Ortiz heads to MRI scanner

[jacksonianmarch]

Not sure why they decided to re-MRI him, but it's fair to say its not routine.

[jung]

Would they be trying to eliminate possibilities other than the continuing issue with the Achilles? Maybe their concern about the longevity of the problem has them thinking they want to make sure there isn't something other than the Achilles causing some discomfort for him.

[jacksonianmarch]

They're likely looking for a tear that has developed since he ramped up activities. There could be some scar tissue there as well

[dsharp]

Inflammation persisting. Could be worse, but he's expected to miss several weeks of the season, acc to Peter Abraham. Overbay probably sticks at 1B and Napoli DHs to start the year.

[Palodios]

Inflammation persisting. Could be worse, but he's expected to miss several weeks of the season, acc to Peter Abraham. Overbay probably sticks at 1B and Napoli DHs to start the year.

 

I went to the globe, and I went to Peter Abraham's twitter, and nowhere said he'd miss several weeks.

[BSN07]

I thought I saw 5-7 days?

[SoxFanForsyth]

Yes it's 5-7 days. Pete Abe estimated in an article that he would/could miss several weeks of the season. This article coming right after another article that concludes that Ortiz and the Sox dodged a bullet by it just being inflammation and nothing more serious. As if the reports themselves aren't conflicting enough, Pete decided he needed to contradict himself in back to back articles, which is awesome.

[SoxSport]

Can't tell what the problem is from the info provided, except there's inflammation in both heels. I assume the guy's wearing orthotics. That's a must for anything like this. Doesn't sound like an achilles problem.

Anybody with a strained arch or heel will feel some pain for a long time. Even a year. I know from experience. Runners' heel is common, and is treated with custom orthotics.

Running on it is OK with an orthotic, but hitting is another matter. Once again, there isn't enough info being provided to make any judgements on what the problem is. They do say he can run on it without further damage, but that would say it isn't the achilles tendon.

[who]

I am of a thought that this is much worse than they are letting on.

[Spitball]

Valentine said in an interview on Costas Tonight on NBC Sports Network. "He [Ortiz] realized that this trade meant that we're not going to run this race, and we're not even going to finish the race properly. He decided not to play anymore. I think at that time it was all downhill from there."

 

Does this not put Valentine into perspective? He felt compelled to put the blame someplace other than on himself.

[jacksonianmarch]

Inflammation in the heel is about as vague as it can get. Is it inflammation around the calcaneus? Inflammation around the plantar fascia? Is there a tendon inflamed? If it's plantar fasciitis, you likely are looking at a recurring problem, but something he will be able to play through. I not only know as a physician, but it took about 9 months for my plantar fasciitis to go away

[SoxFanForsyth]

Well, if we're going to lose Ortiz, better to lose him now when we're playing the Yanks sans Granderson and Tex for 3 games to start out.

 

Not only that, but we'll be facing quite a few LHP in our first few games.

 

Yankees series, we get Pettitte and CC

Jays series, we'll get Buehrle and Romero

Orioles series, we'll get Chen and Gonzalez

Rays series, we'll get Price and Moore

 

That takes us through 4/15. So in those 13 games, we'll catch 8 LHP. This team is going to annihilate LHP, with Gomes, Victorino, Napoli, Pedroia, Middlebrooks, etc, so I think they'll be able to have success without Ortiz for the first 1/2 of April. Hopefully he is back by then and we can have a full lineup.

[BSN07]

Well, if we're going to lose Ortiz, better to lose him now when we're playing the Yanks sans Granderson and Tex for 3 games to start out.

 

Not only that, but we'll be facing quite a few LHP in our first few games.

 

Yankees series, we get Pettitte and CC

Jays series, we'll get Buehrle and Romero

Orioles series, we'll get Chen and Gonzalez

Rays series, we'll get Price and Moore

 

That takes us through 4/15. So in those 13 games, we'll catch 8 LHP. This team is going to annihilate LHP, with Gomes, Victorino, Napoli, Pedroia, Middlebrooks, etc, so I think they'll be able to have success without Ortiz for the first 1/2 of April. Hopefully he is back by then and we can have a full lineup.

 

Good homework there SFF. If he's not ready to go on opening day then a 15 day DL stint vs all those LHP won't be too bad. The real worry is if he's out into May.

