WEEI's Rob Bradford talked with David Ortiz, who is still rehabbing his Achilles tendon. Guess what? Papi wants a multi-year contract.
But more than that, he offered some advice on how to fix the ongoing problems at Fenway Park:
"I would go and try and get another three David Ortiz's."
"We need more bad [bleepity bleepers]."
"Go out and get good players."
Well, then.
Getting three more David Ortizes is harder than it might sound. Papi is extremely consistent, playoff tested, big market tested, troubling clubhouse tested -- he pretty much has done it all. There aren't many guys like that; other than Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez (as sad as that sounds) I can't think of any others.
We'll look more into possible targets during the offseason, but Papi's point -- the part that is bleeped out, really -- is that the team needs to look at more than stats. I tend to be more stat-y in my baseball analysis, but after seeing the way things went with the Adrian Gonzalez/Carl Crawford combo, I'm thinking David might be right.
The first step is probably in house -- bringing back Cody Ross would certainly fulfill what Papi is talking about. But obviously, he's not a middle-of-the-order guy. He hasn't contributed to the "disgusting" (Ortiz's word) nature of this year's team. He's been a bright spot.
Papi seemed to also step back about his own contract situation. He explained that he wanted a two-year deal, no more, and repeated that he wants to stay in Boston and be part of the solution. I've said it each of the last three offseasons, but I do hope the Sox give him two years. As a fan, I hate the idea of Ortiz playing elsewhere, and we have more than enough money now. But he's also still quite good. I think we can expect a similar year next year to what he put up this year -- really good production, some time missed. After that, who knows? But I don't think it's going to be a huge risk -- certainly not of the Lackey, Gonzalez, Crawford, or Matsuzaka proportion. What's so wrong with overpaying a team legend?
Definitely check out the whole interview at WEEI.com.
