BOSTON — David Ortiz wishes he could come to the rescue. With the Red Sox on a four-game slide, the designated hitter knows his power could quash some of the offense's current woes.
But for now, Ortiz is restricted to the role of a cheerleader. At this point, he's still dealing with the last bits of an Achilles injury during arguably the most important stretch of the season.
"This is a little difficult for me right now to watch the game on TV and not be able to be out there trying to help the ballclub," Ortiz said. "This is an injury that the only thing that fixes it is time off, you know what I'm saying?"
Ortiz was scheduled for a full-body workout to test his Achilles before Sunday's game. Once he receives the green light, the slugger will eventually shift his rehab routine to power drills that will determine his availability moving forward.
The 36-year-old is also playing on a one-year contract, meaning he'll be overly caution with his long-term health. As far as he's concerned, he has more baseball left in the tank.
"I'm planning to keep on playing baseball, and I don't want to do anything stupid that can put my career in jeopardy," Ortiz said. "So I got to do what they tell me to do. It's better to be smart than be stupid. I want to be out there regardless, but it doesn't just depend on me. It depends on how fast my injury heals up, when I can go back out on the field without running any risks. It's a serious injury, and you got to go day by day with it."
The pain is going away, Ortiz said. The question is just how fast it will completely disappear.
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