David Ortiz is mad as hell, and he's not going to take it anymore.
ESPN's Buster Olney ran a lightly sourced story the other day, describing the Boston Red Sox clubhouse culture as "toxic," and claiming that the "unhappiness that exists among the Boston players and staff is multi-layered and deep."
As the longtime leader of the Boston clubhouse, Ortiz took offense.
"If he wants to make a comment like that, why don't you ask me a question first," said Ortiz. "I run this fucking clubhouse right here. This clubhouse has no problem.
"If (Olney) means toxic clubhouse because of the players, I don't know about that. I'm the guy who is in control of that shit, so he's wrong when it comes down to that.
"With the players in this clubhouse right now, there are no issues. There's not a bad apple in this clubhouse right now -- there's not one."
The Red Sox, last year, digressed once more into America's favorite sideshow circus, with the epic late collapse, the beer and chicken wings in the lockerroom, the botched managerial search and the eventual hiring of the ultimate ringleader Bobby Valentine.
But you know what? The Sox have lost three of their best players to injury this season, and have hung in and battled their way to a very respectable 36-33 mark.
Haters gonna hate, but Ortiz has had enough of a rabid media corp that, in Ortiz' view, turns you into a monster and then calls you one.
"It's starting to become the shithole that it used to be," Ortiz said, talking about the media waiting with bated breath to find a shred of lurid turmoil in Boston. "Look around, bro. Playing here used to be so much fun, and now every day it's something new not even related to baseball. People need to leave us alone and let us play ball, man, and let us do what we know how to do.
"Too much shit. Too much shit. This ain't all about me. I'm not just the only player here. We have 25 guys who care just as much as I care about playing ball here and providing winning ballgames, and it seems like there's something new every day about players. People need to leave us alone and let us play ball.
"I'm just tired of dealing with drama here. This is baseball, man. It seems like everything that goes around here affects the whole (Red Sox) Nation. This is baseball, and you're supposed to have fun. We're performing out there at the highest level, and every day it's something new, more shit."
And that's why David Ortiz' Boston teammates respect him.
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