--DH David Ortiz spoke with reporters extensively for the first time about the 50-game suspension slapped on former teammate Manny Ramirez at the end of last week and said he was "confused" by what he had heard. Ortiz and Ramirez were widely considered good friends during their highly successful six years together in Boston, and Big Papi said he never suspected Ramirez of using performance-enhancing drugs. "This situation shocked me. The guy worked hard every day, and it's going to be something crazy and hard to deal with," Ortiz said. "Hopefully he knows what's up, learns from his mistake and does the right thing."
--OF Jacoby Ellsbury has been getting treatment for a hamstring strain, but it hasn't stopped the center fielder from stealing bases with reckless abandon over the first six weeks of the season. He is second in the majors, behind only Tampa Bay OF Carl Crawford, and is on pace to steal 83 bases. --Former Sox 2B Lou Merloni made a stir in Boston over the weekend when he revealed on Comcast SportsNet New England that former Sox GM Dan Duquette invited a doctor to "acknowledge that there were likely players using steroids and basically (say), 'If you're gonna use them this is how you use them so you don't abuse them." Duquette vehemently denied the assertion and appeared on 850 WEEI on Monday afternoon to address Merloni's story. "It's ridiculous. It's totally unfounded," Duquette told the Boston Globe. "Who was the doctor? Tell me who the doctor is. If there was such a doctor he wasn't in the employ of the Red Sox. We brought in doctors to educate the players on the major league drug policy at the time at the recommendation of Major League Baseball. This is so ridiculous I hate to even respond to it."
--OF Rocco Baldelli became only the second Rhode Island native to homer for the Red Sox when he went deep against the Rays last weekend. The other player was Lefty Lefebvre, a pitcher who did it in his first at-bat with the Sox during the 1938 season. Baldelli's bomb came against his former team, the Rays, who he spent five seasons with, but the reserve outfielder wasn't doing handstands about either of the accomplishments. "I get excited to hit a home run against anybody," Baldelli said. "It's not really anything special doing it against these guys. Maybe you'd like me to say it is special so you can write a little blurb about it. It's not really."
BY THE NUMBERS: 34 -- Runs that the Red Sox scored in the sixth inning this season in 32 games, through May 10. It was their top inning.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "He's strong. You know what? He really is strong. When he stays through the ball, he's the guy that on a cold day here (at Fenway) can hit the ball out of the ballpark." -- Sox manager Terry Francona, on Sox OF Jason Bay's booming power.
