Rehabbing Papi shares thoughts on tragedy
PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- David Ortiz has swung his bat in anger numerous times during his career with the Red Sox.
But seldom has Ortiz been angrier than he was on Monday night before he was scheduled to continue his rehab assignment with the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox in a game against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
His anger was directed at the two explosions that occurred near the finish of the Boston Marathon.
"I'm kind of angry," Ortiz said before he was a late scratch because of a sore left heel. "Whoever did this is insane. People are trying to raise money to get people healthy. This isn't a day to pick to do things like that. This is a big day for Boston and the nation in general.
"It's horrible when you see things like this happen. I'm watching the news, and I can't believe it. I can't believe it."
The explosions occurred near Fenway Park, where the Red Sox played their annual Patriots' Day game against Tampa Bay, which started at 11 a.m. ET.
"When we play the 11-in-the-morning game and we stay at home, I go to the restaurants around the area right after the game, because pretty much the marathon is over." Ortiz said. "People are just hanging out and having fun."
Not surprisingly, Ortiz received enough text messages to fill his cellphone.
"I had people from my country [the Dominican Republic] texting me asking, 'Am I OK … am I OK, am I OK?' because that's right around the corner from Fenway," Ortiz said. "'How is the family? We're watching the news and everything's going crazy.'
"It's a bad day, man."
Ortiz, who's sidelined with an Achilles tendon injury, was scheduled to bat third and DH before he was scratched before the first pitch. But before the game, he was riding a stationary bike in Pawtucket's clubhouse and also jogged in the outfield.
Pawtucket has three games remaining on its homestand (Ortiz was scratched Sunday because of an illness), including Tuesday's noon game against Lehigh Valley.
According to PawSox manager Gary DiSarcina, Ortiz's chances of playing Tuesday are problematic, at best.
"I was handing out the lineup card, I turned around and he was out in left field trying to get loose," DiSarcina said. "When I can back, the trainer [Jon Jochim] said [Ortiz] had left mild heel pain. He was removed for precautionary reasons.
"He's be re-examined [Tuesday]. But it's soreness in his left heel. We're not going to run him out there if he has any soreness. He'll be re-examined [Tuesday], and they'll make a decision on it."
Depending on how many games he's unable to play with Boston could have an impact on Ortiz's base salary for next season.
If Ortiz spends more than 20 days on the disabled list, his salary would be reduced from $15 million to $13 million.
Because Ortiz was placed on the DL on March 31, he would have to return to Boston by April 21 or risk losing $2 million.