Mazz On Ortiz Sick Day: 'I Smell A Rat'
BOSTON (CBS) -- Red Sox team doctors sent David Ortiz home from Fenway Park Sunday morning, so his bat wasn't in the lineup as Boston lost to the Yankees 8-6 in their final game before the All-Star break.
Ortiz was diagnosed with a respiratory infection, but Tony Massarotti isn't really buying that. Instead, Mazz thinks Ortiz's sick day on Sunday has more to do with John Farrell wanting to play the slugger at first base.
"Would I be a cynic to say I smell a rat here?" asked Mazz. "This is one of those where if we didn't know better, you'd just accept it and move on. But I have a hard time not connecting the dots. Do I know that Ortiz isn't sick and flew home to the Domincan Republic? I do not. What I do know is that last week he was complaining, or suggesting, he didn't want to play first base anymore."
With Mike Napoli struggling at the plate, Ortiz at first allows Boston to have Hanley Ramirez at DH and Alejandro De Aza in the field, bettering their offense and defense in the process. But Ortiz said last week he wasn't a big fan of playing the field, worried about his health and production at the plate if he had to prepare to play first.
"They had four off days coming after Sunday's game, and there was the opportunity to have him play first again and DH Ramirez, have the lineup they wanted to have on Sunday," said Mazz. "Then all of a sudden he's not in the lineup and not in the ballpark? How are you supposed to look at that any other way?"
Mazz was hearing at the end of last week that Ortiz was starting to get frustrated with all the chatter about him playing more first base, citing bad heels. But this raised more questions for Mazz.
"If Ortiz has two bad heels, why is Farrell putting him at first at all? I question how bad Ortiz's heels really are, and whether there is a good line of communication between him and Farrell," said Mazz. "There is something going on there.
"I think that Farrell wants him to play first and Ortiz doesn't, and now theyre digging in their heels. Now the question is, is there really a respiratory infection, or is it 'I don't feel so great, I don't think I can play tomorrow'?" wondered Mazz. "I found it curious that he wasn't in the lineup against the Yankees, for the finale of the first half against a right-handed pitcher. When else are you going to play him -- he can't hit lefties? What are they doing? I hate to say it, but I smell a rat. I hate to say that because I hate to question injuries."
Watch: Mazz & Jim Murray's Takeaways From Weekend Series vs. New York:
