Earlier this spring, Orioles center fielder Adam Jones said the teams celebratory pie-in-the-face celebration was banned for safety reasons.
It took only one game -- albeit a long one -- for a celebratory dessert to work its way back into the Orioles happy rituals.
Jones was ready Monday with whats being called a pie by some and a cake by others after catcher Matt Wieters walk-off single gave the team a 3-2, Opening Day win over the Minnesota Twins.Jones stood in front of Wieters to minimize the surprise, and smashed the pastry in the veteran catchers face during his postgame television interview.
It came in a pie tin, but manager Buck Showalter said "it was a cake."
Ive lost control of the team again," Showalter joked. "Pick the battles worth winning, right? It had some kind of orange look to it. It looked very cakey to me.
Jones said it doesnt matter whether it was a pie or cake.
You want to talk about the game or pies? Jones asked. Ill probably get a letter. Ill plead the fifth.
When further pressed, he doubled down.
I plead the fifth, he said. I plead the fifth. Thats a valid answer.
He wasnt silent when it came to alerting Wieters to what was about to happen. The catcher was amply warned.
I dont know if it was just him rebelling, or maybe just one last show, Wieters said. Well see. Hes got to keep everybody on his toes. I didnt have any complaints.
Allen Iverson of the Denver Nuggets in Game Four of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2008 NBA Playoffs at the Pepsi Center in Denver. (Doug Pensinger, Getty)
Not many players as young as Nuggets rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay have direct lines to aging or already retired NBA stars.
But Mudiay, 20, now has one to a Hall of Famer.
Former Philadelphia 76ers and Nuggets guard Allen Iverson was named to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday. Mudiay posted congratulations on Instagram.
"That"s a big thing," Mudiay said. "A big accomplishment for him."
Mudiay has known Iverson since he was in high school. The connection came when the superstar came to his high school games in Dallas. Iverson remained close to his former coach Larry Brown, coaching at SMU, and Brown recruited Mudiay, who chose to play pro ball in China rather than go to college.
Mudiay has stayed in touch with Iverson. "(We) have a pretty good relationship. Just like an older brother type thing."
Iverson has grown into one of Mudiay"s trusted confidants, always ready with advice as to how to navigate the sometimes piranha-filled NBA waters.
"I saw him when I went to Philly, spent some time with him a little bit," Mudiay said. "I just talk to him when I can, really."
The best piece of advice Mudiay has gotten from Iverson?
"Stay the course," he said. "He"s seen me play since I was little. He"s always saying, "It"s going to happen, it"s going to click at some point." Stuff like that. You just gotta stay confident. By him just telling me that, I"m always trying to work hard and stay in the gym.
"He"s been keeping my confidence up high even when I was at my lowest point. He"s been real good to me."
Nuggets coach Michael Malone said he remembers Iverson as one of the greatest small guards ever to play the game. Iverson is most known for his time with Philadelphia, where he led the 76ers to the NBA Finals in 2001. He played for the Nuggets from 2006-08.
An 11-time NBA All Star, Iverson averaged 25.6 points and 7.1 assists per game with the Nuggets and made two playoff appearances with the team.
"His relentless attack, aggressive motor. I"ve always been a huge Iverson fan," Malone said. "And for him to do what he did for as many years as he did it, at his size. One of the greatest small players to ever play the game Allen Iverson, Isiah Thomas, Tiny Archibald. Allen Iverson was a tremendous player and a guy that every night I don"t care how late he was out, I don"t care what was going on, he was going to give you 30. He had an ability to no matter when he played where he played who he played bring it every night."
Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey@denverpost.com or @dempseypost
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Baltimore Orioles 2014 Season Highlights "We Won"t Stop"
In the days leading up to the Orioles" season opener Monday, manager Buck Showalter considered several different lineups for the first game of the season. He polled everyone around him coaches, players, reporters before narrowing his lineup cards down to three.
Rookie Joey Rickard was on each as the team"s starting left fielder, making him the first Orioles Rule 5 draft pick to start his first season opener with the club. But Showalter wasn"t sure where to hit him. He strongly considered placing him in the leadoff spot and also thought about hitting him in the No. 2 hole, but ultimately decided to bat Rickard ninth in the Orioles" 3-2 walk-off Opening Day win over the Minnesota Twins.
I"d rather promote guys as the season goes on instead of demote them, Showalter said before the game. I know where I"d like to get eventually, but we"ll see how that works out. I don"t want to get too far ahead of yourself and get ahead of the process.
Showalter conceded that Rickard has the potential to bat leadoff. The Orioles need a top-of-the order catalyst and Rickard"s strong spring in which he showed the ability to get on base, work counts and draw walks could give the Orioles" power-dependent lineup something it lacked.
The Orioles wanted to be patient with Rickard, who opened last season playing in High-A with the Charlotte Stone Crabs. Even wunderkind third baseman Manny Machado, who batted leadoff Monday, had to work his way up from the bottom third of the order when he first arrived in the majors.
The butterflies of Opening Day the fanfare of running down the orange carpet in front of 45,786 would be enough of a test.
But by the time the 24-year-old stepped to the plate for his third at-bat Monday, he had already won over the crowd that remained through two rain delays that totaled nearly three hours. After Rickard hit safely in his first two at-bats, the fans gave him a standing ovation and chanted Jo-ey, Jo-ey as he walked to the batter"s box.
They"re all waiting to embrace you, Showalter said of the fan"s cheers for Rickard. You"ve just got to give them something to embrace you about. It"s your responsibility, not theirs about what comes first.
Rickard was shocked at the reception.
I"m three at-bats into the season and they"re screaming and chanting my name, Rickard said with a smile. That"s something special. I don"t know another city that"s like that. It"s definitely the first time it"s happened to me, but I turned around and gave them a wave. Right now they love me, so I"m I happy about it. I love them.
This was a player who despite ascending two minor league levels last year in the Tampa Bay Rays farm system wasn"t deemed valuable enough to be placed on the organization"s 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
Tampa Bay"s loss could end up being the Orioles" gain. A spring training that began with the Orioles wondering how they were going to carry him on the roster ended with the club wondering how it couldn"t carry him after he hit .397 with eight extra-base hits, eight RBIs and a .472 on-base percentage in the spring.
Baltimore first greeted Rickard with a rousing ovation when he was introduced and ran down the orange carpet. He received another warm welcome in his first at-bat, which ended with Rickard hitting the last of three straight sliders from Twins starter Ervin Santana into center field for a single.
I knew I was taking, said Rickard, who became the first Orioles player to get a hit in his first major league at-bat since Jonathan Schoop on Sept. 25, 2013. I took the first at-bat just to get a feel for everything. I was trying to not get too antsy, but after that first pitch I felt back to myself and it kind of slowed down and I think it showed.
In his second at-bat, Rickard took the first three pitches he saw from Twins reliever Casey Fien a first-pitch fastball followed by two sliders before lacing a 1-2 fastball into right field for a leadoff double. It was the first of three straight Orioles hits, capped by Adam Jones" two-run double that gave the Orioles a 2-0 lead.
In his third at-bat, as the crowd chanted his name, Rickard watched the first three pitches and fell behind again before lining out to right. His fourth time up, Rickard saw three mid-90s fastballs from Minnesota reliever Trevor May, and swung through the second before taking a called third strike.
Rickard made a running grab in foul ground in the seventh, reaching into the seats to catch Kurt Suzuki"s fly ball that was touched by a fan. Twins designated hitter Byung Ho Park tagged and scored the tying run from third on a sacrifice fly. After the game, Rickard asked Showalter if that was the right play, and the manager reassured him that you take the out every time.
Rickard"s family made the cross-country trip from California to watch him make his debut. Opening Day tickets are a tough haul, but he was able to collect 10 for family and friends.
Baltimore appreciates guys out there grinding and he had a good spring training, so I was glad he was able to get that first hit out of the way, Jones said. His family was here. He got to share that not just with family but with his teammates. We appreciate him going out there and playing the right way. So that"s Game 1 out of Game 162. Now move on to Game 2 and see what he does again.
And by the end of the day, he had not only the memories of his first game in the big leagues but also the ball from his first hit and the dugout lineup card from the game, presented to him by Showalter.
That"s just icing on the cake for how my day has been, Rickard said. You always picture [your debut] in a way, but you never really know the feelings and emotions that come along with it, and just looking up and seeing the whole crowd and the fans, the stadium"s roaring. It was definitely something special, and something I"ll never forget.
Absolute Essence of Ronnie O"Sullivan - Masters 2016 ᴴᴰ By Rob Hodgetts for CNN
(CNN) -- White boiler suits are a uniform of honest toil, but wearing one at Augusta National comes with a distinct perk.
The unmistakeable overalls are the traditional garb of Augusta"s caddies -- the cadre of faithful lieutenants who will follow, guide and cajole their man uphill and down dale across the exclusive Georgia greensward.
The outfit may not denote a position of high office like a green jacket -- caddies are still not allowed in the clubhouse -- but it facilitates something money can"t buy: Inside-the-ropes access at the Masters.
One man with a golden ticket is Englishman Billy Foster, caddie for former world No. 1 Lee Westwood, who will return for his 21st year in the suit this week.
"It can be pretty uncomfortable and pretty hot," Foster told CNN. "It"s thicker than they look on TV, like a painter and decorator"s suit. I"d rather wear my own shorts, but it makes Augusta what it is, I suppose."
Foster, who is from Yorkshire in the north of England, began caddying as a 16-year-old in 1983, the same year Augusta allowed players to bring their regular tour caddies instead of employing one of the local black "loopers."
He first went to Augusta in 1991 as bagman for swashbuckling Spaniard Seve Ballesteros, who had won the Masters in 1980 and 1983.
They turned up on the Saturday before the tournament, turning off the concrete strip of Washington Road, with its neon signs, fast-food joints, motels and bars, into the hush of Augusta National"s Magnolia Lane.
"You could be in a different country within the space of 100 yards," said Foster.
"It was just the sheer tranquility of place, there was such an aura, so unique and beautiful.
"We went out for a practice round on our own and were out there for seven hours. I felt like I knew it like the back of my hand after that."
This year Foster will get into Georgia"s second biggest city on the Sunday evening after flying up from the Houston Open with Westwood.
Home is a 10-minute walk from the course, an old Augusta house shared with Rory McIlroy"s bagman JP Fitzgerald, Graeme McDowell"s caddie Ken Comboy, and Cayce Kerr, who works for Vijay Singh.
"We stay at a little place we"ve rented for 20 years, off an old nun named Mrs Joyce Culpepper," says Foster.
Mrs Culpepper died in 2010 but she used to move to a cottage in the garden allowing "the boys," as she called them, the run of her house.
They would cook for her and do odd jobs, and each year when they left they would write a thank you note on the chalkboard. When they returned in 2011 their final message was still there.
"In her will she left her house to her niece, but on one condition: she could live there 51 weeks of the year, but for the week of the Masters she had to let us caddies go back. So we obviously left some sort of impression."
Foster will get to the course early on Monday morning, to catch up on the banter and climb into the suit -- worn against the skin.
"Just a pair of underpants, no shirt, no shorts," he says. "It"s roasting out there sometimes."
The caddies are well catered for these days, with food, drinks, showers and TVs, in a new facility near the redeveloped driving range. "In years gone by there weren"t even doors on the toilets," says Foster.
"Like a navigator for a rally driver"
When Westwood turns up they will play a "pretty relaxed" 18 holes, followed by nine on Tuesday and nine on Wednesday, just to get a feel for how the course is playing and update their notebooks -- one general one and a more detailed one for Augusta"s devilish greens.
"You are like a navigator for a rally driver, trying to give them all the information to end up with the right club," says Foster, who often gets Wednesday afternoons off if Westwood has a guest caddie for the pre-Masters Par-3 event.
In the evenings, Foster and "the boys" will frequent their favorite restaurant TBonz Steakhouse on Washington Road, or cook in and have a couple of beers at home.
Foster always walks the course -- no running at Augusta -- before a tournament round, often at first light, sharing the pine-scented property with just the greenstaff and their regimented battalions of mowers.
"It is to look at pin positions, but it"s more about checking which areas are to be avoided," says Foster, who has also caddied for Thomas Bjorn, Darren Clarke and a one-week cameo with Tiger Woods.
"Sometimes you are better off being 30ft away than 15ft away if you get on the wrong side of certain slopes or flags.
"The greens are so firm, and the wind swirls around Augusta like nowhere else. Anyone who says on the 12th tee they know 100% where the ball will land is a liar.
"It"s a very demanding week, not only physically, because the elevation changes are so severe, but it"s the most mentally demanding golf course we play all season.
"You can"t switch off for one second or it will make you look stupid.
"It"s the one tournament after the 72nd hole you put that flag stick back in, mop your brow and say, "thank G*d for that, I"ve survived another Masters.""
"A barrage of abuse"
Augusta has precipitated the end of many player-caddie partnerships over the years. Foster fell foul after a row with Ballesteros in 1995.
The omens were bad when the Spaniard snapped his putter trying to bend it on the first tee in a practice round and fell face first onto the grass.
