BOSTON -- The Red Sox will play their final home game of the season Wednesday night, then go on the road for their final six games of the 2012 schedule.
David Ortiz will be there for all seven games, but won't play in any of them, thanks to an Achilles heel injury which has sidelined him for allbut one game over the final two and a half months.
And that, Ortiz said, is a frustrating way to end a frustrating season.
"Definitely,'' said Ortiz. "It's been a crazy year. Very frustrating. Trust me, it's one of those years where you take it like a man.''
This marks the third straight season in which the Sox have failed to make the playoffs, but that hasn't prevented Fenway from being sold out every night.
"We always want to thank the fans for their support,'' Ortiz said. "I sit down and look at the stadium during the game and see how supportive the fans still are. That's something I'm always going to respect.''
Ortiz himself is a free agent this winter and hopes something can be worked out with the Sox.
"I'm planning on finishing my career here,'' he said. "I would like to not be packing to go home at this time. Right now, I'm feeling pretty good about my injury. I feel like there's still something I have to prove. The thing I keep in mind is (we have) to play better and put ourselves in a better situation for the year to come and I would like to be part of it.''
Last off-season, when Ortiz accepted salary arbitration, he didn't have an agreement in place until just before the arbitration hearing in January. This time, he'd like a quick resolution.
"Of course,'' he said. "That's something at some point we're going to have to deal with. We really haven't (had any talks yet).''
Ortiz has faith in the front office and ownership that the Sox can turn things around in relatively quick fashion.
"I think every human being learns from their mistakes,'' he said. "A lot of things that happened this year carried over from last year, that I think a lot of people are going to make better decisions about what they do to have us have be a better ballclub next year. I'm pretty sure our owners and pretty much everybody is going to have a better (idea) about how we can correct this year.''
The veteran DH is energized by some of the team's younger players, citing Junichi Tazawa ("unbelievable... very impressive''); Will Middlebrooks ("legit... showed everybody what he's got'') and Pedro Ciriaco ("amazing... a lot of talent'') as building blocks around which the Sox can build.