David Ortiz Is No Longer A Boston Red Sox (Figuratively, Not Literally)

David Ortiz has made his feelings on the Boston Red Sox pretty clear by now. After all, this is the team with too much drama, the town that's an "[expletive]-hole" place to play in, and now, the franchise is humiliating him, in the eyes of the once much beloved Big Papi.

My heart breaks for you, David. It really does.

Ortiz' latest outburst has him telling the USA Today that the Red Sox humiliated him last offseason -- you know, when they bumped his salary up to $14.575 million for this season -- because they gave crazy contracts to other players and didn't respect Ortiz' contributions. Read Papi's comments to Jorge L. Ortiz from Wednesday.

"If you go crazy and give contracts to whoever comes along despite not knowing how they're going to do, then you don't give me my due consideration, even though I do my thing every year, (expletive) that," said Ortiz, the Red Sox lone All-Star representative. "I'm going to be open to anything. My mentality is not going to be, 'I like it here.' It's going to be, 'Bring it to the table, and we'll see what happens.' "

"It was humiliating. There's no reason a guy like me should go through that," he said. "All I was looking for was two years, at the same salary ($12.5 million).

"They ended up giving me $3 million more than that (actually $2.025 million), and look at my numbers this year. Tell me if they wouldn't have been better off.

"And yet they don't hesitate to sign other guys. It was embarrassing."

Gosh, David, that sounds really tough. You know, it really is sad that someone like you should have to go through that. All that stress over whether or not you would make around $12 million or $14 million. Man, that sounds so tough. I know I wouldn't want to be embarrassed to the tune of almost $15 million a year. Sounds awful. How can you sleep at night, you poor, poor man?

Papi, get over yourself. You're a joke and an embarrassment to yourself and to the team.

First and foremost, it's a privilege -- not a right -- to play baseball for a living, so act like it.

Before we continue in the Ortiz bashing, though, let's take a minute to point out that he has had impressive numbers this season. Actually, not just that, he has been the team's MVP. Ortiz is batting .302 with 22 homers and 55 RBI. Production isn't the problem, it's just the rotten attitude.

Ortiz' outbursts this season have been, well, peculiar. This is the second major Papi blast off the field. In case you don't remember the first, well, he said Boston was becoming the "blank-hole" town it used to be and that's he was tired of all the media focus. Just leave us alone, said Ortiz.

Ah, where to start with all of this. Well, this is Boston, David. That's what big markets are like.

On the subject of humiliation, please David, save it. This team has been pretty good to you over the years, and as pointed out by our Red Sox guru, Ben Buchanan, teams generally give out longer, bigger contracts to the young folk -- not 36 year olds. Plus, you got a raise. Calm down.

There's a lot -- a lot -- that could be said about Ortiz' griping, but one thing is particularly clear to me -- it's no longer about the Red Sox, or about winning, for Ortiz. It's all about him. Me, me, me.

That shouldn't come as a shock in sports. This sort of thing is pretty common. But it wasn't always that way for Ortiz. Remember the good 'ol days? When the Sox were ending the curse in 2004 and winning again in 2007, it didn't seem like that Ortiz was all about himself. True, every player is selfish to some degree when it comes to contracts, but this has become the new norm for Ortiz.

Now, that doesn't mean that Ortiz can't still be useful. He'll still be productive, and you take what you can get. Ortiz may not like being strung along on one-year deals, but if this production is the outcome, that's not a bad thing for the team. Still, it's sad to see this day come. Ortiz will always be remembered for what he did in the mid 2000's, but his outbursts have cost him a chance to be a true Sox immortal. It is sad, but that's that way he apparently wants it. Have it your way, David.

For additional Boston Red Sox coverage, visit our team page and team blog, Over The Monster.