[jung]

Farrell seemed unwilling to throw the Sox Med Staff under the bus as he would not comment on whether the heel injury is in fact a compensation injury. However I have no idea how anybody could miss how unnatural Ortiz gait has been. I have been reporting it here for at least two weeks. I would be more inclined to think that nobody walked up to David and talked to him about it than that nobody saw it. They must have somebody from Med monitoring his every move during workouts.

 

I suppose there is a chance that somebody did talk to Ortiz about the risk he was taking with that gait at 250 lbs and he ignored the warning....anything is possible.

[SoxSport]

Inflammation in the heel is about as vague as it can get. Is it inflammation around the calcaneus? Inflammation around the plantar fascia? Is there a tendon inflamed? If it's plantar fasciitis, you likely are looking at a recurring problem, but something he will be able to play through. I not only know as a physician, but it took about 9 months for my plantar fasciitis to go away

 

Yeah. I have plantar--run on it almost every day. orthotics keeps the arch rigid. Actually better after running. The other thing you can get from running is heel pain--which goes away in a few months with custom orthotics.

[SoxSport]

Valentine said in an interview on Costas Tonight on NBC Sports Network. "He [Ortiz] realized that this trade meant that we're not going to run this race, and we're not even going to finish the race properly. He decided not to play anymore. I think at that time it was all downhill from there."

 

Does this not put Valentine into perspective? He felt compelled to put the blame someplace other than on himself.

 

Natural tendency for a manager, but he's probably right. Valentine was in a lose situation.

He had no support in that organization. I read he couldn't even get game scouting reports from the FO.

 

Valentine's big mouth has made him a scapegoat for the Red Sox season. I think he inherited a dysfunctional situation. A bunch of prima donnas who felt entitled because they won 2 Championships. That includes Tito, who probably felt he was entitled to a lifetime contract.

 

My own view is the organization still sucks because Henry didn't fire Lucchino and get a new GM. He continues to let the tail wag the dog.

[jung]

I don't think A Manager or The Manager could have saved the 2012 Sox from themselves either. They seemed intent on completing the painting they had started in 2011 and boy did they ever.

 

The difference, the thing about the Bobby V hiring is that it turned the whole thing into a total three ring circus. He turned what would very likely have been a failed season into an undignified kindergarden mess. A food fight is better organized. At the very least he exacerbated a bad situation in the way that adding gasoline will change a fire. In one sense V was perfect. He was the manager that team and that organization deserved. The fact that he was the guy that LL, TW and JH wanted speaks volumes for the detachment of JH and the intentions of LL and TW. The willingness that the latter two have for doing just about anything for marketing sizzle regardless of the impact on the team's ability to progress as a baseball team combined with JH's detachment is in a word, SCARY.

[SoxSport]

I don't think A Manager or The Manager could have saved the 2012 Sox from themselves either. They seemed intent on completing the painting they had started in 2011 and boy did they ever.

 

The difference, the thing about the Bobby V hiring is that it turned the whole thing into a total three ring circus. He turned what would very likely have been a failed season into an undignified kindergarden mess. A food fight is better organized. At the very least he exacerbated a bad situation in the way that adding gasoline will change a fire. In one sense V was perfect. He was the manager that team and that organization deserved. The fact that he was the guy that LL, TW and JH wanted speaks volumes for the detachment of JH and the intentions of LL and TW. The willingness that the latter two have for doing just about anything for marketing sizzle regardless of the impact on the team's ability to progress as a baseball team combined with JH's detachment is in a word, SCARY.

 

I think the team will be sold in the next couple years. They are set up to do it.

[SoxSport]

Tito, by the way, has never accepted responsibility for that September collapse during his tenure. He never accepted the blame for anything. I haven't read his book, but I've seen excerpts. His target is the ownership--the guys who fired him. The truth is he was a very lax manager who at times after '07 looked like he didn't care much about winning.

[VA Sox Fan]

Tito, by the way, has never accepted responsibility for that September collapse during his tenure. He never accepted the blame for anything. I haven't read his book, but I've seen excerpts. His target is the ownership--the guys who fired him. The truth is he was a very lax manager who at times after '07 looked like he didn't care much about winning.

