BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox are set to host the New York Yankees in a four-game series this weekend at Fenway Park, and it always seems like Red Sox slugger David Ortiz is the main focus when these clubs play each other.

It's no secret Ortiz is unhappy with the fact the Red Sox did not give him a long-term deal this past offseason, and a few times this season, he's made his displeasure public. He did so again recently when the club was in Oakland, so when the Red Sox clubhouse door opened at 3:30 p.m. Friday, a large group of media members from Boston and New York approached him at his locker.

At that point, Ortiz grabbed two brand-new bats with red tape around the handles and tossed them to the ground in front of the group.

"From now on my bats will do the talking," he said.

With that, he grabbed the bats and walked to the cage for some early BP.

If anything, Ortiz's public comments about ownership have taken some of the focus off the rest of the team, and that's just fine with Sox manager Bobby Valentine.

"It seemed like the comments he made might have been a distraction off of the fact we only scored 14 runs in seven games on the road trip, so those kinds of distractions aren't so bad. And I guess if he was distracted the first half of the season, then maybe I'll try to do something to keep him distracted," Valentine said.

"David's been a model citizen, as far as I'm concerned, in uniform and out of uniform. When I walk around the town, I see fans who adore him and he adores them. Every once in a while, some comments are written, and I don't think they'll be too much of a distraction."

Ortiz is also preparing for his eighth trip to the All-Star Game and recently hit his 400th career home run. He enters Friday's game with a .302 average, 22 homers and 55 RBIs this season.