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David Ortiz’s Constant Support of Bobby Valentine Makes It Hard to Understand Former Skipper’s Claims (Video)

While Bobby Valentine received criticism throughout the season, it was David Ortiz who was always front and center when it came time to defend his manager.

Ortiz constantly emphasized that Valentine wasn’t to blame for the Red Sox’ struggles, which even went against the philosophy of some fans. Apparently, Ortiz’s consistent support wasn’t enough, though, as Valentine had some interesting comments about the veteran slugger during a sit-down interview on Tuesday.

“David Ortiz came back after spending about six weeks on the disabled list after we thought it would be just a week,” Valentine told NBC’s Bob Costas. “He got a couple of hits his first two times up, drove in a couple of runs, we were off to the races, and then he realized that this trade meant we were not going to run this race and not even finish this race properly. He decided not to play anymore. I think at that time it was all downhill from there.”

Such claims are surprising because they imply that Ortiz gave up on his team, which Sox fans know has never been the case. It’s even more surprising given Ortiz’s support of Valentine throughout the season.

Check out the Dennis and Callahan video above to hear from ESPN’s Gordon Edes on this issue.