Ortiz Improving, But Shutting It Down For A Few Days
BOSTON (CBS) – While David Ortiz insists his injury is getting better, the Red Sox are going to shut down their designated hitter for the next couple days.
"It's improving," Ortiz said from Baltimore on Wednesday. "We're doing different things now. I've been feeling better lately, but they don't want to get me doing too many things. It's improving; I'm starting to feel better."
"I'm not going to do running for the next few days," said Ortiz, out since July 16 with an Achilles injury. "They want to leave that alone with the regular treatment we're doing in the training room."
"He's trying to get rid of all the soreness," said manager Bobby Valentine. "Until it's completely gone, I don't think they want to start up."
Ortiz has not hit for the last three days, in addition to not running. Running is the one thing Ortiz hasn't been able to do yet, causing the setback. He's hoping that is the final hurdle to his return to the field.
"Hopefully. The thing is, every time I was doing some running, just because the fact I was still limping, I was getting too sore," he said. "That's not what we were looking for We're looking for a step forward instead of a step back. Now we're doing some things and I'm starting to feel better."
With the season winding down, Ortiz said he isn't feeling more pressure to return .
"It's not on me anymore," he said. "Injuries, you have to let heal. Whenever you're ready, you're ready."
"I'm not going to be 100 percent once I get the green light to play because this is something that running doesn't help," Ortiz added. "It's just something that with rest, time off and not doing anything on top of it will get you back to 100-percent."
Ortiz leads the team in batting average (.316), on-base percentage (.414), OPS (1.024) and home runs (23). He said the Red Sox' position in the standings will not affect his return, or whether he'll shut it down for the rest of the season.
"When I'm ready to play I'm going to play, no matter where we're at," he said. "I'm here to play baseball."
