David Ortiz's Achilles injury appeared to be only a minor concern when the veteran pulled up lame in a game July 16 of last season. But what was first considered nothing, turned into something as Ortiz played in only one more game for the remainder of the 2012 season. Other than the right Achilles being noted as the area of injury, no details were ever released about the extent of it. However, in an interview with WEEI 93.7 FM, Ortiz said he will be ready for the start of the 2013 season.
"I'm not completely recovered, but I'm going to be ready to go for Opening Day," Ortiz said.
Ortiz's plan is to take it easy in spring training and as long as he does not have any unexpected setbacks, he will be fully ready when the Red Sox take the field against the New York Yankees on Opening Day. Ortiz notes that he is not having any issues hitting the ball now and has participated in the small running. He plans to get into more extensive workouts as Spring Training approaches.
The Red Sox's struggle was well documented last season. Things only got worse when Ortiz exited the lineup. While he was not solely to blame for the demise of the Sox's season that included a last place finish, his absence played a critical factor. Boston was 46-44 leading up to Ortiz's injury and proceeded to go 23-49 after. They finished 69-93 on the season.
With Adrian Gonzalez now out of Boston, Ortiz will be relied on as Boston's biggest power hitter. When healthy in 2012, he hit 23 home runs, with a .318 batting average and 60 RBI. His OPS of 1.026 was one of the best in the league.
At 37, Boston fans still have reason to be concerned with Ortiz, even though he claims to be getting healthy. Very rarely to players in their late 30's ever come back and play fully healthy with no decline in their stats. If he does come back at full strength, there is a chance that he becomes more injury prone during the season. Also, it has been seven months since the injury occered. If Ortiz still is not 100 percent, what is taking him so long? Is the injury worse than reported?
All of these questions will be answered when Ortiz arrives in Fort Myers on Feb. 14 for the start of Spring Training. Fans have a right to remain cautious of his abilities to be a dominant player again.