Globe 10.0: Is Big Papi back?

Yes Ortiz is back! Obviously, he raised his average to .210 and has a whole home run! Its not like a pitcher could do that! Please, he is done for his career, I wish I was wrong, and I really do love the guy, but come on, anyone who has watched his at bats knows its beyond a slump.

He was lucky. It's no coinsidence that several hits immediately followed his homer. The pitcher was washed. Ortiz is finished

He will certainly not perform at the same low level as he has to date for this season. However, if he can't close up the holes in his swing, we will not see the Big Papi of yore. I think we have effectively ended the 'no Manny' speculation, with Jason Bay, the official Anti-Manny, doing so well behind him. But I want to stand with him. He has made our Nation proud and he deserves our loyalty for this season. I think Tito is handling this as close to exactly right as possible.

I think he still has some life left but not to the extent that he once was.

I wish the hell everyone would give it a rest. He is in a slump- longer than normal but if last night was an abberation, then we will know by mid-june. We are sitting in first place in the loss column. We can afford the wait at this point.

Come on Papi- some of us still have faith!

More important question: Are there two humans beings more pink than Bob and Dan? Now we all know what 10.0 actually stands for: The level of missing melanin in Globe writers' systems on a scale from 1 to 9. Waddya say someone outside this closed gene pool brings some spray tan to the office, to have on hand, or adjusts the color levels on the camera. Hee-hee. Love you guys, but couldn't resist!

One home run means nothing. When he hits 20 more, then maybe we can say "he's back".

Ortiz is gone without the juiced. Like all cheaters without that horse roids, Papi cannot catch up to the fastball anymore.

It's over.

As a Yankee fan, I still love Ortiz. Im so glad he got a home run finally. I think the next 2-3 games will tell whether he is back out of the slump.

It doesn't matter. We are Red Sox Nation. We do not leave our wounded or even our dead on the field .

One bomb doesn't end the slump, but it sure can't hurt. One step at a time to build the confidence. Not being a Sox fan it was still nice to see the reception the fans gave him after he hit it and the reaction of his teammates.

He will be sent down before the end of June, never to return... unfortunately.

My brother is a doctor and he told me that it's obvious that Ortiz's wrist has been hurting him. He said the only thing that will fix him in the short term is if he gets a new masking agent. Then, he can load up on the juice again and continue to be the big slugger that we all know and love.

Sports is only fun if you believe. Papi and his teammates are rewarded for his perserverence. Hey, he can't come back unless he has a chance and trys. Last night was a step back.

Depends whether he gets back on the juice or not.

My crystal ball is in the shop, so I'll just say that Papi deserves the support of teammates, his manager and the fans. I think he's got the first two in spades. But many of my fellow fans are much too fickle to stick with Papi in tough times. This guy delivered us some of the greatest sports memories we've got. I, for one, hope he gets every opportunity to prove his early season is nothing more than a slump.

he is the MAN

To all you fanstasy baseball wanna-be managers and evaluators of talent. Put a sock in it already. How about some new comments on how washed-up Wake is, and Tek as well?
Everyone was waiting for Papi to get that 1st one. Now that he did ( against a hard throwing lefty even) , folks are going to say " so effing what?" For cripes sake, how many HRs was he supposed to get at ONE TIME? I for one at least see encouraging signs, like that long double he smashed in his next AB. One game doesn't make, or stop a slump. It's a long season. It was great to see, and hear the fans cheer Ortiz during every at bat. Hey, remember when they cheered Lugo during one of his extended slumps? If Lugo can be cheered, Papi sure as hell qualifies for a litttle positive support, rather than dumping all over the guy at every chance. He sure hasn't quit trying.

Great, he hit a home run and also got a double. What happens if he does nothing for another 150 at bats? Will he still be batting third? He is still on that steep hill down. Get another hitter and give up a couple of pitching prospects before it is too late.

Great, he hit a home run and also got a double. What happens if he does nothing for another 150 at bats? Will he still be batting third? He is still on that steep hill down. Get another hitter and give up a couple of pitching prospects before it is too late.

Great, he hit a home run and also got a double. What happens if he does nothing for another 150 at bats? Will he still be batting third? He is still on that steep hill down. Get another hitter and give up a couple of pitching prospects before it is too late.

I hope Theo is looking for a bat.

