Abraham On Toucher & Rich: Concerns About Ortiz Being Ready For Opening Day
BOSTON (CBS) - David Ortiz took a bit of a step back over the weekend, holding off on a base-running session on Sunday after feeling soreness in his right Achilles.
Ortiz is still hoping to play in games this week as he recovers from the injury that held him out for most of the second-half of the 2012 season, but time is starting to run out for Boston's DH if he wants to get in his spring reps.
The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich on Monday, and said Ortiz' Opening Day status is starting to be a concern.
"Until yesterday, I wasn't (concerned). I thought he was going to be OK for Opening Day and this was all part of the process," said Abraham. "But they're 10 days in, and he's not close to playing in a game. It's going to be at least 3-4 days, if not more. If he doesn't get into a game by the end of the week, if he's going to get at least 25-30 at-bats and not playing every day, this is going to be a problem for the Red Sox."
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"He's run the bases twice so far, he did it once last week and then he did it on Saturday. He was supposed to do it (Sunday) -- they want him to do it two days in a row to see if his Achilles recovers and see if he can go into a game – and he didn't want to do it because his Achilles was bothering him and they pushed it off a day."
The soreness Ortiz felt over the weekend is from a calcification buildup due to resting the foot over the off-season. Now that Ortiz is running and working out, doctors have told him soreness is to be expected.
So while he may not be ready for Opening Day April 1 in New York, Abraham isn't too concerned Ortiz will miss extended periods of time during the regular season.
"At some point he has to get out and run. David is not going to be a speedster, but he needs to score from second on a single," said Abraham. "If it doesn't happen soon, they're going to get to a point where he's not going to have enough at-bats."
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"I don't think it's the kind of thing that he's going to miss a considerable amount of time, but the question is if he's ready for Opening Day."
Abraham also shares his thoughts on young pitcher Allen Webster, and if Jackie Bradley Jr. may find his way to the Majors sooner rather than later.
