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BY KEVIN THOMAS
Blethen Maine Newspapers 07/23/2008

Blethen Maine Newspapers

In David Ortiz's last at-bat Tuesday night, the boos began.

And, no, the Hadlock crowd was not getting on Big Papi.

They jeered Connecticut reliever Adam Cowart, who fell behind 3-0 against Ortiz.

Those in attendance had cheered every sighting of Ortiz, from his generous cuts in batting practice, to the times when he emerged from the dugout to stand on the on-deck circle, to his four at-bats.

Fans did not want to watch the big swinger keep his bat on his shoulder. Ortiz took the fourth pitch from Cowart for a strike.

The swing came on the fifth pitch a simple ground out to the first baseman to end the seventh inning.

That made Ortiz 0 for 4 for the night.

For those early arrivers to batting practice, he hit 11 out of the park. Before the game, Ortiz said he felt fine. After the game, he felt himself in a hurry and declined interviews.

• Nate Bump made his first appearance at Hadlock Field in six years on Monday night. Bump, a Connecticut Defenders pitcher, had pitched for the Sea Dogs from 1999 to 2002.

"My wife and I always talked about coming back here," Bump said.

Instead of returning on a vacation, Bump is here on a comeback. Bump, who turns 32 on Thursday, is trying to get back to the big leagues. He pitched for the Florida Marlins from 2003 to 2005, the latter season cut short by shoulder surgery.

Bump pitched six games in the minors in 2006 before undergoing surgery again. Rehabilitation was rough and Bump left the game in 2007.

"If you asked me then, it was probably a 95 percent chance that I wasn't going to come back ever again," Bump said. "I just had a bitter taste in my mouth. Going to the park everyday to try and rehab through the pain. It wasn't fun for me anymore.

"It took me a good year to get over it."

Bump got hungry to pitch again and signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants, the team that drafted him in the first round in 1998.

Assigned to Connecticut in May, Bump is 3-2 with a 2.94 ERA in 12 games (10 starts).

"I'm just trying to get healthy, stay healthy and prove I can do that for a whole season," Bump said.

Bump experienced a flashback on Monday when he faced David Ortiz. When Bump made his major league debut for the Marlins, on June 28, 2003, he relieved against the Red Sox. After allowing as Manny Ramirez single, Bump walked Ortiz. Later in the game, he got Ortiz to ground out.

On Monday, Ortiz hit a broken-bat bloop single to right against Bump.

• ZACH DAEGES, the Sea Dogs regular right fielder, sat out a third straight day after taking a knock in the head during a slide in Saturday's game.

Daeges had a headache the past two days but felt better Tuesday. He was being held out as a precaution.

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