"I was screaming with laughter, tears rolling down my face," says Foster. "He didn"t see the funny side of it, so that got us off to a bad start. He was like a bear with a sore head all week."
Playing the 17th hole on the Saturday, the pair disagreed over which club to hit for the second shot. The caddie suggested a six iron, Ballesteros favored a seven. He took the six, and ball ran just through the green.
"It was perfect really, only 18ft from the hole, an easy chip straight uphill, especially if you"re Seve," says Foster.
The chip rolled eight feet past and Ballesteros missed the putt.
"He gave me the biggest rollicking -- three times on the green and another ear-bashing on the way to the 18th," says Foster.
"The red mist was descending. I was ready to erupt. He had another go on the 18th tee. So I just shouted and screamed, "I can hear you, alright.""
The atmosphere was beyond icy. After the round, Foster was summoned to the practice range by Ballesteros" brother. He was told to measure how far the Spaniard was hitting his wedges.
"I was pretty much on the verge of a nervous breakdown at this stage," he says. "They were taking one bounce and I was heading them, 15 in a row. Everybody was laughing behind in the grandstand but I was raging."
Eventually, they agreed to meet and sat in front of the clubhouse, where Foster "unleashed a barrage of abuse."
"Ultimately, no-one had spoken to Seve that way and I got a call on the Tuesday saying I was no longer required," he says. "We got on very well again a few weeks after that, but you move on.
"It was a fantastic experience [working for Seve] and something I"ll cherish for the rest of my life. I owe him a lot and I will be eternally grateful."
Augusta roars
As the old saying goes, the Masters doesn"t begin until the back nine on Sunday, when charges are made and the famous roars reverberate around the pines.
"You don"t see the crowd, don"t see the azalea bushes, you just see the hole or wherever you"re trying to land it," says Foster.
"But you hear the roars. You can predict who it is and where they are by the noise."
In 2010, Foster and Westwood knew exactly who it was when playing partner Phil Mickelson whipped up a storm on the Sunday afternoon.
Westwood had led since the second round, but the popular American edged two shots clear after the short 12th at the heart of Amen Corner.
Ever the gambler, Mickelson twisted when most others would stick.
His drive on the dog-leg par-five 13th ran through the fairway and nestled in pine straw behind a tree. Instead of chipping out sideways, the left-hander shaped to hit a six iron through a narrow gap.
"We were both shaking our heads. I was saying, "he"s bonkers going for this, mental,"" recalls Foster.
"It was a lunatic shot in my mind."
Mickelson pulled the trigger and the ball cleared the tributary of Rae"s Creek in front of the green and came to rest four feet from the hole. "We were like, "wow,"" says Foster.
They shared birdies, but Mickelson mania was in full swing. Foster was trying to keep a clear head in the maelstrom.
"You"ve got to slow down your thought process and keep in check of your emotions, that"s your job as a caddie," he said.
"You"re the lead on the player -- pulling him back like a dog, and stopping him rushing his decisions.
"Things will go wrong, no doubt about it. That"s the way it is at Augusta.
"It is just a case of knowing when to say something to a player and when to keep quiet for a couple of minutes."
Mickelson"s magic was too powerful that year, and he surged to a third Masters title.
Westwood and Foster are still seeking an elusive green jacket. Maybe even a green boiler suit, if such a thing existed.
TM & 2016 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.
Abby Wambach"s Journey from Rochester to the World Stage
GOOD MORNING, BLOGTOWN! Falling in motion as though I had wings. Your sweet love and devotion, baby it"s magica magical thing. LET"S GO TO PRESS.
A new poll suggests that Ted Wheeler is a strong favorite in the upcoming mayoral race, but competitor Jules Bailey is calling BA-LONEY on that.
This weekend"s warm weather brought an unusual number of gun activity, including lots of gunfire and arrests for possession.
The season for the amazing Oregon State Women"s Basketball Team has sadly come to an end with their Final Four loss to the Connecticut Huskies.
Former US soccer team star Abby Wambach is facing a DUII charge after being arrested in Portland late Saturday night. (And then men on the USA"s national team had to jump in with their stupid, unnecessary opinions.)
In a story that won"t shock you at all, according to a huge document leak, some of the world"s richest and most powerful politicians (including Russia"s Vladimir Putin) use offshore accounts to hide their money from the tax man.
The Bernie Sanders campaign is advising its supporters to stay away from the upcoming Milwaukee Trump rally, because... you know... violence.
