Sam Kennedy Looks Ahead To 2017 Red Sox Offense Without David Ortiz, David Price's Absence & More
By Adam Kaufman, WBZ NewsRadio 1030
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Red Sox open their season at Fenway Park April 3 against the Pirates, which means life in sunny Florida's winding down for the World Series hopefuls.
Few questions loom over Boston's club entering the season, but there are some big ones, from how to replace David Ortiz (if he's in fact retired) both on and off the field, the Boston offense without Big Papi's bat, and how long David Price will be on the shelf with his elbow sorenes.
Sox president Sam Kennedy joined WBZ NewsRadio sports anchor Adam Kaufman to discuss those issues and more.
On David Ortiz's retirement: From all my interactions with him this offseason, he's enjoying himself," Kennedy said, joking that he would lead the league if there was a one for spin classes. "He's been working out like crazy on that soul cycle bike, and he's enjoying traveling with his family. I guess you never know with David, but he has made it painstakingly clear, to us anyways, that he is not coming back, at least on the field. He knows he's always welcome, at Spring Training and at Fenway Park. He was the face of the franchise for the renaissance of the team, under the Henry-Werner-Lucchino ownership and it's been amazing to watch what he's accomplished on and off the field. We're going to miss him, but we know he'll be part of the club."
On David Price's injury: "You're always concerned about players and their health, and any time someone has symptoms of a nagging or chronic injury, you worry. But David says he feels really good and, in fact, right after he suffered the injury/symptoms, the next day or two days later he said he was feeling much, much better. Then he got the good news that the recommendation from doctors was to not undergo surgery, so that gave him a real psychological lift and confidence boost," said Kennedy.
"He's feeling good, but I'm sure it will be a little while. He has to get back to throwing off a mound and competing in game-like conditions. That's always a setback, when you have a guy like David Price not pitching. But hopefully he'll be back and ready to go sometime soon in April, because we're going to need him," added Kennedy. "He's feeling very positive, so we are optimistic that he'll be back out there sooner rather than later."
Enjoy their full conversation below:
