David Ortiz's distress at the breakup of a World Series winner, most notably the departure of Johnny Damon to the Yankees, has not shaken his desire to prolong his own stay with the Red Sox. Ortiz said last night he believes there is a good chance he will sign a long-term contract extension with the club before the start of spring training. Ortiz is due to be paid $6.5 million this season in the last year of the two-year, $12.5 million extension he signed in May 2004. In addition, the club holds an option on the 2007 season, which was bumped up automatically from $7.75 million to $8.4 million when Ortiz finished second in the American League MVP voting in 2005. But Ortiz said his agent, Fernando Cuza, has spoken this winter with both principal owner John W. Henry and CEO Larry Lucchino, and that they expressed great interest in striking a deal soon. ''They haven't said for how long [the extension would run]," Ortiz said. ''I have two more years. I'd like another four or five years more. I think that would be perfect. By that time I'd be 36, so we'll see. ''I would like to stay. Boston has been good to me. Yes, the owners really want to make this happen. I guess they want, with all that's been going on, to give Boston some good news." Ortiz, who began playing this week in the Dominican winter league playoffs, also acknowledged that he has spoken with good friend Miguel Tejada about a possible trade to Boston, after Tejada went public with his unhappiness with the floundering Orioles. And Ortiz reacted with some skepticism to the latest report that Manny Ram?rez has decided he would prefer to remain with Boston. ''I talked to [Tejada] once, and he told me that he didn't want to start anything, but he was a little disappointed that Baltimore wasn't a team ready to compete, especially in that division," said Ortiz. ''He likes to compete. He likes to win. He doesn't like to play just to play and go home at the end of the season. ''Oh, man, he's outstanding. He plays all out."