 

That's not true at all:

 

Former Red Sox Manager Terry Francona Takes Blame for Team’s Late Season Collapse

By Danny Groner October 6, 2011 2:00 PM

 

Former Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona spoke with Boston sports radio station WEEI on Wednesday, his first public comments since he parted ways with the team last week.

 

Francona, who guided the Red Sox to World Series victories in 2004 and 2007, said that after the team’s historic late-season skid he chose to leave.

 

Francona was adamant that he didn’t want to point fingers for his departure, although he did acknowledge that the team opted not to pick up his 2012 option.

 

He was also open when it came to discussing the team’s 7-20 finish that resulted in the Red Sox missing the playoffs after being nine games up in the wild card standings in the beginning of September:

 

“It was my responsibility to not let what happened happen. So regardless of how ownership feels or regardless of how [general manager] Theo (Epstein) feels or how the fans feel, I had a responsibility to get something done and it didn’t get done.”

 

As for Francona’s future, he said that, “If I go on to manage again somewhere else I probably do need to make some changes.” After all, there’s an open position with the White Sox.

 

Or maybe Francona is better suited for a transition to the booth. He will be a part of the FOX team for Games 1 and 2 of the ALCS this weekend.

[BSN07]

That's not true at all:

 

Former Red Sox Manager Terry Francona Takes Blame for Team’s Late Season Collapse

By Danny Groner October 6, 2011 2:00 PM

 

Former Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona spoke with Boston sports radio station WEEI on Wednesday, his first public comments since he parted ways with the team last week.

 

Francona, who guided the Red Sox to World Series victories in 2004 and 2007, said that after the team’s historic late-season skid he chose to leave.

 

Francona was adamant that he didn’t want to point fingers for his departure, although he did acknowledge that the team opted not to pick up his 2012 option.

 

He was also open when it came to discussing the team’s 7-20 finish that resulted in the Red Sox missing the playoffs after being nine games up in the wild card standings in the beginning of September:

 

“It was my responsibility to not let what happened happen. So regardless of how ownership feels or regardless of how [general manager] Theo (Epstein) feels or how the fans feel, I had a responsibility to get something done and it didn’t get done.”

 

As for Francona’s future, he said that, “If I go on to manage again somewhere else I probably do need to make some changes.” After all, there’s an open position with the White Sox.

 

Or maybe Francona is better suited for a transition to the booth. He will be a part of the FOX team for Games 1 and 2 of the ALCS this weekend.

 

Doh! Funny how people just remember what they want to sometimes.

[seabeachfred]

Natural tendency for a manager, but he's probably right. Valentine was in a lose situation.

He had no support in that organization. I read he couldn't even get game scouting reports from the FO.

 

Valentine's big mouth has made him a scapegoat for the Red Sox season. I think he inherited a dysfunctional situation. A bunch of prima donnas who felt entitled because they won 2 Championships. That includes Tito, who probably felt he was entitled to a lifetime contract.

 

My own view is the organization still sucks because Henry didn't fire Lucchino and get a new GM. He continues to let the tail wag the dog.

 

I think you hit the key right there Sox Sport. For some reason Prune Face Henry is wedded to Lucchino like a husband or wife....take your pick. He seems totally dependent on the guy and cannot for the life of him see that he is the one stumble block to the team, what with is stubborn insistence on promotion an marketing. What's worse, though, is his constant meddling in baseball operations when it is obvious that he is a lawyer and doesn't really know s*** about what goes on out on the field. Yet there he always seems to be, meddling and throwing cold ice on things.

 

The only credit I will give Tito is his dysfunctional debacle is that he did take some deep responsibility for the collapse of the team which had become a pack of prima donnas who felt entitled to anything they wanted. Prune Face might be able to bring things around but he is going to have to get a new GM who knows what the hell he is doing, and either cage Lucchino to his P and M or simply fire the son of a bitch.

[SoxSport]

Doh! Funny how people just remember what they want to sometimes.

 

Hey, thanks for that. Shaughnessy wouldn't put that in his book. Too bad Tito didn't elaborate on how he allowed this to happen. And how he was often throwing in the towel when they got 5 runs down.

[mvp 78]

Hey, thanks for that. Shaughnessy wouldn't put that in his book. Too bad Tito didn't elaborate on how he allowed this to happen. And how he was often throwing in the towel when they got 5 runs down.

