David Ortiz Shatters Glass House Throwing Stones At Mike Fiers
In speaking with the media, David Ortiz called Mike Fiers a snitch for revealing the Astros sign stealing, and he defended Jose Altuve and Rob Manfred. This should surprise no one.
David Ortiz calls Mike Fiers a "snitch," sounds off on Astros sign-stealing scandal, feels for Jose Altuve. https://t.co/CRukEj5saV pic.twitter.com/6kdeo3BWi1
— NESN (@NESN) February 20, 2020
With Pedro Martinez, that’s now two members of the 2004 Boston Red Sox attacking Fiers for coming public. Maybe that team is over sensitive to benefitting from cheating as Manny Ramirez, the 2004 World Series MVP, has been suspended multiple times for PEDs.
In addition to testing positive twice, Ramirez was one of the players who had tested positive during the 2003 survey testing. There were 104 players who tested positive including Ramirez and Ortiz. To hear, Ortiz tell it, this was a conspiracy.
No, that’s not a joke. He actually told WEEI, “The only thing that I can think of, to be honest with you, a lot of big guys from the Yankees were being caught. And no one from Boston. This was just something that leaked out of New York, and they had zero explanation about it.”
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, he claimed it couldn’t possibly be true because he dislikes chemicals, and he never tested positive.
Of course, in the same breath he admitted to taking supplements from GNC. The never failed a test is a red herring too. After all, Alex Rodriguez never tested positive (like Ortiz did), and he was using PEDs.
Also like A-Rod, Ortiz worked out with MLB banned trainer Angel Presinal. Presinal was banned from the Majors due to multiple incidents where he carried and administered PEDs to players, and he also instructed them on how to avoid testing positive.
So, Ortiz wants us to believe his being named was a conspiracy, and that even with his working out with a banned trainer who provided PEDs and advised on how to beat tests, he never used them.
It’s probably also a coincidence Ortiz is criticizing Fiers and defending Manfred when he know the Red Sox were caught illegally using an Apple Watch in the dugout in 2017.
Of course, we don’t know if 2017 was the first time the Red Sox used it. However, we do know the Red Sox were caught up in their own scandal. That led to Alex Cora‘s firing. At the moment, there’s an MLB investigation and report pending.
While we don’t know how long the Red Sox were doing it, we do know they’ve been twice implicated in sign stealing. We also know they’ve had their fair share of PED players, and based on the 2003 testing, that includes Ortiz.
In essence, even if Ortiz wants us to believe different, in one way or another, the Red Sox cheated, and he benefitted from it. You’ll also note that while he says the someone from the Astros team should’ve said something in real time, Ortiz was very quiet about what the Red Sox did while he was winning three World Series rings.
Somehow, Ortiz wants to hold the Fiers Astros to a different standard he held himself and his teammates. He also wants players to keep quiet about cheating and benefitting therefrom.
How convenient for him.