FORT MYERS, Fla. -- David Ortiz, slimmed down slightly in size but never in personality, walked toward the Red Sox clubhouse yesterday, carrying a brown-and-black dog that fit almost perfectly inside one of the big man's paws. He handed off the dog -- Mikey, he later said -- to a crony of his, a man in a T-shirt with Ortiz's face plastered on the front.
Oh, and parked outside the player development complex? A new black
Such is life for David Ortiz.
"It's my first truck ever," Ortiz said. "Pickup truck. That's what I got for my new year.
"That was my breakfast. I get a little something every year. That's why I keep on going, man. I like presents."
So, with Red Sox fans huddled outside the ropes calling his name, the face -- or at least the smile -- of the franchise made his first public appearance of the year in Fort Myers, though he was said to have arrived the night before. He was one truck richer, and ready to hold forth on all things new to the Red Sox -- Japanese pitchers, conditioning drills, signings -- and old -- Manny Ramírez's tardiness.
But before all that, Ortiz was asked how the new would affect the old. The new provisions given to Daisuke Matsuzaka versus the old money in Ortiz's contract, signed before the boom of this past offseason.
Though it wasn't the personal masseuse, translator, trips to Japan, and rounds at major golf courses that were included in the contract signed by Matsuzaka, the truck -- in which Ortiz roared out of the parking lot around 3 p.m. -- didn't hurt in welcoming the designated hitter back to camp. (When asked if it was given to him because the owners felt they were underpaying him, Ortiz said, "No," laughed, then said, "Maybe.") It soothed, a bit, any anxiety Ortiz might have had watching contracts expand to incredible amounts after he signed a four-year, $50 million deal last April, denying him a market that saw the Royals' Gil Meche pick up more guaranteed money than the Sox slugger (though at a lower annual value).
"I know it was a lot of good things happening out there," Ortiz said of recent contracts. "It's something you can't control. You make decisions, later on something happens, you already did what you were supposed to. It doesn't bother me. I'm going to be still young when this contract finishes [36 in November of the option year in 2011]. Hopefully, the money's still out there like that."
Whether it is or not, Ortiz is looking forward to a season in which he will still bat in front of the inimitable Ramírez. Not trading him seems to have suited Ortiz. Plus there's J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo to add to a lineup that appears to be stacked.
