Red Sox dump 'offensive,' 'racially insensitive' David Ortiz bobblehead giveaway just hours before game

The Red Sox canceled a David Ortiz bobblehead giveaway at Fenway Park five hours before their game against the Yankees on Tuesday night because the figurines were considered "offensive" and "racially offensive" by the team’s president.

Batting next in the #SoxPromos lineup: The Papi Bobblehead! 💪
Be there this Tuesday: https://t.co/uQuufOJ7ez pic.twitter.com/ayeZvGw9Ym

— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) August 7, 2016

The bobblehead was a likeness of Ortiz holding a microphone, a tribute to the emotional speech he made at Fenway five days after the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013 where he famously proclaimed, "This is our f-ucking city."

"It was an inaccurate portrayal of David,”  Sam Kennedy said after approving of the giveaways months earlier. “It doesn’t really look like David. Number two, I personally thought it seemed to be an offensive portrayal of him and racially insensitive.

"If I was feeling this way, certainly other people would," Kennedy added. "So we pulled the plug."

Kennedy said the 15,000 bobbleheads would be returned to the manufacturer, BDA Inc., of Woodville, Wash., and a new model shipped out. Now all ticketed fans for Tuesday’s game will receive the new bobbleheads in the mail, not just the first 15,000.

“Everybody will receive one,” Kennedy said.

Ok I can see why they cancelled Ortiz bobblehead night pic.twitter.com/3E9AtWgxOy

— Connor #2019Champs (@connortheOGfam) August 9, 2016

Before the game, Ortiz said he was unaware of the situation.

“That’s supposed to be me?” he said after looking at a photo of the bobblehead with the odd white lips.

Ortiz went on to say he agreed with the team’s decision.

David Ortiz goes berserk after strike three call against Yankees (VIDEO)

If there is any spark left in the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, it basically all comes down to one player still linking the bitter hatred between the two teams to the past.

And on Friday night, David Ortiz brought that blaze back to the Bronx.

Ortiz began chirping after Andrew Miller got a called strike two from home-plate umpire Ron Kulpa on a 3-1 count with one out and the bases loaded in the ninth inning — a slider that prompted Sox manager John Farrell to run out, hold Ortiz off and get ejected.

Then Ortiz took another slider for a called strike three before walking toward the dugout, then returning, and unleashing his full fury at the ump.

DAVID ORTIZ IS PISSED https://t.co/OStZOsWqeF

— Tyler Sullivan (@TylerSully) May 7, 2016

Big Papi needed to be restrained before Miller struck out Hanley Ramirez swinging for the final out of a 3-2 win Friday night at Yankee Stadium.

“One I can understand, one time. But not two,” Ortiz said after his explosion. “Both of them pitches were bad, though. (Kulpa’s) looking at me like I screwed up. I didn’t screw up. Know what I’m saying?

“Everything was a ball,” added Ortiz, who said Miller doesn’t need any help. “Even the one I swung at was a ball.”

It wasn't exactly the Core Four years, but something tells me Miller would have fit in pretty good back on those old Yankees teams — at least as Mariano Rivera's set-up guy.

CC Sabathia explains four-letter message to David Ortiz after strikeout (VIDEO)

There was a tense moment between the Red Sox and Yankees Thursday night after CC Sabathia loaded the bases and had to face his old nemesis Boston slugger David Ortiz during the fifth-inning of a 1-1 game.

Not 2004 Red Sox-Yankees tension mind you, but intriguing still the same.

And after his inning-ending strikeout of Ortiz, just about everybody could read Sabathia's lips after he flexed, did a little jig and yelled at Ortiz: "Get the f**k out of here!" 

It would be quite a boost for the Yankees if they could get this CC Sabathia back. pic.twitter.com/Uu4p2JDFUh

— Yankeesource (@YankeeSource) August 7, 2015

After the Yankees' 2-1 victory, Sabathia, for his part, said it wasn't personal. The 35-year-old righty, who has been tentative on the mound, said he was more pumped up Thursday than he'd been in a while.

"Obviously I was a little fired up and I think that little passion can be an issue," he said. "It's a fine line with me, so I'm going to have to be careful. But it worked for me tonight."

At least Big Papi took the celebration in stride:

Ortiz didn't mind Sabathia screaming: "When I go deep, I put on my show, too."

— Brian MacPherson (@brianmacp) August 7, 2015

These days you take whatever fireworks in the old rivalry you can get.

