Wow, to have it end like it did, that's  not the best feeling. You're mentally prepared to keep on playing, but things like this happen. It kind of shocks you for a minute.

We tried, man. The Angels are a great team. Those guys are playing really good. You have to give them credit.

To be one strike away in the ninth and not finish it, what can you say? That tells you how crazy this game is. You've got one of your best pitchers on the mound. You've got one strike to have another game. I don't remember anything like that happening to Pap before. This game is something where you just never know. Anything can happen any time and it was his day today.

Pap is our man. He made good pitches. Like I say, those guys had been playing great, coming through and that's the game.

Getting swept, that's another thing you don't think will happen, but that's how the game goes. We've finished people off in three games before, too. That tells you as quick as you can beat someone, the same thing can happen to you.

We were ready for another game. We almost got one. But things didn't happen and you saw the result.

How did it happen? We faced good pitching. Those guys pitched really good. They held us down. I told you, you've got to come with a mindset of playing good baseball and trying to win, and we did. We played a good game, but they bounced back. It never seemed like the end of the day would be like this.

This year is in the past. Next year is a new year and I'll be ready to play. This year is behind me, believe me. I don't deal with negative stuff too much. I've always been like that. Even after my first two months, I put it in the past. I'll forget about that and keep on going to the next season. It was a year where I learned a lot of things and I can put them in play the following year.

One more thing. Thanks to the fans for supporting the team and I all season.

We've been here before, backs against the wall, no margin for error, and come back on teams. There's no choice now but to do it again. We've got to play to win and continue the season.

Our offense got shut down these first two games, but they've been pitching well. Good pitching can stop good offense. That's what they've been doing to hold us down.

We've been playing better at home all year long. Hopefully going back home will give us a better chance, and we'll try to come back here for a Game 5.

We hit better at home, everyone knows that. So hopefully that will be the case when we get back there on Sunday. Time to go back to the house and get it done.

I remember in '03 we were faced with this situation after losing the first two in Oakland and we won that series. And everyone remembers '04 and '07 and the comebacks we made in the ALCS. Can that help us now?

We'll see. We never change our mentality. We always try to keep on winning games and we'll try to bounce back. We're the specialists in that one.

This is what the situation is now and there's nothing we can do about it. You have to play against whoever and beat whoever, and Sunday, all we'll think about is playing well in that game. The last two guys, John Lackey and Jered Weaver, they've done a good job. We'll try to see some pitches to hit and drive them.

The home crowd always pumps us up. So the fans just need to support us like always and I'm sure they will. Hopefully Fenway is as loud as it was for us as it was for the Angels in Anaheim. That would really help.

We came out here in the past and were able to take Game 1 from these guys, but that's not how it's going to be this time. They had a great pitching performance this time. John Lackey was on. He made good pitches. What can you do?

You play to win, especially in a short series, so we're not going to change our mindset just because of one loss. Just because you lose a game, you can't change anything. You want to come the next day with the same mentality, ready to go, and let it happen.

When you have pitching like Jon Lester and Lackey going against each other, you know that it's usually just going to be one mistake that's going to be the difference and change the whole game. Too bad that the mistake from Lester was against one of their best hitters. I know Torii Hunter, I know him well. We're close friends, and we played together in Minnesota and I know how he is. He was fired up and when he's fired up, look out.

We had a little bit of a layoff coming into Game 1. There were no games in three days. I'm not going to make excuses, but I hate layoffs.  That's how it goes sometimes this time of year. You've got to get used to it.

I didn't have a good night at the plate, but Lackey was making nasty pitches. They don't want to make a mistake to me, you know that. They pitched me real carefully. That's how it is. When good pitchers pitch in that kind of game, they want to make sure they stay on top of their game.

We're excited to get out there again for Game 2. We have Josh Beckett. You can't ask for much more than that. Everyone knows what he's done in October. He's been pitching great and we need a quality start out there.

I've always said that it's not how you start a season, but how you finish it, and here we are in the playoffs again. It feels good, man. The playoffs to me are something where I try not to put too much pressure on myself. I just try to play the game.

Everyone is back at zero now. Every player and team that is in the playoffs, they start at zero again. I don't know if every player thinks of it that way, and that's why they might have a hard time in the playoffs. If you had a great regular season and if you carry that to the playoffs and think everything is going to be the same, sometimes it doesn't work. It's different in the playoffs. Everybody is different, and you just have to be prepared for that.

I can't wait to get out there for Game 1 here at Anaheim on Thursday night. You know how I am, I like to get things over with. The playoffs, it's something where not too many people are out there playing. There's only eight teams here. You get here, you know you're only a couple of steps away from the World Series. I know how sweet it is to be in the World Series. Not just being in it, but winning it all. It's a great thing. That's my goal.

The last couple of days, we've had our workouts here on the field, and you can't help but watch the games being televised on the scoreboard. That Tigers-Twins one-game playoff yesterday was amazing. Today, we were watching the Yankees and Minnesota. Of course that gets you more excited to get out there. It gets your mindset there to where you want to get out there and start competing.

This started out as a tough season for me, but I finished strong. Everything that happened in the past, that's already taken care of. A guy like me, when I struggle, it's harder than for another guy because I have too many people that care about me and expect me to do well. They care about me, but they started driving me crazy. One day, I just said, forget about it. I turned off my phone and was just going to go and play the game like you did in Little League and not worry about stuff. Just go out there and hack.

None of it matters now. I had a good last four months of the season and here we are, playing the Angels again. It seems like we play them every year. We've beaten them three times in the playoffs before, but this is a whole different team than what we've faced in the past. They've got power, speed, good pitching. Great defense. They do everything. We've got to play well to beat them.

