Conditions a factor in giving Ortiz day off

BOSTON -- After starting three straight days in his return from the disabled list, David Ortiz was not in Boston's starting lineup for Tuesday night's game against the Oakland Athletics.

Don't panic, Red Sox fans. It was just a maintenance day off, particularly when you consider the weather conditions, which were bitter, raw and wet.

"Too cold for an old man," quipped Ortiz.

The left-handed-hitting slugger knows that he'll have to take periodic days off in his return from right Achilles woes.

"That's the way it's going to be for the next little while, just to rest it," Ortiz said. "They don't want me to be going too crazy until I get used to it. It's getting better."

Ortiz can only hope the weather improves as much as his heel.

"Last night was too cold," said Ortiz. "It was 38 [degrees] but at one point when I was hitting, the ball was thrown and I blinked because the wind was hitting my face so hard."

Meanwhile, manager John Farrell will just try to use logic to dictate when Ortiz is out of the lineup.

"No, [he's] not hurting," Farrell said. "Scheduled down day and combine that with the weather conditions, this was kind of a logical day in, I don't want to say his rotation, but the availability to give him a blow."