David Ortiz calls Jacoby Ellsbury a 'rich bitch' on national TV (VIDEO)

Besides scouting reports on the opposing team's starting pitchers, David Ortiz might want to meet with the television techies to discuss microphone hot spots the next time he prepares for a game.

Live ESPN mics embedded in Yankee Stadium's second base caught Big Papi calling Yankees center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury a "rich bitch" for his ex-teammate's impressive $153-million contract during Sunday night's game.

Ortiz was obviously joking around with Ellsbury, who was his teammate with the Red Sox for eight years. 

Hall and Oates would be proud.

David Ortiz and Albert Pujols have adorable battle at first base (VIDEO)

When you think of David Ortiz and Albert Pujols, the first things that comes to mind are probably home runs and championships.

The last thing you would think of is the two future Hall of Famers fighting each other at first base.

And you would be right … sort of.

On Wednesday night, the two sluggers had a playful battle with each other while meeting up at the corner a couple of times.

After David Ortiz slid back into the first base bag, Pujols rapped him on the head with his glove. So Ortiz responded the only way possible: with a soothing back massage. 

The boys have another play date set up for Thursday afternoon, so expect more antics at Fenway.

Did Red Sox fan possibly rob David Ortiz of a home run? (VIDEO)

At Saturday's Red Sox-Rays game, a Boston-rooting fan at Tropicana Field potentially took away a home run off the bat of slugger David Ortiz.

Ortiz thought it was out of the old park, but the Sox fan's sno-cone catch seemed to give the ball a little assist over the wall.

So after the umpire review, Big Papi got a double via fan interference instead of a dinger.

Best part was the fan's reaction to the umpire's ruling and attempt to sway the call.

Ichiro robs Ortiz of extra-base hit with amazing catch at the wall (VIDEO)

Yankees right fielder Ichiro Suzuki made an amazing leaping catch at the wall Sunday night, robbing David Ortiz of extra bases.

Even Big Papi had to smile at the phenomenal eighth-inning crash-and-roll which robbed Ortiz of a sure double and helped preserve the Yankees' 3-2 win.

White House scolds David Ortiz for opportunistic selfie: Report

The White House is calling foul on Red Sox slugger David Ortiz taking a shameless selfie with President Obama — which is turning out to be a opportunistic promotional plug for corporate sponsor Samsung.

The situation created after “Big Papi” took the cell phone photo in the middle of a televised event with the president for a paycheck has become hairier than Madonna's armpits and almost as gross.

The Boston DH took the self-serving selfie just one day after he inked a sponsorship deal with
Samsung, according to The New York Post.

After Ortiz tweeted out the photo on his account, Samsung blasted it to its more than 5 million followers.

“As the rule the White House objects to attempts to use the president’s likeness
for commercial purposes,” said White House press secretary Jay Carney – who is
such a devoted Red Sox fan that he sported a team cap at the event this week.

“We object in this case,” Carney told reporters Thursday.

Carney dodged questions about whether the White House counsel’s office would put
forward an official objection to the team or the company.

According to The Post, after Ortiz handed Obama a Red Sox jersey emblazoned with the number 44, Obama smiled for the camera and asked an array of photographers to make sure they got a good picture.

“Do you mind if I take another one, with my own?” Ortiz asked the president. “He
wants to do a selfie. It’s the Big Papi selfie,” Obama agreed.

Immediately after he took the picture, someone — later believed to be Ortiz —
yelled out “cha-ching,” in the universal synonym for cash.

What an honor! Thanks for the #selfie, @BarackObama pic.twitter.com/y5Ww74sEID
— David Ortiz (@davidortiz) April 1, 2014

Even team manager John Farrell didn't have a clue about the commercial snapshot.

 “At the time I didn’t know it,” he told Boston radio station WEEI Wednesday. “I read about it this morning that this was maybe a little brought along by Samsung … That didn’t take away from a pretty special day.”

Ortiz told the Boston Globe he decided to take the picture on a whim at the last second and it had “nothing to do with deals.”

Samsung confirmed it had a “relationship with David and the Red Sox,” but dodged

direct questions from The Post about whether the company put him up to the
stunt. The company later told the Globe it didn’t know what images Ortiz would
capture.

Man bidding to have charity lunch with A-Rod ... to grill him on his PED accusations: Report

If one Brooklyn man has his way with A-Rod at a charity lunch, the T-bone won't be the only beef getting grilled.

