Big Papi Power Show

Big Papi David Ortiz put on a power show in a batting session down in Fort Myers. He put a few dents in Luis Tiant's rental Mercedes SUV which was parked 500 feet from the plate. It seems that his shoulder and troublesome wrist problems are behind him. Sox manager Terry Francona had this to say...

“We all knew last year he wasn’t playing at 100 percent,” manager Terry Francona said. “When your numbers reflect that a little bit, whether it’s perceived or true, and you take some shots about getting old, it’s human nature to want to shut people up and prove them wrong. It’s important to note the people second-guessing him weren’t in uniform. We knew what we had, appreciate what he’s doing, and now he’s healthy. He’d like to go back and have some Ortiz-esque numbers.”

Papi had this to say...

“I’m getting there,” he said. “You know how it is in spring training. You feel more comfortable every day.”

A healthy David Ortiz batting after MVP Dustin Pedey Pedroia and before Kevin Youkilis is so important to the success of the club. Papi will be playing for the Dominican team in the World Baseball Classic. Stay healthy, Papi. We need you.

In other Sox news, Julio Lugo has again made it plain to everyone on the team that he wants to be the everyday shortstop, making Jed Lowrie a bench player who will not play everyday. I can't say that I blame him. May the best man win. The other piece of the shortstop puzzle is Jed Lowrie. Here's part of what Lugo had to say...

"I'm ready to do it now," Lugo said. "I'm ready to get back to that level of play. I feel stronger this year, mentally. My injury (torn quad) is 100 percent healed. I haven't played at that level I've always played. I know it's there. Sometime it's going to come out. I'm getting ready for that. My first year was tough for me," Lugo said. "You come to a new team where you want everybody to see you play well. But then in the second half, I played well and everything was good. The first half of last year, I made some errors at the beginning, but I was going to handle myself in the second half like I always do. I've always been a second-half guy."

He has to prove that he can hit and hit with power. He's a notoriously slow starter and that will not work in his favor. We'll see....time will tell.

That's it for this Wednesday morning, Hump Day. I haven't had breakfast yet because I have to fast before going to have some bloodwork...routine stuff. They open at 8am and that's when I'll get there. My snack will be waiting in my car when I'm finished. I don't like fasting because with type 1 diabetes, I must maintain my sugar (blood glucose) level and keep it in the normal range. It's 6:40am now so I have less than 90 minutes until I can have that snack. Wish me luck and as always, BE WELL. See ya. Click on the title of this post for more Red Sox goodies.