Ortiz back in the lineup

Though Terry Francona had hinted last night that there was a chance David Ortiz would sit for a second straight game, he's back in tonight's lineup, batting his customary third. He seemed to be in a good mood this afternoon, despite temperatures that would put anyone in a funk. It's supposed to be in the 30s tonight at gametime, and the Plain Dealer here in Cleveland featured fans so bundled up only their eyes showed in a photo from last night's game. It didn't look very fun.

Francona talked to Ortiz last night on the plane, and told him to call in the morning. The manager said that he would be OK with Ortiz missing a second game, but wanted to see how Ortiz felt in the morning.

So Francona received a text this morning, but thought it was from his daughter.

Not quite. He texted back asking which number she was texting from.

The response? "It's mine, [expletive]."

"Now I'm getting [mad]," Francona said, laughing. "So I call and it's David. I was all mixed up. Cause the last one said, 'Put me in, [expletive],' and I can't figure it out. I was actually kind of relieved. [Heck], if David gets hits or not, at least I don't have a 14-year-old talking like that to her Dad. Anyway, the good news is my daughter seems to be not speaking like that and David wants to play. So we're OK."