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FORT MYERS, Fla. — Red Sox legend David Ortiz and catcher Jonathon Lucroy fed the fires on baseball's cheating scandal Thursday during separate interviews outside JetBlue Park.

Ortiz and Lucroy went at it from different angles.

Big Papi is upset at pitcher Mike Fiers for bringing up the scandal in November instead of 2017, when he was with the Houston Astros. He said he believes the MLB commissioner, Rob Manfred, is being unfairly criticized and believes in [...]

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Red Sox legend David Ortiz and catcher Jonathon Lucroy fed the fires on baseball's cheating scandal Thursday during separate interviews outside JetBlue Park.

Ortiz and Lucroy went at it from different angles.

Big Papi is upset at pitcher Mike Fiers for bringing up the scandal in November instead of 2017, when he was with the Houston Astros. He said he believes the MLB commissioner, Rob Manfred, is being unfairly criticized and believes in Jose Altuve's innocence.

“I heard [Astros shortstop Carlos] Correa say to [baseball writer] Kenny Rosenthal that Aluve had nothing to do with it,” Ortiz said. “I believe that. The problem is he's just being part of a group, so he's guilty as anybody. He's gonna hit .300 regardless. But I don't know how he's going to deal with the trash talk every time he steps to the plate. If he struggles this year, I don't think it's because he's doesn't know what's coming. The mind plays a big role in the game. I just hope he hits .370, he's that good.”

Lucroy, who played with the Texas Rangers in 2017 and Oakland Athletics in 2018, said he believes the Astros have cheated.

He said it got to the point that he would change signals every pitch, which became mentally exhausting, and found it amazing that the Astros would be on fastballs while laying off well-thrown breaking balls in the dirt.

“Trying to outsmart them was kind of hard because they had a computer program that breaks your signs,” Lucroy said. “They were turning on 97-mph pitches; they were on everything. It was crazy because of the pitches they'd take. I was thinking, ‘These are the best hitters I've ever seen.' It all made sense.”

Lucroy acknowledged that it's fair game to have runners on base try to steal signals and relay them to teammates. It's another thing, he said, when nobody is on base and cameras are showing his signs from different angles.

“I remember a game with Edwin Jackson pitching,” Lucroy said. “He's a veteran, so I knew I could get real complicated on signs and he'd be OK. But it was a mental workout because we'd switch signs every pitch.

“When we changed signs, their swings got worse. [Astros] guys were calling time when I put a sign sequence down. But their system worked because it slowed the game down and our guys were sitting out there in the field.”

Lucroy said he's glad Fiers came out with his comments and happy the cheating is in the open because things were getting out of hand.

“When I read it, I said, ‘Oh, boy, here we go.' I would text people and say, ‘Just so you know.' … It got around baseball pretty quickly.”

In contrast, Ortiz is upset at Fiers because he waited. “Why, after you make your money and get a ring, do you talk about it? Why not talk about it during that season? Now you look like a snitch.”

Ortiz doesn't blame just Fiers. He wonders why elite players stayed quiet. “That's my problem — why nobody didn't say anything while it's going on. Nobody said, ‘This is wrong.'

“The Houston Astros have put themselves in a situation where they're going to have to deal with this for a long time. They're very talented. I'm not talking about knuckleheads. They have Altuve, Correa, my boy at third base [Alex Bregman]. Outside of [Justin Verlander], every guy has a career no longer than five years.

“But now they have to face this monster; and who knows what time it'll take for people to forget about this.”

Oritz also defended Manfred and said he's taking too much heat.

“We know he had the power to suspend people — but only to a certain point,” Ortiz said. “He'll do what he thinks is best for the game. The players need to let him do what he thinks is best for the game.”

Ortiz said players also need to chill because the negative talk is not good for baseball.

“It's gonna be a huge distraction for the game for a while and you don't want that,” he said. “After I retired, I have so much fun watching this game because of the talent out there.”