Trump is starting to sweat as tomorrow"s Wisconsin contest approaches, at which point he could very well lose the nomination to Ted Cruz.
The "Y"all Qaeda" hillbillies are backthis time in Utah, where ranchers have signed notices of "withdrawal of consent" to be governed (eye roll), and steal public grazing land.
Oh, and speaking of which... remember Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer who called the Malheur Occupiers "patriots"? Turns out he"s part of a conservative sheriffs group who believe their power exceeds that of the federal government, and are actively recruiting new members. I"m sorry, remind me once again what we do with TRAITORS?
Speaking of hillbillies, the Mississippi governor has proclaimed April "Confederate Heritage Month," because YEEEEEEE-HAW! The South Shall Rise Agin, Dag Nabbit!
Jury selection begins today in the trial of James Dixon, who killed transgender woman Islan Nettles because "his pride was at stake."
The Supreme Court has put the kibosh on a case brought by the GOP which will now allow voting districts to be drawn on population, whether or not those people are eligible to vote.
The US is claiming the Islamic State militant who killed one of our Marines has been killed in a drone strike.
An FBI document reveals that now that the government agency can unlock iPhones, they"re going to help other law enforcement groups do the same thingthereby proving that Apple"s fears were right on the nose.
And then again, in WEATHER: Don"t be fooled by a cloudy day and highs in the upper 50sthe sun will return with a vengeance starting tomorrow and very warm temperatures.
Backhoe for Children | 1 Hour Machines for Kids Compilation 2 dead, dozens injured in Amtrak train partial derailment
PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - An Amtrak train struck a piece of heavy equipment just south of Philadelphia on Sunday causing a derailment, killing two Amtrak workers and sending more than 30 passengers to hospitals, authorities said.
Train 89 was heading from New York to Savannah, Georgia, at about 8 a.m. when it hit a the equipment that was on the track in Chester, about 15 miles outside of Philadelphia, officials said. The impact derailed the lead engine of the train that was carrying more than 300 passengers and seven crew members.
Chester Fire Commissioner Travis Thomas said two people were killed. A National Transportation Safety Board official confirmed that one was the operator of the equipment. U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Amtrak board Chairman Anthony Coscia told him the other person killed was a supervisor and both were Amtrak employees.
The Delaware County medical examiner"s office said no information would be released until after autopsies Monday.
NTSB investigator Ryan Frigo said at an evening news conference that the event data recorder and both forward-facing and inward-facing video from the locomotive has been recovered.
Frigo said the locomotive engineer was among those taken to hospitals but he couldn"t provide any conditions. Officials earlier said none of the injuries was deemed life-threatening.
Schumer said it"s unclear whether the equipment was being use for regular maintenance, which usually is scheduled on Sunday mornings because there are fewer trains on the tracks, or whether it was clearing debris from high winds in the area overnight. But he said Amtrak has "a 20-step protocol" for having such equipment, described by Amtrak as a backhoe, on the track, and no trains are supposed to go on a track where when equipment is present.
"Clearly this seems very likely to be human error," Schumer said, calling for Amtrak to review its processes. "There is virtually no excuse for a backhoe to be on an active track."
A message left with Amtrak officials has yet to be returned.
Frigo said the he could not answer why the equipment was on a track the train was using, but said that "scheduling" and "the track structure and the work that was performed at the time of the accident" would be part of the investigation. The event data recorder has been sent to the safety board"s laboratory in Washington and will answer such questions as how fast the train was going at the time of the crash, he said.
Officials with the Federal Railroad Administration also were sent to the scene, said Matthew Lehner, a spokesman for the agency.
Service on the Northeast Corridor between New York and Philadelphia is operating after an earlier suspension. Limited service was restored between Wilmington, Delaware, and Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon.
We"re off the train now and am in a local church while they finish the evacuation, get our luggage and wait for an evac...
Posted by Ari Ne"eman onSunday, April 3, 2016
Ari Ne"eman, a disability rights activist heading to Washington after speaking at an event in New York, said he was in the second car at the time of the crash.
"The car started shaking wildly, there was a smell of smoke, it looked like there was a small fire and then the window across from us blew out," said Ne"eman, 28, of Silver Spring, Maryland.
Some of the passengers started to get off after the train stopped, but the conductor quickly stopped them. Officials started evacuating people to the rear of the train and then off and to a local church.
