The Red Sox held a formal press conference Monday to announce the two-year $26 million contract David Ortiz signed with the team this weekend. According to WEEI.com, the contract includes incentives for the amount of time he spends on the disabled list due to the Achilles injury he suffered this past season. He could make up to $15 million this season. This was the first major move the team has made this off season following the hiring of manager John Farrell.

Much has been made of the signing, as many have said the team should have let the 36-year-old walk and go elsewhere, but to me the Red Sox made the right decision. One of the major pieces the 2012 Red Sox didn’t have was power in their lineup and the lack of a true power hitter. Ortiz was that guy, but he only played in 90 games. If the team let Ortiz leave, their next true power hitter would most likely be second-year player Will Middlebrooks, who for right now is a quality No. 6 or 7 hitter. The Red Sox would not have anything even resembling “pop” in their lineup.

Some have also said part of the reason the Red Sox re-signed Ortiz was PR related, and there is no question that is the case. There is no denying how much Ortiz means to Red Sox Nation and the city of Boston. Besides Ortiz, the Red Sox don’t truly have a face of the team. Dustin Pedroia would be next, but his image took a hit this past year. Coming off of two extremely disappointing seasons, the Red Sox could not have afforded to lose Ortiz. While some may question the reasoning and emphasis in PR, this is who the Red Sox are, and they made the right call in bringing Ortiz back.

Sox and Ortiz are together– Peter Abraham says Ortiz got the two-year deal he wanted all along.

Long road back for Sox begins at GM meetings– Nick Cafardo writes the Red Sox will need to be active, starting at the GM meetings, in order to be a contender next season.

Papi’s powerful enough to link past greatness to future success– John Tomase looks at what the next few years should be like for Ortiz.

David Ortiz defends vs. Bobby Valentine– Scott Lauber has Ortiz’ reaction to Bobby Valentine’s comment that he “quit on the team last year.”

David Ortiz and the Red Sox’ quest to restore and elite offense– Alex Speier looks ahead to next season and how the team needs to get their offense back on track.

The Patriots will officially return to work today following their bye week, and it couldn’t have come sooner because I don’t know how much more Aqib Talib talk fans and media personalities can take. It’s amazing the rational some fans have, as some believe the addition of Talib take the Patriots to the next level and make them serious Super Bowl contenders. He isn’t Darrelle Revis, he’s just an average to above average cornerback. This shows just how bad the Patriots secondary really is.

Decision on injured Shiancoe looms for Pats– Tom E. Curran looks at the situation with Visanthe Shiancoe, who was put on the newly created “designated for return” IR at the beginning of the season. The team has until next Tuesday to make a decision on whether or not to bring the tight end back on the roster.

McCourty’s position a balancing act for Patriots– Mary Paoletti examines the decision on where Devin McCourty should play, cornerback or safety?

Pushing their Luck: Brady, Manning know their time is running out– Gerry Callahan says Andrew Luck will be the next great quarterback in the NFL.

Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

19 thoughts on “Ortiz press conference, Patriots back to work”

    1. I thought that local markets were prohibited from doing this unless its a conference championship game or Superbowl. Am I wrong here? I remember reading this last year when we were in the playoffs. There is the national/Sat radio call and the local, but they had to black-out any local syndication like on WEEI until then.

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    2. Granted, Callahan’s reputation doesn’t help him but he’s resonating what the national media is also doing. Go look on all the national sites: similar praise for Luck and stories about his bright future.

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  3. Ryan, I just don’t see how the Ortiz signing was good for the team. They just paid a 37 year old $26 mill over two years to be a power hitter. His health and bat speed have been an issue for several years now. His me first attitude regarding his contract and stats has been a simmering problem also for a few years. They did a good job at dumping ridiculous money this past offseason that was not producing. What do they do…rather than build a strong middle class they go dump a ton of money on a way past his prime prima donna. I know what the response will be…Ortiz is loved in the clubhouse, he is a solid presence and a good guy. He is media friendly etc. The fact is he has been on this team these past few years. His “presence” was not enough to overcome the issues that arose. Did I mention he is just a DH?

