David Ortiz returns to the Red Sox dugout after striking out on Sunday at Fenway Park.

AP photo / Winslow Townson

BOSTON –– The erase board on the back of the Red Sox clubhouse door on Friday read: "Early BP tomorrow at 3 p.m."

Saturday afternoon, David Ortiz emerged from the dugout with Red Sox shorts, knee-high red socks and a T-shirt. In his hand he held the tool of his trade –– a black and tan wood bat. That piece of lumber has been giving him, and Red Sox Nation, stressful days and nights, because there hasn’t been any production there.

Ortiz stepped into the cage and began his early hitting session slow. Then after a couple more swings, he began launching balls out of the park. The pop of the bat and the whistling sound of the ball at field level was scary.

In the stands, a few hundred fans were taking a tour of Fenway Park. They sat in the grandstand seats on the third-base side. As soon as the ball exploded off of Ortiz’s bat, the fans began to chant his name.

"Papi. ... Papi. ... Papi."

It was clear he was getting a charge from the support.

"People are just trying to get me going, that’s the way I see it," he said. "I’ve never gotten so many [curtain calls] with less homers –– ever."

He’s also hoping his afternoon performances translate at 7 o’clock each night, and that there are plenty of hits still in his bat.

But are there?

Ortiz’s performance, or lack thereof, at the plate this season has been cause for concern. Is he healthy? He missed a total of 45 games in 2008 with a partially torn tendon sheath in his left wrist, and he thought it best to forgo surgery and rehab it instead.

Some have questioned his age. Ortiz is listed as being born on Nov. 18, 1975, in the Dominican Republic, making him 33 years old. And fair or not, in this age of baseball there’s speculation of steroid use, especially given his friendship with three of the game’s top players –– Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez and Miguel Tejada –– who have admitted to, tested positive for or lied about performance-enhancing drugs.

Ortiz is owed $25 million for this season and next, with a club option for 2011.

In 51 games this season, the once-feared slugger is hitting a lowly .197 with two home runs and 22 RBI.

On a nightly basis it’s obvious the fans are behind him. His teammates are supporting him. Heck, even many opponents are hoping he can turn this around for good, because Ortiz is one of the most respected players in the game for his past performances and his larger-than-life personality.

"We’re pulling for him," said Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. "Everyone feels sorry for him, even guys not on our team. You never want to see someone struggle like this. When it’s going bad, it’s going bad. It’s like the other day in Detroit, when he hit a ball to left-center field, where it feels like the wall is 600 feet away with the wind blowing in, and it’s caught. Obviously you can see the frustration, but the only thing you can say is, ‘Hey, good swing,’ and ‘Keep it going.’ You can’t give in to all the negative stuff that surrounds you when you’re not doing good. You have to try to block it out, but it’s tough. Everyone has been through it, but you have to find a way to block it out."

Ortiz is trying. His BP work is a testament to that. He’s been showing signs of coming out of his slump of late, as he’s produced a six-game hitting streak with a .280 average (7 for 25), 2 doubles, a home run, 4 RBI and 3 runs scored.

"I’m feeing good," he said. "I just need to keep on swinging. I need to swing, swing, swing and let things happen. ... Putting a good swing on the ball is how you start hitting again. Even when you don’t have good luck, it will come."

Ortiz isn’t alone with his struggles this season.

Good friend and teammate Julio Lugo is also dealing with a lot this season, but he believes Big Papi will become Big Papi once again.

"A player like he is, you just have to live him alone," said Lugo. "He’s probably one of the toughest guys here. When we go out and eat, I try not to talk about baseball, because so many different people are telling you so many different things that your head is filled with different things, so you don’t even want to think or hear anything about baseball. You don’t even watch ESPN. He’s going to find it. He’s a confident guy. He’s just in a mental slump right now. He knows how to hit and he’s going to find it.

A perennial keystone in the number-three spot in the Sox’ batting order, Red Sox manager Terry Francona finally decided on the club’s last road trip that it would be best to move Ortiz down to number six. He accepted the fact it needed to be done in order for him to find his swing and rhythm

"I don’t know if, when I did it, if I thought he was going to hit .500," said Francona. "I did it for a couple of reasons. One, to take the glare off of him, because if you take an 0-fer and you’re not hitting third, it’s a little different. At the same time I thought about moving Jacoby [Ellsbury, out of the leadoff spot], but he was in the middle of a 20-game hitting streak. So I thought in tandem it would work better."

The early BP session on Saturday must have helped, because Ortiz went 2 for 3 with a home run and a walk against the Rangers that night. He followed it up with a 1-for-3 performance on Sunday.

If there’s a time the Red Sox really need Ortiz to heat up, it’s now. The Yankees are coming to town, beginning Tuesday night, for a three-game set. The clubs will be fighting for first place in the A.L. East.

"The biggest thing is, we’re [near the top of the division] and he hasn’t done anything," Pedroia said. "And when he does, we’re going to be that much better. Everyone believes he’s going to pull through this and grind it out. He’s been too good for too long, and he’s done too much for this team and this city to have everybody hop on him. He’s trying. No one tries harder than David."

jmcdonal@projo.com

A rank season

Among the 94 players in the American League who can be considered “regulars” — players who have averaged at least 3.1 plate appearances per game — prior to Monday night, here's where David Ortiz ranks in the following categories:

Batting average (.197): 94th

On-base percentage (.288): 86th

Slugging percentage (.308): 92nd

On-base plus slugging percentage (.596): 92nd

OPS-plus* (53): 93rd

* - OPS measured against the league average, and adjusted for ballpark factors. An OPS-plus over 100 is better than average, less than 100 is below average

Source: Baseball-reference.com