Red Sox manager Terry Francona isn't concerned about comments made by David Ortiz this week. Ortiz said he was upset with Francona for removing him from the lineup for a pinch hitter on April 27 in Toronto. "I was mad. I was absolutely mad," Ortiz said during the interview. "If you ride with me, you're going to get two things. Either you're going to win or you're going to die with me. "That's the way it is, that's the way it's been as long as I've been here. ... You gotta believe in your players. Period. You choose to have me on your roster since Day 1. You gotta ride with me." Francona said he and Ortiz have talked about the situation and that their relationship is intact. "He's hasn't always liked what I've told him, but I think he knows that I care about him," said Francona. "Every player is supposed to feel that way. That's the idea and I don't care who it is. "You don't take the time for granted, you keep working at it," added Francona. "That's the only way it works. Sometimes you're presented with challenges. That's the way this game is. "I think with any time you're in my position, you have to tell people things they don't want to hear. That's just the way the game is. Not that things don't happen, but how you work through them is more important and I feel OK about that part."