Ortiz to retire after 2016

[jacksonianmarch]

This is the first confirmation we are hearing out of mlbtraderumors. He doesn't seem to be slowing down.

[a700hitter]

If he hits 30 bombs and knocks in 100 runs again, I would be surprised if he hangs it up.

[jacksonianmarch]

He apparently hinted at it late in the 2015 season. Maybe the sox were so bad, nobody noticed?

[mvp 78]

Great! He's been washed up since 2009. Get rid of the bum! Can't even play 1b.

[Elktonnick]

If it is true then Ortiz deserves the kind of year-long send off that Mariano and Jeter received.

[reYoukilis]

Hes still good, 2017.

[Spudboy]

If he hits 30 bombs and knocks in 100 runs again, I would be surprised if he hangs it up.

 

Same here. But then he has said that he wants to go out not sucking, I think.

 

On his terms.

[Kimmi]

He is reportedly officially announcing his retirement tomorrow, so it sounds like it's official.

 

It is nice that he is retiring on his terms, and it's also nice that the fans will have the opportunity to give him the proper send off.

[jung]

This is not good news on several fronts. I hope DD does not do something really stupid now trying to take advantage of Ortiz last year. We have had about five years worth of stupid mistakes in two. Just no wiggle room for dice rolls.

[Hitch]

I wonder if this changes anything with Hanley. Will any thoughts of trading him come to an end and instead he gets penciled in as a DH for 2017?

[a700hitter]

I wonder if this changes anything with Hanley. Will any thoughts of trading him come to an end and instead he gets penciled in as a DH for 2017?

That could be the case.

[Dojji]

I suspect that's the reason we went and got Hanley ITFP. He was hinting at retiring this year, bringing in Hanley ensured that if he lost focus or retired we'd have a decent DH. It was a case of Cherington overthinking things of course, but at least that would explain what happened.

[sk7326]

No need to think too much about what's next right now.

 

I have been a Red Sox fan for 30 years. Enough to have some summahs ruined, enough to wonder whether they would ever win (just barely). David Ortiz is not the greatest Red Sox player I ever saw. He is not the best baseball player I ever saw.

 

But nobody has given me more joy as a fan more often. Yes, clutchiness is a silly notion - and yes you can point out that Ortiz was borderline unplayable in the 2008 ALCS and that his miracle slam against Detroit was the only really positive thing he did in that entire series. But he was up a lot in some very special spots, and he delivered a lot - and while clutchy mcclutcherson might not have much of an intellectual framework, it sure as hell felt heroic when he came through. There have been a lot of great stars in Red Sox history - Ortiz has to be the unlikeliest.

 

And his larger than lifeness and star power, like Tiant and like Pedro, is accented and welcome when you put it against the problematic racial history of the franchise, and that matters a lot (to me at least).

[Palodios]

Four more years! Four more years!

[Orange Juiced]

Dude has been incredible. Last two seasons:

 

2014 (age 38): .263/.355/.517/.873, 140 ops+, 35 hr, 104 rbi

2015 (age 39): .273/.360/.553/.913, 141 ops+, 37 hr, 108 rbi

 

I would imagine he'd put up an ops of .850+, with at least 25 homers and 90 rbi. Would be a solid way to go out.

[GomesBeard]

Looks like he is going to be plenty busy after he retires.....

 

http://nesn.com/2015/11/david-ortiz-promotes-dating-website-in-hilarious-saturday-night-live-skit-video/

[jacksonianmarch]

Who knows. The thing is, these old guys lose it rapidly. DH extends them, but eventually the legs go and they drop from being solid to awful in one fell swoop. I have a similar concern with Roidhead in NY. I think his final 2 months could be his new norm, I hope not, but could be. This is the right time. No more haggling for contracts, you're 40, you're beloved, you have more money than you should spend and you have 3 rings. Sounds like 2016 is a victory lap

[Kimmi]

Who knows. The thing is, these old guys lose it rapidly. DH extends them, but eventually the legs go and they drop from being solid to awful in one fell swoop. I have a similar concern with Roidhead in NY. I think his final 2 months could be his new norm, I hope not, but could be. This is the right time. No more haggling for contracts, you're 40, you're beloved, you have more money than you should spend and you have 3 rings. Sounds like 2016 is a victory lap

 

Nicely said Jacko. I'm impressed.

[Redsoxgirl51282]

Do you think they will play him the last series of the season, or will they do what the Yankees did with Jeter? tickets for these games are selling out fast.

[Kimmi]

Do you think they will play him the last series of the season, or will they do what the Yankees did with Jeter? tickets for these games are selling out fast.

 

Refresh my memory - wasn't the Yankees last series on the road (at Fenway?), and the Yankees sat Jeter because they wanted his last series to be at home?

 

The Sox last series is at home, isn't it? So I would think Ortiz will be playing.

 

Besides that, I foresee the Sox going to the playoffs, in which case Ortiz will almost definitely be playing in the Sox' last series.

[jung]

In fact this is why I hae contended that Ortiz will not risk injury to the Achillies in this his victory lap season. He has to make it all the way to the finish line which almost didn't happen last year.He certainly will want to make it all the way there. Edited January 30, 2016 by jung

[Bellhorn04]

In fact this is why I hae contended that Ortiz will not risk injury to the Achillies in this his victory lap season. He has to make it all the way to the finish line which almost didn't happen last year.He certainly will want to make it all the way there.

 

Nice metaphorical tie-ins with the Achilles, victory lap and finish line.

[jung]

And there are so many reasons that he has to get there. But I would also suggest that what he sees as his obligation to the fans, his obligation to the league, to the players, the other teams is one of the biggest of those reasons.

 

i have been critical of Ortiz at times. Was most critical when he splashed the dugout phone all over the thing with no reason to expect where those shards might have ended up....including some fellow player's eye! But all in he has been a better baseball citizen than many of baseball's stars and I hope I would be saying that even if he had been an opponent all these years. He is IMO going to take very seriously his obligation to get to the finish line and will likely consider his obligation to all those other constituents as even more important than his obligation to himself.

 

I think that is worth considering when trying to place this team in the AL East as well. How many games will he play? My guess would be about 100. How hard will he run? My guess would be not very hard as the Achilles almost failed him at the end of last season. He looked very unsteady standing on 2nd base that day....more unsteady between his ears than he was on his ankles. What kind of hitter will he be? My guess....even more of a power hitter than he has been as that actually serves three purposes at least:

- He is still far and away the most legit power source we have at 40!!!!!

- He will want to add to his power numbers on his way out as a means of legitimizing the best shot he will have at the Hall (I think he gets there eventually)

- Rounding the bases in a HR jog spares the Achilles and spares Ortiz the continuing ordeal of the dreaded shift. Each year opponents have pushed their shifts on him deeper into the OF because there are now so many places from which a throw will beat David to 1st

 

So I have no expectation of David being the David of old but even more the David of 2015. Frankly while that is not ideal, we have so many more issues than whether David is more like the David of 2015 or 2007. I will take the power numbers and be happy to have them. What will be more interesting is where Farrell places him in yet another very eclectic lineup. Any lineup with Panda, Hanley, JBJ and Castillo will be for 2016 an eclectic bag of offerings. Farrell can't possibly put David at 3 again....can he????? Even 4 might be a stretch in this line up with David likely gunning for the fences a good deal of the time. But it has to be 4 or 5 and if Farrell is smart, more likely both through the season.

[User Name]

TL;DR. Ortiz needs to get s*** done and stay healthy in his final season.

[Kimmi]

And there are so many reasons that he has to get there. But I would also suggest that what he sees as his obligation to the fans, his obligation to the league, to the players, the other teams is one of the biggest of those reasons.

 

i have been critical of Ortiz at times. Was most critical when he splashed the dugout phone all over the thing with no reason to expect where those shards might have ended up....including some fellow player's eye! But all in he has been a better baseball citizen than many of baseball's stars and I hope I would be saying that even if he had been an opponent all these years. He is IMO going to take very seriously his obligation to get to the finish line and will likely consider his obligation to all those other constituents as even more important than his obligation to himself.

