What to Do?

The 2009 Red Sox have a serious problem on their hands after 35 games:   What to do with David Ortiz?  It has become apparent that the notorious Big Papi can’t hit anymore.  This is a blow to the construction of the entire team considering General Manager Theo Epstein built this team with Ortiz in mind as one of the cornerstones.   It was one of the reasons Boston felt compelled to pass on Mark Teixeira and now this lineup is looking shaky at best.  The team still has Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis and Jason Bay (provided he’s given a contract extension) to build around.  But for this season what happens to the lineup?  Terry Francona is loyal to his players, particularly his stars.  That’s why he’s so good as a manager.  But at some point he has to cut his losses and realize he can’t keep running Ortiz out there day after day in this state.  It’s nice for everyone (including Ortiz) to say that this is just an extended slump and he’ll eventually come out of it.  But where is the evidence of that happening?  He has no home runs and is hitting .208.  He hit absolute bottom yesterday in a 5-4, 12 inning loss to the Angles in which Ortiz went 0-7 and left 12 runners on base by himself.  As Bill Parcells says, “you are what the record says you are.”  His current performance raises questions that Ortiz may  have been involved with steroids at some point in his career.  Can it be proven for certain?  No.  But do the math-  players don’t just naturally lose their ability this quickly.  There were signs of a downturn last year but that was written off due to Ortiz’ wrist injury.  But that time has now long passed.  Yes, the injury could still be affecting him but what is the real reason for his current play?  This is an impossible situation for the Red Sox.  How do they handle this gracefully?  Ortiz is postseason hero who will never be forgotten for what he did in the championship years of 2004 and 2007.  But Red Sox management is notoriously unsentimental about making changes when they decide a player is no longer effective.  (See: Garciaparra, Nomar;  Damon, Johnny and Martinez, Pedro).  I suppose Francona could drop Ortiz in the lineup but that isn’t a solution.  A guy who can’t hit won’t hit whether he’s batting third, seventh or ninth.  I’m not suggesting Ortiz will be released (he won’t be) but I have to wonder where Theo is going to go to try and replace Ortiz if that is his intent.  The other problem is the idea of Ortiz sitting on the bench.  He can’t really help there.  Pinch hitting isn’t exactly an easy art.  Theo has the minor league chips to go out and get a power hitter and I think he has to seriously think about that.  People say it’s a soap opera over in the Bronx with A-Rod and company.  But if this Ortiz dilemma goes on like this through the summer Boston will make the Bronx look like paradise.