By SCOTT CLAIR
FORT MYERS — With salsa music blaring from the corner of the Boston Red Sox locker room, there was no doubt Big Papi was back at City of Palms Park.Before Ortiz hit a two-run homer in the second inning to help the Boston Red Sox to an early lead against the New York Yankees on Friday, visitors to Boston’s clubhouse were greeted by his lively choice of music way before they set foot inside.
The designated hitter returned to the Red Sox camp Thursday night after Ortiz’s Dominican Republic team was eliminated by the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic earlier in the week.
Teammates were glad to see Ortiz back at spring training, his vibrant good nature reinvigorating what had been a moribund camp. Reporters’ questions to the five-time All-Star were drowned out by the music. Still, with smiles, googley eyes and a few quips, Ortiz did his best to answer as he dressed.
Soon after, Ortiz headed to the trainer’s room, passing a row of lockers belonging to lesser-known players. Ortiz saw minor league outfielder Chris Carter, who is trying to head north with the big club. They half hugged, half shook hands and smiled as Ortiz said, “CC, que pasa?”
Though Ortiz posted his lowest numbers in his six seasons with the Red Sox in 2008, his place in Boston’s lineup is secure. Carter’s is anything but. The 26-year-old is competing with three other players for the last spot on Boston’s 25-man roster.
While Boston’s more established players have been using spring training to work out a winter’s worth of kinks, Jeff Bailey, Paul McAnulty and Brad Wilkerson, along with Carter, are playing each Grapefruit League game for their very baseball lives.
Barring injury, only one will be at Fenway Park on April 6 for Boston’s opening day game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
“I’m looking for a guy that can play first and the corner outfield spots,” Boston manager Terry Francona said. “We respect how important this camp is to them. Some nights we go home to sleep, they may not. Their future is on the line.
“The first day we told them, ‘Go play. We’ll make the decisions. We’ll talk to you about how we feel, just let your play do the talking for you.’ ”
Ironically, though the four players dress within a span of six lockers, all said they never discuss the situation with each other.
“It is kind of stressful,” said Wilkerson, 31, a former Florida Gator. “We don’t talk about it. Honestly, we try to root each other on and try to play as a team game. The chips will fall where they fall.
“Hopefully, it works out for everybody. It’s not going to, but you’re not rooting for anybody to do bad. I’m rooting for myself to do really well.”
Of the group, Wilkerson, a major leaguer since 2001, has the most experience. A career .247 hitter, the left-handed hitting Wilkerson played with Seattle and Toronto last season. McAnulty started last season with San Diego before being optioned to Triple-A Portland in July, where he hit .343.
The 30-year-old Bailey has played in 1,141 professional games, but just 30 in the majors. Last season, playing for Boston’s Triple-A affiliate in Pawtucket, R.I., Bailey was the International League MVP. His bat isn’t the concern; it’s his glove work.
“We all have things we need to work on,” said Bailey, who is hitting .500 this spring. “In my situation, I’m not trying to do too much. They’re looking for me to be better in the outfield, that I’m not a liability out there.
“I know that at some point in the season, probably more than once, there’s going to be a need for a right-handed batter, and I’m pretty much that guy, as far as power and RBI. I know that if I don’t make the team, I’ll be up and down all year.”
Carter got a taste of big-league pitching after being called up to Boston in September. A teammate of Bailey’s in Pawtucket, Carter hit .300 with 24 home runs and 81 RBIs in 2008. This is Carter’s first spring in which he has a chance to make the big-league club. He said his attitude, regardless of Francona’s decision, will remain upbeat.
“May the best guy win,” he said. “When Wilkie’s up, or Bailey’s up, or Mac is up, I want them to do well. It makes me a better player, too, to have that kind of mentality.
“I believe in my talent. There’s nothing I want more than to be a Boston Red Sox. I’m having fun with the game rather than feel all the pressure. I say, hit the ball to me. I want to make a play. If nobody’s watching, if everybody’s watching, it’s the exact same.”
With three weeks left in spring training, Francona said it was too early for him to make a decision about who makes the roster.
“Some of those things aren’t supposed to be answered for a while,” he said. “We’ve got to see the health of the team. It could change.”
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