 

I think that is worth considering when trying to place this team in the AL East as well. How many games will he play? My guess would be about 100. How hard will he run? My guess would be not very hard as the Achilles almost failed him at the end of last season. He looked very unsteady standing on 2nd base that day....more unsteady between his ears than he was on his ankles. What kind of hitter will he be? My guess....even more of a power hitter than he has been as that actually serves three purposes at least:

- He is still far and away the most legit power source we have at 40!!!!!

- He will want to add to his power numbers on his way out as a means of legitimizing the best shot he will have at the Hall (I think he gets there eventually)

- Rounding the bases in a HR jog spares the Achilles and spares Ortiz the continuing ordeal of the dreaded shift. Each year opponents have pushed their shifts on him deeper into the OF because there are now so many places from which a throw will beat David to 1st

 

So I have no expectation of David being the David of old but even more the David of 2015. Frankly while that is not ideal, we have so many more issues than whether David is more like the David of 2015 or 2007. I will take the power numbers and be happy to have them. What will be more interesting is where Farrell places him in yet another very eclectic lineup. Any lineup with Panda, Hanley, JBJ and Castillo will be for 2016 an eclectic bag of offerings. Farrell can't possibly put David at 3 again....can he????? Even 4 might be a stretch in this line up with David likely gunning for the fences a good deal of the time. But it has to be 4 or 5 and if Farrell is smart, more likely both through the season.

 

1. I think Farrell is going to rest Papi more games than usual this season, not only for Papi's sake, but for the sake of allowing Hanley to DH more games.

 

2. Papi has never been known for running hard, so that won't be any different than it has been in the past.

 

3. Not that it much matters, but I think Papi will be in the 3 hole unless his offense falls way off. That said - **Warning to all traditionalists - New school statement coming up**, the #3 spot in the batting line up should be filled with your 5th best hitter, after the 1,2,4,and 5 slots are filled (not necessarily in that order).

[jung]

You need to have more base running capability and not be so vulnerable to the shift to bat 3rd. I doubt Fareell is stupid enough to put him there. Hanley might come through and against certain pitchers he might be a better 4 than Ortiz or Hanley could be the 3. I would guess that as the season gets going Hanley will move between 3 and 4 and Ortiz will move between 4 and 5. If that falls apart I would expect some combination of Pedey and XB, 2 and 3, Ortiz at 4, Hanley pushed down to a position behind Ortiz in an effort to see if he can protect Ortiz (that did not do much last year...a testament to Ortiz and his power and smarts at the plate) and then Panda hampered by being a LH hitter only.

[SoxHop]

That said - **Warning to all traditionalists - New school statement coming up**, the #3 spot in the batting line up should be filled with your 5th best hitter, after the 1,2,4,and 5 slots are filled (not necessarily in that order).

 

Why is that? I hadn't heard of that before?

[a700hitter]

 

3. Not that it much matters, but I think Papi will be in the 3 hole unless his offense falls way off. That said - **Warning to all traditionalists - New school statement coming up**, the #3 spot in the batting line up should be filled with your 5th best hitter, after the 1,2,4,and 5 slots are filled (not necessarily in that order).

Where does your best hitter bat?

[Dojji]

first where he will average the most plate appearances

[jung]

There is your best all around hitter vs your best power hitter. IMO your best all around hitter bats 3rd. Your best power hit that also has something of an all around hitter profile bats 4th and your best HR hitter that really does not do much else bats 5th. 4 is the guy you really want to protect in the lineup if you can. The only kind of hitter that protects anybody is a guy that is a real threat to change the score with one swing of the bat.

 

Farrell is probably going to try to squeeze Hanley into the 3 or 4 at first and Ortiz the 4 or 5. Then flip Hanley to 5 to shake things up if the first few configurations don't work out.

 

XB is the interesting guy to watch this year. Once he adopted that inside out swing and abandoned that Chris Davis rocking chair swing his numbers really took off. But he won't hit for HR power with last year's swing. My preference would be for him to stick with last year's swing as I think a return to the "rocking chair" is likely to also bring on a return to something like 2014's inconsistency.

Edited January 30, 2016 by jung