Joe Schiff has saved up $3,500 with plans on bidding to have lunch with Alex Rodriguez as part of David Ortiz’s Celebrity Golf Classic in order to ask the Yankees third baseman about the slugger's PED allegations, according to NJ.com. 

Schiff explained the dastardly reason behind his bid.

“I thought it would be pretty cool to sit down with one of the most controversial people in the world,” Schiff said. “What I’m thinking about asking A-Rod is: Are you guilty?

“I want to make it as awkward as possible for him. … He’s ripping off the Yankees off for $28 million a year. I think it’s wrong.”

It's not exactly Cameron Diaz hand-feeding him popcorn.

Schiff has already bid against himself and said he is willing to go all the way up to $3,500, if necessary, though one could question the strategy behind divulging that information with bidding open until Dec. 14.

It's quite possible A-Rod could bid $3,501 just to get out of the lunch date.

Rodriguez’s arbitration hearing has been completed, and he is awaiting a decision on his 211-game suspension from MLB for alleged PED use.

Schiff, who works in software sales, also wants to ask Rodriguez about his dating life, remembering A-Rod's antics during the 2012 playoffs when he tried to retrieve a girl’s phone number from the Yankee Stadium seats.

“You’re a pretty smart guy, but I don’t know how you make all the wrong choices in life,” Schiff said of Rodriguez, who is dating Torrie Wilson. ”Why can’t you just settle down?”

Schiff did concede he would be willing to talk baseball at lunch, if he got shut down by a publicist.

Koji Uehara celebrates ALCS win by spanking David Ortiz (GIF)

You wouldn't exactly call the Red Sox 1-0 victory over the Tigers a spanking but, after the game, there was a little open hand-on-butt action to be seen.

After closer Koji Uehara shut down the Tigers in the bottom of the ninth to close out the game, nobody seemed happier for Uehara than David Ortiz who hoisted the Japanese star onto his shoulders and trucked him around the infield. Uehara thanked him in turn with an enthusiastic spanking.

Call it a low five.

The Fifty Shades of Grey treatment might be payback for the lap-dance Uehara gave Ortiz after the Sox won the ALDS last week (GIF below).

It's nice to see such bonding in the clubhouse.

David Ortiz gets celebratory lap-dance from Koji Uehara after beating Rays (GIF)

There was champagne popping, major league ballplayers cheering and what looked like like a lap-dance in the middle of it all down in Tampa last night.  A scene at the notorious Mons Venus strip club? Nope. It was actually the Boston Red Sox cutting loose after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in four games in the ALDS.

David Ortiz was so happy he even hoisted Koji Uehara and took him for a dry-hump around the locker room.

Bring on the girls ALCS.

David Ortiz on Cano contract: I would give him $500 million

Big Papi thinks Robinson Cano deserves a big payday.

"I would give him 500 million," David Ortiz said with a smile Thursday of the rumored $300 million-plus the Yankees second baseman is seeking. "He deserves it."

The Red Sox slugger, a friend of Cano's, was joking. Wasn't he?

The Boston designated hitter believes Cano, who will turn 31 Oct. 22, should cash in big on the free-agent market while the going is good

"Good players deserve to get paid," Ortiz said after his team's workout at Fenway Park. "He's one of the top three players in the game, so somebody's going to have to."

Asked if he can picture Cano in a different uniform, Ortiz said "it might happen," but he believes the Yankees will ante up for their only real All-Star.

"Every team needs a player like him," Ortiz said. "I definitely believe the Yankees are going to come through. You don't let players like that go. That's a keeper. But you never know. The game is crazy. There's a lot of teams out there with money chasing players like that."

Cano is believed to be looking for a contract of eight to 10 years. The Yankees, already burdened with long-term deals with old and injured stars like Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia, want to avoid that kind of commitment.

Ortiz said Cano is worth both the money and the years.

"At the end of the day, can you expect production from Cano for the next 10 years?" asked Ortiz. 

"Yes. Cano makes the game look too easy. I hit the ball so hard toward him this year, and it was like he was expecting it. He anticipates the way you are going to hit, he knows the hitter's swings. He is an extremely smart player. I have never seen a ground ball go by him."

Ortiz's teammate, Dustin Pedroia, signed an eight-year, $110-million extension in July, the kind of deal the Yankees would do with Cano in a second. Pedroia and Cano are widely considered to be the top second basemen in the American League, but Cano is looking for far more money.

