MLB

Ortiz: Not catching must be ‘killing’ Jorge

No one has been a better designated hitter over the last decade than the Red Sox’ David Ortiz. Just ask the Yankees.

Ortiz has more hits and home runs than anyone else at the position since 2001. So when he saw Jorge Posada at Fenway Park a month ago, Ortiz asked Posada how the adjustment was going to being a DH.

“I was like, ‘How you doing with the DH role?’ ” Ortiz told The Post yesterday. ” He went like this (rolls his eyes) and said, ‘I don’t know how much longer I can do this.’ “

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Posada does not remember saying that, but said he did seek Ortiz out before a game to ask him for some tips on being the DH.

That was a month ago, and things have not gotten better for Posada. Last night, he went 1-for-4 against the Sox, raising his average to .165 ,and failed to come through with two men on in the eighth inning. Ortiz knows how difficult it is to DH, and can relate to what Posada is going through.

When told Posada has not caught once this year, Ortiz said, “That’s got to be killing him.

“This is a guy that he was born on the field. Nobody knows Posada as DH. Posada is known as one of the greatest catchers of all-time. I don’t know if you can flip a switch and now you’re DHing. It’s like if at your age I told you, ‘hey, you need to learn Spanish tomorrow.’ You know there’s going to be a lot of struggles. You’re not 10 years old. You’re in the mid ages where things are harder. The same thing for Posada. I’m telling you DH isn’t easy, bro. If you’re not hitting, you’re not doing [squat]. This is a guy that has left skin on the field.”

Ortiz said it’s hard to understand how frustrating it is when you’re only job is to hit and you’re not hitting. In the past, Posada could take pride in calling a good game for the pitcher or making a defensive stop. Now, he can only think about his last at-bat.

“People have no idea how hard it is to be a DH,” said Ortiz, who has 331 homers as a DH since 2001. “People have no idea, dude. I guarantee you that when Posada goes 0-for-4 it’s not the same as when he’s catching and goes 0-for-4. He could be like ‘[shoot], I went 0-for-4 tonight but I called a good game.’ I’ve got something that I can entertain my mind with. When he goes 0-for-4 as a DH he feels like, ‘I haven’t done [squat].’ ”

Posada showed frustration Thursday when he ended an interview with a group of reporters after fielding several questions about his adjustment to being the DH. Yesterday, Posada explained why.

“I’m trying to stay away from the negative,” Posada told The Post. “The questions were negative.”

The 35-year-old “Big Papi” also can relate to what Posada and Derek Jeter have gone through in New York over the first six weeks of the season with their slow starts. He struggled early in 2009 and 2010, and heard questions about whether he was finished as a productive player.

Like Jeter and Posada with the Yankees, Ortiz helped bring championships to Boston, yet people were ready to run him out of town after a few bad months.

“People just have to be patient,” Ortiz said. “It’s not like they’re trying for things to go bad. I guarantee those are two of the guys that work the hardest. For the past 15 years, those guys have been the heart and soul of the Yankees. You can’t take that for granted. People have to keep that in mind.”