"It was a very frightening experience. I"m frankly very glad that I was not on the first car," where there were injuries, he said. "The moment that the car stopped, I said Shema, a Jewish prayer ... I was just so thankful that the train had come to a stop and we were OK."
Businessman Steve Forbes told CSPAN"s "Book TV" by phone that he was in the next-to-last car when the train "made sudden jerks" as if it was about to make an abrupt stop.
Forbes, chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media, said the train then made another abrupt stop and "everyone"s coffee was flying through the air." There was smoke and the smell of smoldering brakes as the train came to a stop, he said.
"The most disconcerting thing ... (was) not knowing what had happened," he said. Since the public address system was knocked out, he and other passengers were left to speculate for 20 or 25 minutes before a crew member came back to tell them what had happened, he said.
"As time passed and they took care of the injuries in the first two cars, they came back and eventually we were let off the train," and hiked through woods to a local church, he said. "They admonished us at the beginning, `Don"t leave the train because there are two live tracks on either side, so don"t leave the train until we say it"s safe to do so.""
This derailment comes almost a year after an Amtrak train originating from Washington D.C. bound for New York City derailed in Philadelphia. Eight people were killed and more than 200 were injured in the May 12 crash. The exact cause of that crash is still under investigation, but authorities have said the train had been traveling twice the speed limit.
SEPTA andAmtrak will operate regularly scheduled trains on Monday
One of baseball"s most clutch hitters, David Ortiz has always had an impeccable knack for drama. Few players seized the moment quite like Boston"s big bopper.
And, as he prepares for his 20th major league season, Ortiz feels it"s time to take his last cuts.
"I"m ready to pass the torch," he said.
On Monday, he begins his long goodbye.
A beloved New England sports icon, Ortiz, the man with the massive swing, smile and larger-than-life personality, will play the first game of his final season as the Red Sox visit the Cleveland Indians. Ortiz announced his retirement in November on his 40th birthday, and he"ll spend 2016 on a farewell tour, taking a bow for a career filled with memories.
"Nothing is forever," he said. "It"s just time to do different things."
The first step of Ortiz"s walk-off season isn"t the only storyline as the Red Sox make their only visit to Progressive Field, which has been improved during the offseason with a new, massive, high-definition scoreboard that the Indians, who have one of the majors" best pitching staffs, hope inspires them to score more runs.
The opener will also mark Boston manager John Farrell"s return to the dugout after he stepped away last August to receive medical treatment for non-Hodgkin"s Burkitt lymphoma. The Red Sox announced his cancer was in remission a few weeks after the end of last season, and the opener represents another significant date for the 53-year-old.
Farrell"s comeback coincides with the Boston debut of ace David Price, who agreed to $217 million, seven-year contract with the club in December. The left-hander will start the opener against Cleveland"s Corey Kluber, the 2014 Cy Young Award winner looking to bounce back from a 16-loss season and help the Indians close the gap on Kansas City in the AL Central.
While Ortiz"s sendoff in Cleveland doesn"t have a major sentimental tie, there is a significant connection.
Ortiz helped Boston end its 86-year World Series drought while playing under Indians manager Terry Francona, the Red Sox skipper from 2004-11.
Francona considers Ortiz the consummate player and teammate - on the field and in the clubhouse.
"I went through the gamut with David," Francona said. "From watching him win games in the World Series to when he was on his back to struggling and having to pinch hit for him. We kinda came full circle. Regardless, the thing I"m probably most appreciative of when we had problems and had to fight through them - we did. He"s a really proud guy. He"s somebody I care about a lot and I"m glad he"s going out on his own terms."
The Indians will be the first opposing team to celebrate Ortiz"s illustrious career, which began in 1997 with Minnesota. The club will honor him with a tribute and gift on Thursday, and by the time October arrives, Ortiz will have been saluted with standing ovations and likely presented with everything from rocking chairs to golf clubs.
Ortiz hopes to savor every moment, but doesn"t want his final season to detour the Red Sox from accomplishing all they can.
"I"m not planning to put a lot of pressure on myself," he said. "Besides being my last season I also know this is a job I have to continue doing. I"m just going to take things day by day. Hopefully there are not going to be any distractions for my teammates or myself. I need to focus on what I like to do.
"That"s the only way I can play the game. I"m the type of player who can"t get away with not focusing. I"ve got of focus. I have to be on it. I like to help out the younger players. I know there are going to be a lot of teams out there trying to congratulate me. And I really appreciate that, but I don"t want it to be a distraction either. I hope everything goes smooth."
