Ortiz breaks the ice, and the Devil Rays' backs

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The (old) joke making its way around the Red Sox clubhouse has something to do with ice. It has something to do with David Ortiz's back. Or, as Coco Crisp suggested to a reporter after last night's 3-2 win over the Devil Rays, ``Ask him if his back hurts."

Followed quickly by the obvious punchline: ``His back's hurting from carrying this team."

Which might not be so funny if it weren't so patently true. (Especially with the injury list on this team.)

With position players falling by the second -- by the end of the game the Sox did not have a non-pitcher left on their bench -- the burden, as usual, has fallen to Ortiz. Remember him? He's the one with two of the three walkoff wins on the just-completed homestand -- the one who continued the magic with a pair of solo home runs last night.

Not that Ortiz is doing anything differently.

``If I try to do more than what I normally do, might never gonna see a pitch to hit," Ortiz said. ``I'd be like Barry Bonds. I don't have that patience."

He doesn't need it, or didn't last night. He just needed enough to wait for a hittable pitch. And he got two.

``He's truly amazing," said Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon, whose 3-4 shift is the most extreme of the alignments Ortiz has faced this season. ``Every team has seen it. He does not miss a mistake. He's got the propensity in the clutch. It's amazing . . . I've got to tip my hat to him. He's quite an attraction."

One of Ortiz's home runs had already settled into the right-field seats, off a middle-of-the-plate mistake from starter James Shields, when he stepped to the plate to lead off the eighth.

Facing Seth McClung, against whom Ortiz was 3 for 6 with three home runs, Boston's designated hitter rocked back on his heels, extended his arms, and crushed a 2-and-0 pitch to straightaway center field, tucked behind the 404-foot sign, a white speck on the dark green background.

``Oh, gosh," was all Wily Mo Peña could offer after the game, his sigh indicating a hint of envy toward the man with 39 home runs and 107 RBIs just four days past the trading deadline.

Ortiz is leading the majors in home runs by two over Ryan Howard of the Phillies. He's leading the majors in RBIs by a whopping 10 over Carlos Beltran of the Mets.

And, if only opposing managers didn't insist on taking away hits with shifts, his batting average would certainly be higher than .289. Even that number is rising, with Ortiz collecting 13 hits in his last eight games (.406 over the span), which has included painful losses on the field, and of teammates. Over his last 47 games, Ortiz's average has risen 33 points.

``Everybody takes responsibility, everybody's trying to do their thing," said Ortiz of the team's injury-riddled state. ``That's what we need right now. Guys to step forward and do whatever it takes to win."

Like, say, him last night.

``That's part of the reason that we're the team we want to be," manager Terry Francona said. ``He's special. I'm glad he's in our uniform."

Perhaps it's time to just get Ortiz the ice. He needs it.