The Red Sox can now acknowledge the obvious: David Ortiz was not himself down the stretch last year. The slugger, whose ferocious swing is meant not merely to hit a ball but instead to assault it, was tentative in his return from a partially torn ECU tendon sheath in his left wrist. He became vulnerable to fastballs that he had made a habit of clubbing in previous years.

Though it is early in spring training, hitting coach Dave Magadan has already seen a difference in his slugger since the end of last year.

“When he came back, because it was so up in the air whether it could recur, I don’t think he ever felt like he could let it go the last part of the season when he came back. There was not a lot but a little bit of tentativeness on his swing, especially on pitches up in the zone,” said Magadan. “There’s no question to me that, at this point in spring training, I know there’s no tentativeness. He’s absolutely letting it go. He doesn’t show any ill effects.”

For the Wednesday evening edition of Five Things we learned, click here.