No-fly zone

No-fly zone

The Red Sox have recovered nicely from their 2-6 start yet still aren’t quite themselves. That’s because entering the weekend series against the Yankees David Ortiz was not among the 221 big leaguers who had hit a home run.

“The hitting-my-first-homer thing, I don’t want to let it get in my head because it just makes it worse, you know?” Ortiz said. “One’s going to come, then the next one, then the next . . . next thing you know you’re right there with everybody. That’s something that you can’t really control.”

This is Ortiz’s longest drought to start a season since signing with Boston. But he didn’t homer until the 15th game in 2003 and still finished with 31. One thing he has been doing more this season is going to left field, to spoil the “Big Papi shift.”

In Wednesday’s doubleheader sweep of Minnesota, he dropped a single into left field in the first game and took a two-run double off the Green Monster in the second game. He denies he’s making a deliberate effort to go the opposite way, saying he’s “swinging just in case I hit [the ball].”

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Empty seats

Despite the opening of New York’s two new parks and the renovation of Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Major League Baseball is experiencing a slide in attendance. Last week there were crowds under 15,000 in Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Toronto and Washington, but MLB officials say they’re not alarmed.

“Look, we’ve been talking about this economy for a long time,” Commissioner Bud Selig said. “Overall we’re down less than 5%. . . . It’s just too early to draw any conclusions.”

The price of the best seats at Yankee Stadium ($500-$2,625 for the first nine rows around the infield) and Citi Field ($175-$495) don’t seem in step with the times.

“Hal Steinbrenner did say a couple of weeks ago that he thought that, you know, they may have overpriced tickets and they’ll look at it,” Selig told a group from the Associated Press Sports Editors. “Well, good for him. And I know the Wilpons [who own the Mets]. They’re very sensitive about all this. They’re going to discuss it, and whatever adjustments they want to make, they should make.”

MLB’s revenue has soared in the last decade, but ownership expects it to take a hit this season. The lost revenue from attendance and sponsorship will at least partially be offset by the launch of the MLB Network.

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More chads to dimple

This year’s All-Star ballot contains a new twist. Fans will be able to vote for three of 10 players listed from each league as potential entrants in the Home Run Derby.

The fan vote on sluggers isn’t binding. It’s a suggestion, not a mandate, and appears designed to pressure reluctant participants into stepping up to the plate in the popular event.

With this year’s All-Star game in St. Louis, Albert Pujols is being used to promote the Home Run Derby. “First of all, I need to make [the All-Star] team and second, I need to stay healthy,” Pujols told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “If I’m healthy, I’m willing to do it. I don’t have any problem with it, and I’ve had fun in the past doing it.”

Pujols doesn’t buy the fear that hitting in the Derby will mess up your swing, pointing out he’s had strong second halves the two years he’s participated. “It’s all mental,” he said. “If you think it’s going to mess with your swing, it’s going to mess with your swing. I put on a Home Run Derby show every day in BP, so it doesn’t bother me.”

-- Phil Rogers