David Ortiz says he hasn't spoken with Alex Rodriguez in 11 months
Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz told the New York Post he hasn't spoken with New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez since January.
Rodriguez's lawyer, Joe Tacopina, went on ESPN radio at that time and talked about past use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball, saying, "I’m not going to start naming all the other players, but some of them are God-like in Boston right now, and people seem to forget that."
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Tacopina later said he was not referring to Ortiz, but the DH said he was deeply upset and "angry" nonetheless, and the once-close friends have not spoken in the 11 months since.
Rodriguez missed the entire 2014 season after being suspended in connection to the Biogenesis scandal and is set to return to the Yankees in 2015.
"We’ll see what happens, I wish him the best," Ortiz said, of Rodriguez's MLB return. "We’ll see how strong he can come back and do his thing."
Asked if he thinks Rodriguez, who turns 40 in July, can still come back at his age, Ortiz said, "We are about to find out."
"I’ve seen players taking a year off and it’s fine, you get away with it, but at our age, taking a year off is not the easiest thing for you to come back and be at the highest level when the last year he played [2013] wasn’t all there because of injury, so we’ll see what happens."
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In 44 games in 2013, Rodriguez hit .244 with 7 home runs, 19 RBI and a .348 on-base percentage.
Rodriguez and the Yankees will host Ortiz and the Red Sox in next season's opening week, with a series starting on April 10.
- Molly Geary
