Ortiz looking for upgrade

As usual, David Ortiz's laugh entered the room before he did. The Red Sox slugger followed, clad in a red warmup shirt and clutching a bottle of pink vitamin water, sure to be the official drink of budding designated hitters across New England. He sat behind the table, Edgar Martinez next to him, and his shiny new trophy -- his third in three years -- in front of him. Yet, once he sat down to answer questions, the grin mostly vanished.

This was not the award Ortiz wanted to win.

Though he did not dwell on his disappointment, his muted excitement at receiving the 2005 Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award before last night's game against the Devil Rays at Fenway Park, both in his attitude and his answers, gave away his feelings. The award might be nice for weighing down a shelf at home, but it's no MVP.

Few questions were asked, few answers given relating to this particular award. He focused far more on his presenter, the inimitable Martinez, the benchmark for the position Ortiz has adopted and excelled at over the course of his Red Sox career. He covered the difficulties of playing the position, his study of Martinez, and of hitting. He mentioned how honored he was to take the trophy from the hands of the man sitting to his left. And, still, he never expressed excitement.

''DH, you've got to put up a lot of hits. If you don't hit, you're not doing nothing," said Ortiz, whose .300 average, 47 home runs, and 148 RBIs last season won him the hardware. ''The toughest part of the game is hitting. I've got nothing against somebody that hits .230. I hit .230 before [.234 in 89 games with Minnesota in 2001], I know what it feels like. But you don't win an MVP at .230. When was the last time a guy hitting .230 won the MVP?

''When you produce for your team, when you help your team one way or another, especially offensively, people need to know that is what people look forward to see. When a guy puts up some numbers, it doesn't matter what position [he's playing]."

It was, though, a fitting award, given over by a fitting presenter, with fitting words of praise.

''David, I saw him early, with great potential, good power, good approach at the plate, and I knew that he had a great opportunity to become a good hitter," said Martinez, who took a red-eye flight to be at Fenway for the presentation of the award. ''All of sudden, he came here to Boston, everything started working for him. It was just a matter of time.

''That ability and that player that I saw that was going to develop in a couple of years, it happened in Boston. Now he's one of the best hitters in the league."

And, from a guy who averaged .312 with 309 home runs and 1,261 RBIs over an 18-year career as a professional hitter, that's not too bad.

Especially for a player, such as Ortiz, who looked at Martinez as a ''superhero" while advancing through the Seattle organization (before heading to the Twins, then the Sox). Not that, as Ortiz joked, he was calling Martinez old.

But, in the end, the press conference seemed more about what was lacking. Subdued and passive, the normally ebullient Ortiz laughed only before he entered and when referring to Martinez's advanced age.

He has his third Edgar Martinez Award. But, no matter how many he wins, there will always be an open place in Ortiz's heart -- and in his home -- for an award of another sort -- the MVP.