David Ortiz's return from an Achilles injury is not going as planned.
Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz runs out of the dugout as fans and teammates applaud during a ceremony recognizing his 400th career home run, prior to the Red Sox's baseball game against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park in Boston on Friday, July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)On the off chance that Red Sox fans had not endured enough bad news, especially bad news regarding injuries, David Ortiz revealed Sunday that he continues to be plagued by pain while rehabbing his injured Achilles tendon.
The revelation, reported in Monday's Boston Herald, comes on the heels of a disastrous weekend in which the Red Sox lost of three of four games at home to the lowly Minnesota Twins.
Ortiz says he is getting better, but the pace of recovery is behind what was originally projected. He was eligible to come off the disabled list last Wednesday but the pain in his Achilles has lingered. With that in mind, the team and Ortiz don't want to risk a more severe injury that could place his career in jeopardy. He told the Herald he is considering new forms of rehabilitation and has consulted with doctors about alternative options.
“I haven’t played in the past three weeks and I still have pain,” Ortiz said. “I’m not worried about getting worse, because I know I’m getting better. But the pain won’t go away. I don’t know if that’s part of the healing process, I don’t know. Some days I feel better and the next day is going to be even better and the next day it continues to be sore. We’ll see. After I work out and do things I get really sore, too.”
The Red Sox are 8-11 since losing Ortiz to a strained achilles tendon he suffered while rounding the bases following an Adrian Gonzalez home run on July 16.
In many ways the team has been reeling since last September, when they collapsed down the stretch and missed the playoffs. Personnel, managerial and upper managerial changes have done little to change the stench of mediocrity which has enveloped the team since Sept. 1, 2011.
The continued delay of Ortiz's return certainly won't help the Red Sox get back on track.
Before sustaining the injury, Ortiz had not only been the best offensive player on the Red Sox, but also one of the best offensive players in all of baseball -- at the time of his injury, he was among the league leaders in home runs, batting average, and OPS.
It is easy to pin the Red Sox's woes on the underperformance of many of the team's big names, but Ortiz -- unlike many of his high-profile teammates -- has lived up to expectations.
His return would not guarantee a turnaround for the Red Sox, but it would definitely help a team that seems determined to surrender a hefty chunk of runs.