WHEN DID DAVID ORTIZ BECOME BASEBALL'S AMBASSADOR?

Did anyone catch the quotes from David Ortiz recently to Alex Rodriguez?  I mentioned the other night in my piece titled THE ONLY FREAKOUT HERE IS "TANAKAMANIA" that Brendan Kuty of NJ.com had a piece about David Ortiz and you should all read it.  If you haven't, we'll tell you about it... and the nerve of David Ortiz.  Don't know what I mean? Listen to this...

"David Ortiz said he hopes Alex Rodriguez will 'be honest with himself' during his ban from baseball. 'I heard about the suspension he's going to get and stuff,' Ortiz said. 'And hopefully baseball will move on and he gets to be honest with himself, try to come back whenever he got to come back and finish his career.'"

Honesty with himself? Well, first off, no crap, but that should be from me, not from David Ortiz. That could be from Joe Torre maybe, or Lou Piniella or Nolan Ryan, even Derek Jeter, but NOT from Ortiz.  Now look, I like David Ortiz, although I believe Bud Selig has given him a pass on the PEDs stuff.  Let's not forget that Ortiz failed a test too, and he vowed that he’d spend the rest of his days finding out why he failed that PEDs test.  Sounds like OJ Simpson vowing to "find the killers of Nicole and Ron Goldman". I kid, but the point is... Ortiz isn't God. Hell, in fact, he's the last guy I want telling me to go "be honest" with myself. Are you kidding?

What makes it worse is he's managed to continue playing and he's become a baseball ambassador. It was crystal clear when Ortiz was handed the World Series MVP trophy in 2013 by Bud Selig. Selig appointed him, unofficially, that title.  I was pissed that night. Not because the Red Sox won, I respect the game and their team was damn good last season.  

Selig is presenting a guy who was on a leaked PEDs list with AROD in 2003 the MVP award, yet, Selig's suspending ARod for Roids. Seriously?
— Bleeding Yankee Blue (@BleednYankeeBlu) October 31, 2013

No, I was pissed because it seemed hypocritical that Selig would be embracing a man who was accused of doing the exact thing that Selig wants to clean up in this great game of baseball.  PEDs are everywhere, and Ortiz was part of it.

Yet... that hug was seen by millions, and it was allowed... why?

The craziest part is, before he told ARod to find himself, he had the nerve to come out and talk trash the Yankees for "letting Robinson Cano go."  I’m sorry, in my neighborhood, the guy's “Speaking out of turn” and needs to keep quiet.   Between that, and telling ARod, a friend by the way, to "reflect" while he's failed a test himself, is not only a contradiction or hypocritical... it's ridiculous.

Now this is about David Ortiz, not Cano but I want to make this point. The idea that Ortiz can even suggest that we "shouldn't" have let Cano go makes me laugh. Look, no doubt Cano could have asked for whatever he wanted. Don't forget though,  the Yankees are also allowed to offer him what they want.   And so, here we are with Cano signing his deal in Seattle, he has the right to do so of course, but fans also have the right to get mad.  Then, Ortiz says: “I couldn't believe the Yankees let that walk away... He's the face, as long as he played for the Yankees, he was the face of that ball club. He was backing up everybody." The fact that David Ortiz wants to insert himself into Yankee business, be it Cano or ARod seems odd to me.  Why? Why do we need to hear this guy? Is he a peacemaker? Who the hell does this guy think he is?

Bottom Line, I like Big Papi, but the act is old now and he needs to shut up. And if I'm Alex, innocent or guilty... and most likely guilty, he needs to call Mr. Ortiz and tell him to "stick it."

Maybe Alex can stroke a chihuahua while he's doing it too.... it will bring some levity to the situation.

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