Ortiz: It's no ball figuring out what is a strike

BALTIMORE -- The season has just started and David Ortiz already is at odds with the umpires.

With the help of Red Sox video coordinator Billy Broadbent, Ortiz put together a video of all the pitches he took for strikes last season, and he said he was stunned by some of the pitches umpires called strikes, some of which the designated hitter claims were way out of the zone.

''Last year was unbelievable," he said yesterday. ''The other day we're playing in Texas and I'm getting a strike 6-8 inches off the plate. The video shows it, everything I've been complaining about. All I do is hit, so that's all I care about."

Ortiz might not be doing himself any favors by going public with what he perceives to be bad calls. He doesn't believe the men in blue are ganging up on him, but Ortiz insists the strike zones of most umpires are terribly inconsistent.

''They need to know who they have at the plate," said Ortiz. ''And they need to have an idea of what the pitcher wants to do with the guy hitting. I get frustrated with it because all I do is hit in the game. I don't mind if the pitcher makes a good pitch and gets me out. That's fine. But sometimes you're going against the pitcher and the umpire at the same time.

''It consistently happens and you don't know what to do about it," said Ortiz, who went 1 for 3 in yesterday's 2-1 win over the Orioles to raise his average to .263. He has one home run and four RBIs. When you argue, ''then you're the bad guy," he said.

''The umpires need to know we get paid a lot of money to perform out there. The fans don't come to the ballpark to watch them call balls and strikes. And I don't want to make it sound like all of them make bad decisions because there's one guy I can think of who has been perfect ever since I've been in the big leagues. Sometimes you make a ball or strike and I don't even look back. That's because the guy has a lot of concentration on what he's doing. But then there are some who might have a hangover from the night before and he screws you all day, just because he's not concentrating. He's not focusing.

''There's a bunch of good ones. I'm not telling you there's a bunch of bad ones, but it's always the same group that aren't [good]. I'm telling you, in this game people come to see the players. You never see commercials of umpires. You never see fans talking about umpires. You never see kids asking an umpire for an autograph. They are there to judge the game. That's one thing somebody has to let them know."

Two of Coco Crisp's strengths are his speed and aggressive base running. And manager Terry Francona said he doesn't want to take that away from him. So when the Sox' new center fielder was caught by Orioles starter Bruce Chen attempting to steal third in the third inning, Francona told Crisp to forget about it.

''I'd been reading Chen in the dugout the innings before," Crisp said. ''I thought I had good reads on him. I wasn't going blind. I thought I had something there, but he made a good play."

David Wells elected not to join the Sox here after his five-inning, 92-pitch outing in Pawtucket Friday night, in which he allowed seven runs. Francona said Wells would be at Fenway for Tuesday's home opener and be activated to pitch Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays. ''He was kind of hit and miss," Francona said of Wells's tuneup. ''He left some pitches out over the plate. He was just trying to do his work. I don't think he was too fired up about the outing." . . . The Sox will have to make a roster move to clear room for Wells, meaning Lenny DiNardo will likely head to Pawtucket. Julian Tavarez, who is already on the 25-man roster, can be activated Thursday after serving his 10-day suspension. After that, the Sox' next move will likely involve outfielder Adam Stern, who has to be on the major league roster for 17 days to fulfill his Rule 5 requirements. Stern will likely go to Pawtucket to play every day and switch places with veteran utilityman Willie Harris . . . Catcher Jason Varitek was covered with ice bags after banging into the brick backstop at Camden Yards chasing a foul ball. Varitek said he was fine and he enjoyed the night because all three Sox pitchers performed well and the defense again was stellar. He said of shortstop Alex Gonzalez, ''I'm just anticipating ground balls because I just want to watch him play them." . . . Mike Timlin admitted to being nervous Wednesday when he allowed two hits to Texas in his first appearance of the season. ''Even at this age [40], it happens," he said. ''I was a lot better tonight." . . . Francona said Tavarez will pitch to hitters Tuesday before the opener . . . Wily Mo Peña was 0 for 2 with two strikeouts in his first start of the season.