I love David Ortiz, the character whose smile so evidently reflects hope through his reservoir of faith, even more than the player whose former exploits on the diamond made him familiar to a legion of Red Sox aficionados. Years ago when a man made a mistake he would often choose to redeem himself through a bottle while others who wore their secrets in a vault close to their souls swallowed the empty air and swore never to relent again. We coexist in a different time where fault is held accountable and exploited for all to pay attention to. In this manner I sadly confess that I believe David Ortiz used performance enhancing drugs. .I wish he didn't, I wish I could wrestle the revelation from my instinct, but I cannot. Furthermore if David Ortiz did use steroids I forgive him and I believe Red Sox nation will forgive him as well. We live in a culture where healthy choices are promoted, if not legally held accountable, yet we still, as a society, pedal tobacco and alcohol to our youth through all sorts of media outlets. Baseball, no doubt, had the same attitude about steroids until the police of society got hold of he sports’ dirty little secret. When Rafael Palmeiro looked deadpanned into the camera and stated "I did not use steroids," he could have just as well winked and smiled, or for those of you who can recall, I am sure I heard him say, "Winston tastes good like a cigarette should." We want to know who abused the steroid policy--who cheated, except we once again fail to hold the owners and the management of baseball accountable. Teenagers become alcoholics in part because we wink at them and say "Don't drink alcohol," but when our sons come home drunk the message is often interpreted differently, or at least it always has been. David Ortiz hit 50+ home runs and then dropped off remarkably. If he used steroids, like so many other players, in an era where players who could put up startling numbers were condoned privately to enhance their figures regardless of the method, much like the military "Don't tell, don't ask" policy then I forgive him. If I wrongly accuse him I hope that he may forgive me as well. I am just caught up in that amazing moment where the Fenway fans applauded so genuinely to their idol’s homerun to center field. Not only were they saying we believe in you David, I believe many were also saying we forgive you as well. I cannot tell a player whose life is magnified and distorted so rudely to stand up and express that he used banned substances but I am certain if David Ortiz explained the absolute truth he will be forgiven just as we have forgiven ourselves for turning our noses upwind and wished that all the disparagement from this ugly chapter of baseball history would just go away.

Oviously there are a whole lot of people here that can go to the plate and fill Papi's shoes. So why don't you all go down to Fenway and step into the batting cage.
That's where you can really show you can do better. Go on big mouths.

Wow, what a bunch of losers posting here. Luckily these same losers sitting at their computer dont actually go to the games. Papi needs the support of the fans which he is getting at the ballpark.

I'm delighted that Papi managed two hits yesterday, one of which was his first HR since forever. But let's not get all warm and fuzzy and proclaim he's back. Only the ensuing weeks will tell us that. Meanwhile, I don't understand Tito's undying loyalty to continue inserting him into the #3 slot. Move him down to 6th or 7th and move everybody else up, give him a chance to regain his swing and confidence by taking the pressure off him. His problems are beyond mechanical now-they're equally mental.

"What happens if he does nothing for another 150 at bats?"

That's the downside to his first homer - it gives Tito and company carte blanche to postpone a tough decision for yet another unreasonable period.

Wow, you guys are unbelievable. The fact that you call yourselves "Red Sox Fans" is the biggest joke here, not Papi's slump. This guy has said and done nothing but good things his entire time in Boston and just wanted some support. He's still a human being and you all treat him like a lame horse. Just go be Yankees fans if you hate the Sox that much.

why didn't they move david to the bottom of the order? he appears to have lost confidence. his swing is pathetic. perhaps as an eight or nineth place hitter, he'll fit in with hitters in that spot in the lineup....therefore relieving him of the "power hitter" pressure

One homer a season doth not make!

Pappy has bounced back before. I'm sure he will again but how many more times?

Wish he were back, but he got a BP pitch from a struggling pitcher and, to his credit, hit a HR. I would not consider Papi back until he is hitting the ball with authority and that means hitting close to .300 with a HR pace that would give him 30 by the end of the season. Nothing less for a #3 hitter.

The analysis by Hank is in depth, profound and seems to be the only logical explanation for such a dramatic decrease in performance and hit production. I give him credit for saying what many must be thinking. I hope Ortiz can recover and have a good season, he seems like a decent and charitable human being; it is a shame the lure of big money has taken baseball to a new low. All those yrs ago fans and players were talking about a juiced ball as accounting for so many home runs, well it was probably more the players than the ball. Now it's time to play the game as it was meant to be, simply with each players' own skills absent eenhancement..

The analysis by Hank is in depth, profound and seems to be the only logical explanation for such a dramatic decrease in performance and hit production. I give him credit for saying what many must be thinking. I hope Ortiz can recover and have a good season, he seems like a decent and charitable human being; it is a shame the lure of big money has taken baseball to a new low. All those yrs ago fans and players were talking about a juiced ball as accounting for so many home runs, well it was probably more the players than the ball. Now it's time to play the game as it was meant to be, simply with each players' own skills absent eenhancement..

with no Manny and no steroids, Ortiz will go back to being the bum he was in Minnesota

He is back! I guarantee another in his next plate appearance....