David Ortiz Admits He's Unlikely To Be Ready For Opening Day
BOSTON (CBS) -- It's been a rough spring so far for David Ortiz, and the Red Sox' designated hitter seemed resigned to admit it will be a little while before things get better.
Ortiz spoke to the media Monday morning in Fort Myers after learning Sunday that he'd be shut down for the next week in order to alleviate some inflammation in his heel. The outlook for being ready in time for Opening Day is not looking like a realistic possibility.
"Opening Day was my goal," Ortiz said. "I was feeling good and I was pushing things the way I was being told. But right now, Opening Day seems like it's not the case. The case is [to] get me healthy for five or five and a half good months. That's what we're looking for now."
Ortiz said the main objective in resting this week and taking extra time to recover is to make sure he won't end up back on the disabled list for the same injury later in the year.
"The one thing that we really are working on is, when I'm back, I'm back," Ortiz said. "It's not just coming back for a couple of weeks and then going back into the same thing. They're trying to fix the whole thing. That way, when I get back in the lineup, I'm going to be there for the season.
"I want to play the way I don't have to worry about [the injury] anymore," he added.
Dustin Pedroia shared a similar hope for his teammate.
"We need him. We can't put him in a position that's going to risk our team our season," Pedroia told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Jonny Miller. "We want to make sure that he's right and he's healthy and he's feeling good, because when he's in the box and he's healthy, we all know what he can do."
As for when he will actually return to the field, Ortiz didn't have a definite timetable, saying, "I'll be back as soon as I'm good to go."
