know, and I have just been dealing with my family."
Since the Red Sox blew a nine-game September lead to lose the American League wild card to the Rays on the last day of the season, the there have been news reports of Red Sox pitchers drinking beer this season during games in which they didn't pitch and a general lack of conditioning on the team.
"We had that when we won the World Series in 2004," Ortiz told Dominguez. "We had that when we won the World Series in 2007. Beer in the clubhouse, it's always been there. Video games, that's always been there; guys eating fried chicken, that's always been there."
The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham, who used to cover the Yankees for the Westchester (N.Y.) Journal-News points out, asks the question if the Yankees would actually want Ortiz, who turns 36 next month. Ortiz, however, has at least opened up the possibility.
"They lost just like we did, they just went to the first round of the playoffs," Ortiz said of the Yankees. "I ain't heard nobody coming out killing everybody just because they lost."
All about: Boston Red Sox David Ortiz New York Yankees
No comments:
Post a Comment