Monday, March 11, 2013
Ortiz's Opening Day chances
By Jason Catania
David Ortiz, who missed almost all of the last two months of 2012 with an Achilles tendon injury, is holding out hope he can be ready for the start of the fast-approaching 2013 season.
Trouble is, Ortiz's progress has been slow, mostly fits and starts, and as he told Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal, he's getting frustrated by his inability to get better faster.
The 37-year-old slugger has yet to appear in a spring game, but what's more troubling is that Ortiz was expected to aggressively run around the bases Thursday but had to scale it back to a more limited session because of lingering soreness in his Achilles. In fact, the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo reported that Ortiz had MRIs of both heels Saturday, partly as a precaution, to determine why there's still pain and to rule anything else out.
Manager John Farrell suggested Sunday it is unlikely Ortiz will be ready for the start of the season, as per ESPNBoston.com.
The Red Sox are counting on Ortiz to be the everyday designated hitter, but if he's unable to go early in the year, expect a combination of Jonny Gomes, Mike Carp or possibly Ryan Lavarnway to get some of the bats at DH.
