Still Sore, Ortiz Sounds Less Optimistic About Returning Soon
BOSTON (CBS) - David Ortiz had been confident throughout Spring Training that he would be in the Red Sox lineup come Opening Day, but the DH seemed a lot less optimistic about his return on Thursday.
Ortiz participated in another light base-running session on Thursday morning in Fort Myers, Florida, another leap towards his return from an Achilles injury that ended his 2012 campaign early.
While back-to-back sessions on Monday and Tuesday seemed to be a step in the right direction, Ortiz didn't sound as enthusiastic about his results Thursday.
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There is still soreness in both his Achilles and legs -- the result of an 0ff-season of limited activity due to the injury. When asked if he could play if the season started tomorrow, Ortiz was quick to shoot that notion down.
"No. Not at all," Ortiz told reporters according to the Boston Herald's John Tomase.
"This (expletive) has been driving me crazy," he said of his injury. "I got no choice but to wait. I hope it goes away soon so I can get back into action."
"I definitely want to be out there. I would like to be out there today, you know what I'm saying? But it is what it is," said Ortiz. "I've had to deal with injuries before, but you don't see this one too often, and when you do, it's pretty much the same with everybody."
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It's been seven months since Ortiz first suffered the injury on July 16. After a stint on the DL he returned to play on August 24, but re-injured the Achilles after legging out a double and was forced to sit out the remainder of the season -- and then some.
Ortiz had hoped to progress enough after an off-season of rehab and rest to return to game-action on Friday. But as Ortiz suffers more soreness in his Achilles and elsewhere, his return -- both in the Spring or for the regular season -- seem like they could be further away.
