David Ortiz was one of Bobby Valentine‘s most vocal supporters during the now ex-manager’s short-lived tenure as Red Sox manager.
When Valentine came out and accused Ortiz of mailing it in following the club’s mega trade in August, you knew it was only a matter of time before Ortiz fired back at the outspoken skipper. The designated hitter, who just signed a new two-year deal with the club, has fired those shots.
In an interview with ESPN Deportes, Ortiz denied that it was his decision to sit out the rest of the season after making a one-game return from an Achilles injury on Aug. 24. The morning after that return, the club traded Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto to the Dodgers. Valentine told NBC’s Bob Costas recently that Ortiz decided he was going to end his season after that franchise-altering deal.
Ortiz disputed that in the interview with ESPN Deportes.
“Stopping me [from playing] was the decision of the doctors, management, the manager and me,” Ortiz told ESPNDeportes.com. “The team doctor recommended that I stop playing to not make the situation worse for the tendon.”
Ortiz was not only upset by the fact that Valentine would throw him under the bus like he did, but the designated hitter was also puzzled by the fact that the manager would criticize him, given Ortiz’s support of Valentine.
“No. 1, never bite the hand that feeds you because in the end that will come back to bite you,” Ortiz told the website. “I was one of those players that always showed support for him. In fact, I held a couple of player meetings. I was one of those players that always showed support for him. In fact, I held a couple of player meetings.”
Ortiz revealed that Valentine sent Ortiz a text message following the interview with Costas to try and clear things up.
“I did not respond to the message and I said to myself, this guy must have some mental issues or needs medicine or something. I said, I am dealing with someone crazy and I am not going to drive myself crazy, so it is better if I leave it alone.”
Ortiz will meet with the media on Monday afternoon during a news conference to discuss his new two-year contract. You can follow that by clicking here.