You get out there in the playoffs and the one thing that's different from what we're used to all year is that there's no tomorrow. Like I always say, it's ride or die time. You've got to go and play your best because if they catch you sleeping, you know where you're going to be -- you're going to be watching at home. We don't want to be there, trust me.

We throw Jon Lester for Game 1 and we feel great about that. He got it done for us all year long. He's one of our aces. It's time to get this going and see how we do. We feel good as a team and we're ready to get October started again. 

We got our chance to celebrate a good season as a team a few days ago. It was great. We played a good game here, almost had a great comeback and lost, but then had to wait and see what Texas did out in Anaheim. Once they lost, the party was on.

I think we go through a lot of things during the year, but this is the time of year you love. You want to play in October. I was talking to Melvin Mora when we were playing Baltimore, and he told me, "You guys look like you're ready go to go the playoffs." He told me he would like to have that feeling.

It's just a different feeling you have this time of year. You can feel the cool breeze, and you know October is on the way. A lot of people at this time of year, they're worn out, they're ready for vacation. I've been in the postseason tons of times, and it's fun. This time, I'm thinking about postseason. I'm planning my vacation for the end of November or December. Deep down inside, I don't want my vacation to start before that.

I remember in 2006, we didn't make it to the playoffs, and I felt like I had too much time off. It was like, "Jeez, what should I do now? I'm supposed to be playing now." Then, I watched the games on TV, and it wasn't a good feeling. Not everybody gets prepared to be playing in October, but this ballclub gets prepared to be playing in October.

We've made some moves the last couple of months that are going to help us get where we want to go. Alex Gonzalez played here before; he knows what our goals are. Victor Martinez, this is his first time playing here, but he faced us in 2007 in the playoffs. He knows what this team is capable of doing. Their mentality is just easy for them to make the adjustment here. They have an idea of what's up.

Those guys, they bring a lot of energy and that hunger. They're ready to play. Victor said to me, "I was so close to getting a ring, and you guys just kicked my butt. But now, when you can't beat the enemy, you join them, so that's why I'm here."

Victor keeps me going during the game. Oh, yeah. He'll be screaming at me, he will punch me. He'll do whatever it takes.

By the way, everyone should check out my new restaurant in Framingham, Mass., Big Papi's Grille. I go there when I can, and it seems like people have fun, people like the food. Man, I'm telling you, it's really good. We have everything over there: seafood, steaks, all kinds of salads and appetizers. We're adding things every couple of weeks, and people love it. Stop by!

Last time I was there, I hung out with some friends for three or four hours, and it was a good time. You might bump into me and my friends any time.

Hi to everybody out there. 

Welcome to my new blog, and my new Web site, DavidOrtiz.com. 

Why start a Web site now? The main reason is because I've got a whole bunch of stuff going on off the field, and I think this would be a great way for the fans to connect with me directly rather than just going somewhere else that's not focused on what I want to do.

I think that by having my own Web site, people can see whatever I've got going on and hopefully decide whether to get involved, whether it be a link to my charity, the David Ortiz Children's Fund, a new commercial or endorsement deal, or updates on my charity golf classic.

Fans can also hear what's on my mind when it comes to myself, the team and what might be going on around the league.

Things have been clicking for me at the plate lately, and I feel good. As for earlier in the year, when I was having a tough time, as I always say, sometimes there are things that people don't get to see that bother you and gets you out of the way you're used to. Sometimes, it can be personal stuff or other things. I'm a guy who doesn't like to relate my personal life to how I'm going in the game, but we are human. Sometimes, it doesn't matter how much you try. You can't avoid that.

The good thing now is I feel good -- I'm back. I'm the kind of guy who a lot of people count on, and I've got to try to keep it that way.

The first two months, I had a lot of ups and downs, and then there was just one day when I started to feel good, and I hit it good, and I had bad results. Now, I'm putting good swings on the ball, and I'm getting my hits. Even on those bad days now, I'll take a bad swing, but I'll still produce. Things even up.

We have the All-Star break coming up next week, and this is the first time in awhile I've actually had it off. Don't get me wrong, it was great making the All-Star team the last five years. I had a great time. But maybe it will help to shut it down and think about what went wrong for me to not be there.

This year, the game is in a National League park, and the Red Sox spoke to me early in the season about the ballot. I told them I agreed that Youk should be the first baseman on the ballot. He's the guy that's been playing first for us for the past few years, and he's doing a great job. I've been honored by the fans voting me on in the past, but I think it would have just been wrong to not have him on the ballot as the first baseman. That wouldn't have been fair. Youk has been great for us this season, and I'm happy he will be representing us at the game this year.  Also congrats to my other teammates who made the team: Bay, Dustin, Papelbon, Josh and Wake.

As a designated hitter, I would have been chosen as a reserve if I had a good season, as has happened in the past. I know the first couple of months of the season were tough for me, so I wasn't even expecting to be at the All-Star Game this year. I'm just going to chill out with the family and do things I haven't had a chance to do the last five years. I knew my family was getting used to being at the All-Star Game, and that was a fun time. It's an experience. But now, I'll just hang out, refresh and get ready for a great second half.

We have a lot to feel good about at the All-Star break. This is a good team. We've been winning games and building something good around here. We saw it before in 2004 and 2007 where you just chip away and next thing you know, you're fighting for a championship.

This team the past five years has been all about chemistry, and we still have it. We're still rolling the same way like always.

I'm in the middle of another exciting season with a Red Sox team that is headed right for the playoffs again, and while I continue to find my swing at the plate, I'm also happy to announce the launch of my new blog here at davidortiz.mlblogs.com.