As the Boston Red Sox continue to struggle early in the season, one has to wonder, when does the front office begin to panic? The most publicized issue that the team faces is what to do with designated hitter David Ortiz, who has been awful in the first month of the season. David Ortiz is hitting just .158 with no homeruns and 2 RBI while striking out in 40% of his at bats. If Ortiz continues to struggle, the Red Sox will be forced to sit him down and go out and somehow acquire a bat. There were rumors all winter that the club was trying to trade for Padres 1B Adrian Gonzalez who would provide a much needed boost to the middle of the Red Sox lineup.

While Ortiz’s struggles were somewhat expected, the Red Sox did not anticipate that their starting rotation would have issues as well. Josh Beckett has recovered from a tough first outing against the Yankees, but Jon Lester and prized free agent acquisition John Lackey have struggled. Entering the season, many experts pegged the Red Sox starting rotation to be the deepest and best in baseball, but they have not come through for the team in the early goings. In order for the Red Sox to stay in contention in the toughest division in baseball, their starting pitching must carry the team until the front office goes out and upgrades the lineup.

by Josh Weiner at the Sports Fan Blog Network

David Ortiz, for the first time since 2003, will stay home for the All-Star break. But the most important thing for Big Papi is that he’s swinging like an All-Star again, and that can only mean good things for the Red Sox.

When the Sox needed a big hit on Wednesday night, Ortiz was the one who provided it, unloading for a prodigious three-run blast to right that fueled his team to a 5-4 victory over the A’s in the rubber match of a three-game series. The clout by Ortiz came in the bottom of the sixth and snapped a 1-1 tie.

Click here to read the full article – By Ian Browne of MLB.com

Boston Red Sox Sports Memorabilia
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Below are links to memorabilia available for David Ortiz.