Sox miss Ortiz’s bat, presence
The locker in the back corner of the Boston Red Sox clubhouse is occupied, but those are not his belongings.
The position and spot in the Red Sox batting order are filled, but not by anyone wearing his uniform.
The clubhouse is filled with veterans who have leadership skills, but none remotely resembling that presence and voice.
David Ortiz, the heart, soul and spine of the Red Sox franchise for the last 14 seasons, is gone. And he’s not coming back. “This wasn’t just a bat leaving. This was a lineup-changer that left,” former Red Sox ace Curt Schilling told USA TODAY Sports. “David Ortiz was the
kind of hitter that forced pitchers to pitch to the hitters ahead of him. You’re talking about a different animal.
“I still think they’re incredibly talented offensively, but there’s no doubt they’re missing David Ortiz.”
The Red Sox had plenty of advance warning — 17 months, in fact — that Ortiz was retiring after the 2016 season. Even after his magnificent year, hitting .315 with 38 home runs, 127 RBI and a league-leading 48 doubles and .620 slugging percentage, Ortiz never wavered in his decision.
“We knew he wasn’t going to be here,” hitting coach Chili Davis said. “He told us that he was retiring after the season. We also knew we had to be the same type of team we were when he was here. There’s no reason to change your style or approach to the game just because he’s not here.”
The Red Sox insisted all winter and spring that they’d be just fine without Ortiz. They were almost defiant in their belief. They didn’t even bother to pursue another big slugger on the market to replace him, bypassing Edwin Encarnation and Jose Bautista. They instead signed Gold Glove first baseman Mitch Moreland to a one-year, $5.5 million contract, citing his career 1.061 on-base plus slugging percentage at Fenway Park.
Well, one month into the season, the statistics reveal the gory details.
The Red Sox, 12-11 entering Sunday’s game against the Chicago Cubs, have one of the worst offenses in baseball. Only three teams had scored fewer runs, and the Red Sox were last in home runs with 14.
Red Sox ace Chris Sale is only the third pitcher in franchise history to yield two or fewer runs while pitching at least seven innings in his first five starts, but he is 1-2 with a 1.19 ERA and the Red Sox had failed to score while he was in the game in three of his outings.
When asked to explain the Red Sox’s woes, shortstop Xander Bo- gaerts didn’t hesitate. “David’s not here,” he said. “We miss him. We’re trying. We’re trying to put up good at-bats, trying to get guys on base. But having him in the lineup is something the opposing pitchers definitely were afraid of.”
The Red Sox have had no trouble reaching base. They had the second-highest batting average in the major leagues, and no team had struck out fewer times. Yet they’re left standing on base when the inning ends, with no one driving them in, having been shut out a major league-leading three times.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon, who spent nine years facing Ortiz while with the Tampa Bay Rays in the American Leauge East, certainly was able to breathe much easier this weekend, not having to worry about facing Ortiz.
“He’s one of those guys you always know where Lawrence Taylor was, where Michael Jordan was on the court,” Maddon says, “where David Ortiz was in the batting order. ... I don’t care what anybody says, ‘Oh, there’s no such thing as clutch.’ That’s BS.”
The Red Sox, even with all of their veterans and young stars, no longer have that guy who scares the opposing pitcher, who changes the face of the lineup with his mere presence.
Why, they don’t even have a guy who says he wants the responsibility of replacing Ortiz.
“No, I’m not replacing David,” says Hanley Ramirez, who took over Ortiz’s locker, DH position and spot in the batting order. “I was already here. David could hit 40-plus homers. I don’t hit homers. I’m not a home run hitter. I’m taking my singles right now.”
Moreland might have been the Red Sox’s lone offensive acquisition during the winter to replace Ortiz, but he made the distinction, too, that he isn’t the one replacing Ortiz. Moreland has a league-leading 12 doubles with two homers and 10 RBI, but Ortiz finished April last season hitting .321 with five homers, 11 doubles and 19 RBI.
“David didn’t play much first last year, so I don’t look at it as replacing David Ortiz,” Moreland said. “There’s no replacing David Ortiz. What he did throughout his career was Hall of Fame-caliber.”
Maybe the Red Sox will feel compelled this summer to get that missing big bat. Maybe they’ll be forced to trade for pending free agents Eric Hosmer or Mike Moustakas of the Kansas City Royals or grab Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox. Someone, anyone, who could step up and become a power threat in the middle of the lineup.
“Sometimes things get into a panic mode when things aren’t going well,” Davis says. “I believe in being patient through the rough times and not trying to force things.
“We all miss David as a person and as a force, but I don’t want them to try to pick up the slack for anybody or try to be anybody you’re not. Maintain your discipline as a player. Maintain your presence as a player. Play your game. I believe in our guys.”
The key is for the Red Sox players to start believing in themselves as well.
“It makes a difference with him not in our lineup, obviously,” says Mookie Betts, who has two homers and 11 RBI after hitting 31 homers with 113 RBI last season. “But we’ve got to turn the page. We just have to figure out how to make it work without him. We’ve got no choice.”