Has The Ferrari Gone On Its Final Ride In Boston?
By Johnny Carey, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) --- Pablo Sandoval has injured his shoulder - He hasn't taken an MRI, but that's what the injury report says. No one knows how or when it happened, but according to the Red Sox, his shoulder's hurting big time.
"As of yesterday, when I went to the ballpark, I didn't even know there was an injury," Dave Dombrowski told the Herald's Jason Mastrodonato. "So when he came in today, they called me up in the office. . . . He could barely lift his shoulder, his arm up toward his shoulder."
I can't help but laugh while imagining what might have gone on in that office. I picture Sandoval sitting down across from Dombrowski looking like a middle-schooler who just got called down to the principal's office.
"Hey Pablo, take a seat. How are you?"
"I'm fine."
"You sure? You look hurt. My God, can you even lift your shoulder?"
"I think so.."
"No, doesn't look like it. Nope. Doesn't look good at all. We're gonna have to make sure that heals up before we get you back out there. Work on getting that arm back in playing shape, and you know, maybe run some sprints while you're at it. See you in 15 days."
The move itself was about as predictable as it gets. It's an easy way out (for now), as the Red Sox are able to take Sandoval away from the spotlight/the field for a while. It takes away any pressure there might have been on John Farrell to play Sandoval, and most importantly, removes a player who isn't contributing whatsoever from the roster.
But this is all short term - No one's going to forget about Sandoval. His story isn't just going to go away.
So what do you do with him after his early season vacation ends?
Unless he magically drops an impossible number of pounds in just over two weeks, I don't think there will be many fans willing to accept the organization's, "Oh, Pablo's working real hard. All he wants is to get back on the field with his teammates" prepared PR statement.
Of course the Red Sox would love to trade him, but as has been noted over and over this off-season, it's highly unlikely that any other team would be willing to trade for an under-achieving, overweight player with a massive salary.
So what do they do when the 15 days are up? Put him on the 60 Day DL? Just keep pushing away your problem?
He can't come back and stay on the bench. As we've seen through only eight games, Sandoval is a completely useless bench player.
He has no speed, and his glove was supposedly the reason for his benching in favor of Travis Shaw in the first place. No speed or glove is not exactly the recipe for a good bench player. It's not the recipe for a good starter either - It's just not good at all, and that's really the problem.
Still, Sandoval keeps saying that it's all good between himself and the Red Sox. It's become increasingly difficult to believe, but that's what he says.
"I love being here. I love my teammates. I love the fan support. Where am I going to go? Why am I going to be sad? Give me one reason to be sad, be mad. Why? I'm alive. I have daughters, one son coming, so nothing to worry about."
There's so much to analyze in that gem of a quote.
First of all, you've got to give it to Pablo the comedian there. "I love the fan support" is a fantastic line.
Golden, really.
"Where am I going to go?" is also a very fair question. It's one the Red Sox need to figure out sooner rather than later, because at this point, all Pablo Sandoval is doing is attracting negative publicity for himself and the team.
Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan believes that "The Pablo Sandoval- Red Sox marriage could be coming to an end," citing distance between Sandoval and team management.
"Sandoval wants to stay in Boston only if he can play every day, and the Red Sox have no intention of playing him unless he loses weight and others in their current lineup struggle," Passan wrote.
The Ferrari, as it seems, is firmly entrenched in the garage. Sandoval won't be playing every day unless a lot of things that probably won't happen, happen.
It's apparent that the Red Sox don't want Sandoval anymore, and that Sandoval doesn't want to be in Boston either. No matter what the prepared media statements tell us, a 15-day DL stint for a phantom injury is proof of that growing sentiment.
But if we have indeed seen the Ferrari's final ride in Boston, don't worry. We'll always have the memories.
Johnny Carey is a senior at Boston College. You can find him on Twitter @JohnnyHeights.
