Unless they can compromise beforehand, the Red Sox and David Ortiz will today go to the first Boston arbitration hearing since 2002. The designated hitter is asking for $16.5 million, while the Sox are countering with $12.65 million.Agreement can be reached before the hearing, but once it starts, the arbitrator can only choose one or the other of the figures. As the Globe's Peter Abraham points out, either number would make Papi the highest compensated player ever to come out of the arbitration process. The team may be playing with fire on this one, although it's hard to see how—at his age—Ortiz is worth what he's asking. Let's hope cooler heads prevail and a settlement is reached that makes a little more sense.