    I thought 2 years $10 mill was too much but it would have to be what the Sox would have to pay to get him…that is similar money to what Vlad got in Texas (1 year $8 mill). To give him $26 mill is crazy. It also puts them in a bad spot with other players on their roster and potential free agents. This was just a ridiculously bad signing and it shows that the Baseball Opps people still are not in control.

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    1. $26 million is not “ridiculous money” for 2 years of a player. I’m sure you had a post ready to criticize the team if they DIDN’T sign Ortiz about how the ownership was pocketing the money and they didn’t care about winning. They’re wrong apparently when they do sign talent, and they’re wrong when they don’t sign talent.

      And if his bat speed has been an issue these last few years, I wish the whole lineup had that issue.

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      1. That pink coolaid must taste great to you…I could not stomach it. There is no way I would have criticized the team for letting him walk…I want fiscal sanity. I might have criticized the team for not reducing ticket prices…but that is a different argument.

        He has had bat speed issues. he went through a year and a half of it and then miraculously found the fountain of youth….yet he developed injury issues associated with certain fountain of youth consumption. You want to guarantee $26 mill to someone with that history? Makes no sense to me.

        Say what you want…the Sox were clearly bidding against themselves. They paid a boatload of money to a player clearly past his prime, setting a bad precedent for attracting other free agents and resigning their own players. It was a stupid contract that clearly shows the baseball opps people were again forced to do something for marketing purposes rather than sound baseball purposes.

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        1. Treating a player well and giving good contracts OBVIOUSLY sets a good precedent, not a bad one, for attracting free agents and retaining your own players. You don’t understand the current economics of baseball if you think that this 2/$26m deal is fiscally detrimental to this team’s ability (if willing) to spend money on the rest of the team.

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          1. There is a difference between treating a player well and over paying a player for past performance. The problem with the Ortiz contract is that there is no way he is a $13-$15 mill a year player any more. He is a 37 year old DH coming off a pretty serious Achilles injury. So when he does not perform up to the contract, other players in the clubhouse will be resentful. Furthermore, FA’s looking at the Sox will see a team not serious about contending, but rather they see a team looking to put on a TV show. Based on the contracts Vlad G and Adam Dunn got over the last two years Ortiz was over paid by close to $20 mill. This shows me that the Sox front office has no clue on how to build a roster. Do you seriously think Ortiz production would be $11 mill better than Levarnway’s were he giving the full time DH duty? Could that $11 mill be better spent on pitching or outfield depth? It was a horrible signing…just awful. You sound like one of those fans who think…well it is not my money…just give it to the player. You are not looking at how the contract effects other players, and the team’s ability to make moves. I don’t care what he does…there is no way you should be paying a $38 year old DH $13 mill in 2013. It makes no sense.

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          3. DryHeave, but no free agents will sign here now – they would rather in a lineup with Ryan Lavarnway instead of the guy who had a higher slugging percentage than Miguel Cabrera last year!

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          5. And that is how they get stuck with $250 mill in unproducing contracts and a bitter, bitter clubhouse.

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          6. Oh there you answered my question. You are still shilling for Lavarnway. who has a career OPS of .516…

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    2. Wait, aren’t you the guy who claimed Lavarnway would match Ortiz’s production last year? Lavarnway was atrocious. And what evidence do you have that his bat speed has slowed? Been doing a lot of film work, eh?

      The Achilles is an concern, but he was very productive last year when in the lineup. His AB/HR was 14.1, the 2nd best of his career. In fact, Ortiz was tied with Miguel Cabrera in that stat.

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      1. What I claimed is that the drop off from Ortiz to Lavarway would be less than $11 mill in value which is the difference in their salaries. Look if you think paying a 37 and the following year a 38 year old DH with diminishing skills $13 -$15 mill a season makes good baseball sense then we are at an impasse. I think it is a lousy decision, more panic from the marketing side than anything remotely related to a good baseball ops decision. Time will tell who was right.

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        1. No, I believe at the beginning of the season you claimed Lavarnway would match Ortiz’s production.

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