"Last night marked the end of a long, strange trip for David Ortiz.

It began with an awkward check swing in Baltimore, the same night Manny Ramirez hit his 500th career home run. The journey moved forward, with days turning into weeks, an arm-length cast turning into a simple brace and the comfort of major league clubhouses morphing into the cozy confines befitting Double-A dressers.

Fifty-five days after the pain emanating from a torn sheath covering a tendon in his left wrist began, Ortiz drove away from Hadlock Field in his Cadillac Escalade and headed for Boston and his familiar No. 3 spot in the Red Sox lineup.

“It feels good,” said Ortiz of his wrist after distributing a takeout meal throughout the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs clubhouse. “I’m not afraid to go against nobody now but before I started playing I definitely was. I didn’t know what my reaction was going to be, but once I started swinging everything has been good.

“I’m not going to tell you I’m 100 percent because I know I won’t be 100 percent when I’m playing this year. There are some little things I’ll have to deal with, which is what the doctor told me, but otherwise I’m not afraid to let it go.”

The comfort Ortiz felt in making minor league rehab appearances as the designated hitter for Triple-A Pawtucket and Portland leaves him in a good frame of mind leading into a return from the disabled list tomorrow night against the New York Yankees.

Ortiz completed the tuneup last night by taking a walk and grounding into a double play in two plate appearances for the Sea Dogs. He notched five hits, including three home runs, on the way to a .294 batting average in six minor league games. The DH reported he felt “95 percent” and said any concerns have been tempered.

“I’ve got a little bit of soreness but it doesn’t bother me when I hit,” he said. “Every day it gets better. The good thing about it is when I’m playing it doesn’t bother me. I can take one swing and can feel sore, but then I take another swing and I don’t feel anything.”

In Ortiz’ view, the stint in the minor leagues has accomplished its purpose, and then some. Not only has the slugger prepared himself to face off with New York starter Joba Chamberlain tomorrow night at Fenway, but he has also been presented with a refreshed perspective on the game he is returning to play.

“My timing feels good. It feels like I’ve been playing all along,” said Ortiz, who is 0-for-3 against the hard-throwing Chamberlain. “It feels like I was facing the Yankees yesterday. (The minor leagues) is a totally different game than it was when I played down here but in a good way. Now I know why I see a lot of kids coming in faster to the big leagues. You don’t have that kind of stuff that makes your life impossible. You don’t have coaches baby-sitting. You have coaches having fun. (Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson), I was laughing the whole time I was there. Then the manager here (the Sea Dogs’ Arnie Beyeler) makes them feel like they’re home. It wasn’t like that when I was playing in the minor leagues.”

Through it all, Ortiz has found himself with a dramatically different body than he left Camden Yards on the first day of June. Not only is the wrist in playable condition but his surgically-repaired right knee, the crux of his concerns while hitting .252 with 13 homers in 54 big league games, has also taken a turn for the better."