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Red Sox' Ortiz still doesn't have answers on drug test

9:12 PM Fri, Jul 31, 2009 |
News staff    Email

By DANIEL BARBARISI
Journal sports writer

BALTIMORE -- When David Ortiz emerged from the dugout and ran onto the field Friday night for pregame warmups, the crowd at Camden Yards suddenly broke out in sustained cheers. There were a few boos laced into the ovation, but in general it was as positive a greeting as a visiting player could hope for in an opponent's home park.

Especially a player who had just recently acknowledged that he was on a 2003 list of players who failed a test for banned substances.

It would get better.

When Ortiz lumbered to the plate in the fourth inning, and slammed a home run over the park's center-field wall, the stadium erupted. There's little question that, among the type of Red Sox faithful who either live in Baltimore or flew here for the trip, the drug revelations have not dimmed Ortiz's glow one bit -- particularly if he keeps hitting 400-foot home runs.

After The New York Times broke its story that Ortiz was on the 2003 list, Ortiz issued a statement saying he needed to get more information before commenting further, and that he would address any questions then. The 33-year-old slugger isn't ready to do that just yet.

"I don't have much to say about that. I just got in touch with the union today. I'm trying to find out what's going on. As soon as I find out, I'll let you guys know," Ortiz said.

He has been pilloried in some quarters, but Ortiz said that hasn't bothered him. He just wants more answers about what exactly caused his positive test.

"I don't care. Just give you guys more information when I've got all my stuff together," Ortiz said.

Manager Terry Francona said outsiders need to refrain from jumping to conclusions before all the facts are out.

"The process needs to play out, and that's hard because there's probably going to be a lot of opinions in the next few days stated on David's situation, without a lot of knowledge. That's unfortunate. That's part of the world we live in. But we need to get the bottom of this, because there does need to be answers, I agree. But they're not there yet, so we have to be patient and that's the only way we can go about this," Francona said.


"There's a lot of things that I am learning, legalities, things that ... there's a lot of opinions flying around. It doesn't matter what I think, but I wish people would slow down enough to somewhat think things through," Francona said.

Meanwhile, Ortiz continues to mash at the plate, with two home runs in the two days since the damaging news broke.

******

With the Red Sox making a flurry of deals at the trade deadline, Prized prospect Josh Reddick was called up all the way from Double-A Portland to make his first appearance on a major-league roster in place of Adam LaRoche and reliever Marcus McBeth was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket to fill the hole created by the departure of Justin Masterson.

Reddick, 22, has feasted on Double-A pitching this year. Despite missing a chunk of the season with an oblique pull, he is second on the Sea Dogs with 13 home runs. He owns a .277 batting average, and seems to have addressed one of his key weaknesses, plate discipline. Reddick has taken 30 walks, good enough to bump his on-base percentage up to .352.

McBeth, 28 struggled in big-league time with the Cincinnati Reds last season, but he has been excellent with Pawtucket this year. McBeth has a 2.28 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 51.1 innings.

To make room for Reddick on the 40-man roster, the team designated Pawtucket second baseman Travis Denker for assignment. Boston now has 10 days to trade or release him, or put him through waivers, when another club could claim him. Denker, 23, is hitting .248 with five home runs, 39 RBI, and 33 runs scored in the minors this season.

The team also transferred Daisuke Matsuzaka to the 60-day disabled list.

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 Tags  Adam LaRoche Daisuke Matsuzaka David Ortiz Josh Reddick Marcus McBeth Red Sox


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