When David Ortiz was asked about the future of the ballclub immediately following the AL Championship Series Game 7 loss to Tampa Bay, "Big Papi" admitted it was hard to comment about potential trades and free agent improvement that he had little to no control over.
"Why are you asking me that stuff, bro," Ortiz said. "It's not up to me to make those kinds of decisions." Well, apparently Ortiz had his GM hat on Nov. 13 because he began offering up some constructive ideas on what kind of winter fix-ups might help his ballclub out next season.
First on Papi's Sox Extreme Makeover: a power hitter and presumed cleanup masher capable of jacking 30 home runs and knocking in 100. Kevin Youkilis clearly isn't anyone's idea of a classic cleanup hitter -- despite the MVP-worthy performance on the field -- and Jason Bay seems a better fit hitting lower in the lineup.
That leaves the Sox looking for another bomb hitter capable of pairing with a rebounding Ortiz, who will look to improve on an injury-filled 2008 that saw him hit .264 with 23 home runs and 89 RBIs.
"In our division, the pitching is improving a lot, and -- let me tell you -- next season we're going to face a lot of good pitching," said Ortiz, at Fenway Park to promote his inaugural celebrity golf event for charity in the Dominican Republic next month. "This team needs some more arms in the bullpen and a 30-home run guy and we'll be all set. I haven't thought about (Mark Teixeira) because we've got Mikey (Lowell) coming back and Youk, but you definitely need to find another guy that can produce here."
