Ortiz addresses the media; Drew OK

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- David Ortiz spoke to the media for close to 25 minutes on a wide range of topics. Meanwhile. Terry Francona indicated that J.D. Drew told him he was OK, a departure from what the outfielder had told the media the day before when he complained of a lingering back issue.

Ortiz seemed hurt by comments that people think he's on a downturn in his career.

"I never tried to turn my back on this ballclub," Ortiz said. "I got back [last season after a wrist injury] and I wasn't 100 percent but I knew that being in the lineup I was going to help one way or the other and i tried. I took my chances. Things didn't work out the way I expected, but sometimes there are people that don't see the positive side of all that, they just see the negative. I just put that in the past. I know I can hit."

He also addressed his physical condition, which appears to be very good, and spent a lot of time talking about the steroid issue indicating he feels testing has cleaned up the game where "80-90 percent" of players are clean compared to six years when it was a much lower percentage.

Ortiz talked for nearly 13 minutes on the A-Rod saga and steroids. Click HERE to listen to audio from the Q&A.

Ortiz also spoke about the need for a power hitter in the lineup and spoke about old pal Manny Ramirez. We'll have more of Ortiz's comments later.