 

How would you know since you didn't read it?

[VA Sox Fan]

How would you know since you didn't read it?

 

I was wondering the same thing. :dunno:

[seabeachfred]

Personally I think all Red Sox fans should invest $25.00 or so and buy the Francona book. You can draw your own conclusions as to whether Tito was given sort shrift and made the scapegoat for what happened or whether he bears a lot of the responsibility for the country club atmosphere that evolved the last three years of his stewardship. Again, personally, he was made to look bad by Prune Face and Company but the fact remains that he was a terrible field manager who was very slow on the draw in removing a tired or battered pitcher, ran a dull and totally predictable game from the dugout---station to station, no bunting, no hit and running, nary a squeeze play and a total reluctance to turn runners loose.

 

He said he hated to give up potential outs but it seemed we always led the league or finished a close second in hitting into double plays. He also said he would manage differently the next time around and he better because if he tries the same dull and unimaginative methods in Cleveland he will fail miserably.

Of course that's my opinion and it is biased.....I never thought he was worth a damn as a field manager. His strength was in the clubhouse, dealing with the press and keeping the tension off of his players. He also had their backs and those are attributes worthy of praise.

[VA Sox Fan]

Ortiz starts playing in games on Monday

 

Posted by Peter Abraham, Globe Staff April 7, 2013 11:28 AM

 

TORONTO — Red Sox DH David Ortiz, who is on the disabled list recovering from a right Achilles' tendon injury, will play in an extended spring training game in Fort Myers on Monday and could start a rehabilitation assignment with Triple A Pawtucket as soon as Thursday.

 

Pawtucket starts an eight-game homestand on Thursday. Ortiz has said he would like 25-30 at-bats at Pawtucket before returning to the Sox.

 

Let's say that's six or seven games. Barring any setbacks, that would have Ortiz with the Red Sox by April 17 or 18.

 

Keep in mind that this process will hinge on how Ortiz feels on a given day. Theoretically he could play nine or 10 in a row and declare himself ready to go. But he also could mix in a day off or two in there.

 

Also:

 

• Shortstop Stephen Drew will remain with Double A Portland for two more days and rejoin the Red Sox on Wednesday. The Sea Dogs had their game postponed by cold weather on Saturday and Drew would like to get two days of at-bats before returning to the majors.

 

Drew has had seven plate appearances with Portland in two games.

 

• John Lackey is back in Boston and getting checked out this morning. The Sox are hoping to get some news during the game.

 

• Jose Bautista (right ankle) remains out of the Toronto lineup.

 

• Bobby Doerr, the Hall of Fame second baseman and Red Sox legend, is 95 today.

[Designated Hater]

Leave it to the Red Sox medical staff to f*** this up royally.

 

It sucks that they resigned him. Can we just admit this RIGHT NOW? Farrell isn't putting guys on the field that you want to take outside and smack around a few times. They actually seem - dare I say it - LIKEABLE! How on Earth did this happen?

 

Ortiz is still the negative link in the chain. The bubbling of this story is going to hold the team back and it sucks because it seems to me the players want to move on and be a team.

[User Name]

I could not disagree more. How quickly we forget Ortiz' contributions to this team in the past, and the potency his bat still holds.

 

He may be a bit of a primadonna, but that rant is ridiculous man.

[SoxSport]

Leave it to the Red Sox medical staff to f*** this up royally.

 

It sucks that they resigned him. Can we just admit this RIGHT NOW? Farrell isn't putting guys on the field that you want to take outside and smack around a few times. They actually seem - dare I say it - LIKEABLE! How on Earth did this happen?

 

Ortiz is still the negative link in the chain. The bubbling of this story is going to hold the team back and it sucks because it seems to me the players want to move on and be a team.

 

Yeah. Ortiz is beginning to look like the past--ancient history. Not that they couldn't use another power bat in the middle of that lineup. But there is no guarantee he will come back to where he left off. There isn't a financial incentive anymore, and we know how much he can regress when he gets out of shape.

 

Right now, the present lineup is clicking, and shouldn't be tinkered with. I suspect Papi will be platooned with Gomes when he returns. Bradley has cooled off with the bat some (as most of the ST hot hitters have), but he'll probably settle on some mid ground. His speed and defense are not replaceable. Iggy continues to perform way above expectations.