Ortiz Feigns Ignorance At Farcical Press Conference

David Ortiz's press conference was a joke. He promised information, but shared none, choosing to hide behind evasive answers and pure ignorance. Better to be thought of as an idiot than a PED-user, though he will clearly now be labeled as both. (video)

Ortiz said he never used steroids, but was careless about buying legal supplements and vitamins in the DR and the US. He said the union did not tell him about his positive test. When MLB's drug policies were revised in 2004, he stopped taking the supplements. He has been tested at least 15 times since then -- all clean.

Someone finally asked him which supplements he was taking back in 2003. He said he had no idea, he was clueless, he did not pay attention. (How would he then know which ones worked for him and which ones did not?)

But since those products -- whatever they might have been, who the hell knows what I was taking when my baseball career was in danger of ending -- were banned, he has been eating better and working harder. (So all you kids stay in school and drink your milk.)

I was waiting for him to say something like

In 2003, I was taking x, y and z -- and something from one or more of those -- maybe f, g or h -- resulted in a positive test.

Nope. Nothing. Has no idea of even one thing he took. If it was legal in 2003 and then banned in 2004 and he stopped using it, fine, why not say that? He claimed he has no idea if he ever took andro.

If he has no idea what he took, how can he say he knows he never took steroids? And how did he know which supplements to stop taking when they were banned?

That was a sad, pathetic spectacle. What Ortiz did not say made more of a statement than his actual words.

The Red Sox's statement:

The Players Association made clear in its public statement today that there are substantial uncertainties and ambiguity surrounding the list of 104 names from the 2003 survey test. Indeed, there is even uncertainty about the number of players on this 2003 government list, whether it is 104, 96, 83, or less. Many of those uncertainties apparently relate to the use of then-legal nutritional supplements that were not banned by Baseball.

David vigorously denied ever buying or using steroids. As important, Major League Baseball has informed us that David has been tested every year since the implementation of the MLB/MLBPA program in 2004 and, under the program, he has been tested 15 or more different times. We have been informed that, during this entire 6-year period (2004-2009), David has never tested positive for a steroid. Also during this period, David voluntarily submitted himself to the Olympic standard of drug tests administered in connection with the World Baseball Classics in 2006 and in 2009. We are informed he did not test positive for steroids under those tests either, and he participated actively in both international tournaments.

Last week, David said he would keep people informed after he personally looked into reports of his inclusion on the 2003 survey test. He has done so. David Ortiz is a team leader, and his contributions on the field and in the community have earned him respect and a special place in the hearts of Red Sox Nation.

We appreciate the attention given to this specific matter by the Players Association and the Office of the Commissioner. The Boston Red Sox continue to support all efforts to rid the game of steroids. We again salute Commissioner Selig for his staunch and continuing leadership in eradicating the use of steroids in Major League Baseball.