"Those are two different players," said Ortiz, who declined to speculate how Pedroia's contract might impact Cano's. "I don't think you can compare them [to each other]. They're good at what they do individually."

Cano hit .314 with 27 homers and 107 RBIs with a .383 OBP and .899 OPS in 160 games. He hit .329 against righthanders and .291 against lefthanders.

"I wouldn't be surprised if next year if the whole Yankee lineup is healthy, he ends up being the batting title champ," Ortiz said. "It wouldn't surprise me because that's him, he can hit against anybody. Lefty, righty, he has no weakness."

I think I just heard Hal Steinbrenner say Shut up.

David Ortiz nitpicks Mike Napoli's beard after home run

Mike Napoli hit a game-tying two-run homer in the ninth inning of Wednesday's Red Sox game against the Blue Jays and — in what could possibly be the most disgusting dugout celebration ever — David Ortiz decided to check the first baseman's beard for something.

Whether or not Big Papi's nitpicking turned up any lice, treasure or remnants of Napoli's lunch isn't clear but at least we know the Sox players take their grooming seriously.

Big Papi cradles toddler during National Anthem

When he's not wreaking havoc on opposing pitchers or dugout telephones, David Ortiz can be quite the gentle giant he's always described as.

Case in point.  Last night, during a cute moment before Thursday's Boston Red Sox game in which Big Papi was signing an autograph for a fan, who then asked Ortiz to pose for a picture with his baby. That's when Ortiz took the child and cradled him like his own during the National Anthem.

Here's Nice Papi:




Now let's flashback to last week and Bad Papi:

All is forgiven — just pay the $5,000 fine for busting up the phone already.

David Ortiz selling bats branded with his infamous quote for charity

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Big Papi: Boston is 'becoming the ----hole it used to be'

An expletive-laced question-and-answer with reporters on Thursday led Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz to blame the media for causing clubhouse drama and say that Boston is "becoming the -----hole it used to be."

Ortiz, affectionately known as Big Papi told reporters surrounding his locker that there's "more drama, more s---" and implied he wasn't happy how the local media treats the team.

"I'm just tired of dealing with the drama here," Ortiz said.  "This is baseball, man.  It seems like everything that goes on around here is like one of those Congress decisions that will affect the whole nation.  It ain't like that, man.  This is baseball.  We're supposed to have fun, to have  our performance out there at the highest level.  Every day is something new, some drama, some more [expletive].  I'm tired of that, man."

The Red Sox (35-33) have been struggling this season and— after last year's epic collapse, locker room antics and the firing of manager Terry Francona— all eyes are focused on the team and new manager Bobby Valentine.  They are still in fourth place — only one game out of the American League East cellar.

Ortiz, on the other hand, is having a grand season batting .313 with a team-high 18 home runs and 49 RBIs.

The Red Sox DH took exception to an ESPN report earlier this week that said the Sox clubhouse had a "toxic" envioronment— a claim disputed by the players.

Valentine tried to lighten the tension by telling reporters, "You might have caught [Ortiz] on a bad day."

"He's really pretty good with drama, like ninth-inning drama," he joked.

Ortiz wasn't exactly smiling when he ended the locker room chat by saying," It's becoming the ----hole it used to be.  Look around bro.  Look around.  Playing here used to be so much fun.  Now, every day is something new, not related to baseball.  People need to leave us alone, [let us] play ball and do what we know how to do."

VIDEO OF FULL INTERVIEW

Here's A Few More R-Words For Yankees A.J. Burnett

A.J. Burnett continued losing another game, 11-6, to the Boston Red Sox as a New York Yankees starter, and was asked after the game why he seemed top have more success against the Sox when he was with the Toronto Blue Jays.  Burnett's partial answer to the pertinent question, "it's retarded."

For the record, as a Blue Jay,  Burnett was 5-0 with a 2.56 ERA against the Sox but in eight starts as a Yankee, he is 0-4 in eight starts and has given up 40 earned runs in 41 1/3 innings for an ERA of 8.71 against the same ballclub.

The losing pitcher later apologized for his politically incorrect reply and it got me thinking about some R-words which could be used to describe Burnett.  Let's start with repulsive to describe the relapsing starter's answer last night.

Let's continue with red, as in Red Sox and red-faced.  Burnett seems to revert back to his rattled self every time he faces the Boston line-up.  Last night was rocked by the Sox for seven earned runs on seven hits and four walks over 5 2/3 innings.   Repugnant comes to mind.