BOSTON — David Ortiz learned about the possible nine-player trade between the Red Sox and Dodgers via a clubhouse television.
When the news broke that the Red Sox were in serious
negotiations with the Dodgers to trade Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl
Crawford and Nick Punto, Ortiz said he was blindsided. He chatted briefly with Gonzalez, who shared his sentiment.
"He's
shocked like we are a little bit," Ortiz said. "Adrian wants to be
here. That's why he came here — to help this ball club win World Series. To
sign long-term like he did and to be out the second year, it's kind of
surprises you. But like I said, we don't know yet."
"I
think they're looking to put the ballclub in a better situation next year. I'm
not saying that we're going to be in a better situation without those players. We're about to find
out."
The
rest of the Red Sox clubhouse also played coy. One by one, Jon Lester, Mike
Aviles, Cody Ross and Dustin Pedroia sidestepped the majority of questions
surrounding the trade, considering it wasn't official.
The
ambiguity is putting Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine in an interesting quandary.
Heading into Saturday night, Beckett was supposed to take the hill for the Red
Sox. On Friday night, despite the uncertainty, Valentine insisted nothing has changed.
"Yeah,
Randy [Niemann] just asked me that and I could only tell him, to the best of my
knowledge, yes," Valentine said of Beckett's ability to start. "No
idea of the timetable of this [trade]."
By
the time reporters were allowed into the clubhouse after Friday's 4-3 win over
the Royals, Gonzalez, Beckett and Punto had left. Crawford was nowhere near
Fenway Park, as he's just one day removed from having Tommy John surgery.
Gonzalez,
however, was scratched from the starting lineup just 10 minutes before the
game's first pitch. Despite no formal announcement of the deal, Pedroia is
bracing himself for possible change.
"You
build relationships with guys, you've been through a lot with them,"
Pedroia said. "That part's difficult. I don't really know what's — I
don't know who's in it or what. I don't really know. I heard about it an hour
before the game then played the game, so I don't really know what to
think."
Cody
Ross has experienced the flurry of emotions before. Back in 2010, the Marlins placed
him on waivers and ultimately allowed him to walk away to the Giants for no
compensation.
After
that stunner, Ross has prepared himself mentally for any sudden transactions regarding
teammates.
"I
think enough of us have been around awhile where it's not that big of a
shocker," Ross said. "I remember when I was a younger player, and the
trade deadline came around, or for instance, in my situation, when I got claimed
off of waivers by the Giants, it was a shock because you don't expect those
things to happen. But over time, you play more and you see things and nothing
surprises you.''
But
it may wind up surprising the city of Boston on Saturday.
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