Injury to Ortiz is Bad News for Boston

So David Ortiz is going onto the 15 day Disabled List. The team expects him to be out for about a month. It doesn’t look like surgery will be necessary. This isn’t going to be that big of deal for the Red Sox. Sure it hurts to lose Big Papi, the Major League leader in RBI over that past 5 seasons, but Boston can manage for a month. Afterall, Ortiz played so poorly for the first month of this season that he may as well have not been in the lineup and the team did okay. Sure it hurts not to have his leadership around, but the Red Sox still have enough offense that they’ll be able to get by. Everything will be just fine.

That’s what I kept telling myself over and over again last night when I first got the news about Ortiz. The truth is, however–and I hate to be an alarmist–that the situation is bad. This isn’t a pulled muscle that Ortiz will take some time off and come back as good as before. He tore the tendon sheath in his left wrist. Wrist injuries are bad news for hitters. Especially if surgery is involved. Nomar Garciaparra missed almost the entire 2001 season when he had to have surgery on his wrist to repair an injury similar to the one suffered by Ortiz. There is a distinct possibility that Ortiz could be done for the season. It is probably a near certainty that he will be out longer than a month.

Even if he does manage to come back and play this season, how much can we really expect from him. It takes hitters a long time to fully recover from wrist and hand injuries, even after they’ve been given a clean bill of health and cleared to play. Take Derek Lee of the Chicago Cubs as a recent example. He missed a significant portion of the 2006 season after having surgery on his wrist. Though he returned to hit .317 the next season in 150 games, his power was greatly diminished and he only hit 6 home runs in the first half. It is probably safe to assume that IF David Ortiz returns, it will not be the David Ortiz that we have become accustomed to over the last few years.

If Ortiz ends up missing the remainder of the season, Boston may need to look into acquiring another big bat. In the meantime, we’ll probably see increased playing time for Coco Crisp and Sean Casey depending on who Terry Francona decides to DH and what defensive alignments he chooses to go with, and there is always the possibility of bringing up Jed Lowrie or Brandon Moss from Pawtucket. These are all just temporary stop gaps and the Red Sox would likely have to look outside the organization if they want to pick up a big bat. Names that have often been mentioned to be available include Ken Griffey, Jr. or Adam Dunn in Cincinnati and there is talk the Rockies could potentially look to move Matt Holliday. Certainly others could become available as teams fall out of contention. And of course there is one Barry Bonds who sits waiting for a phone call from an interested party. Bonds, however, comes with his own set of problems and would seem to be the complete antithesis of David Ortiz, which brings me to my final point.

No matter what solution the Red Sox were to come up with to pick up the offensive slack, there is absolutely no replacing what Ortiz means to this team from a leadership standpoint. Ortiz and Jason Varitek make up the heart and soul of this team and what they bring to the table cannot be measured in any concrete terms, but it is undeniable to all who wear the uniform. Varitek was lost to injury during the final month of the 2006 season and that team completely collapsed down the stretch. Could it be possible that without Ortiz, the jolly big man with an even bigger smile who keeps everyone in the clubhouse loose, this team could face similar problems?

This all remains to be seen. I could possibly be crying wolf right now and Ortiz will return to the lineup on time without missing a beat. But I doubt it. Given the tendencies of wrist injuries, this one to David Ortiz has an ominous feel to it and I think it is going to be worse than the Red Sox are letting on. If that is the case, the question with Ortiz becomes not when but if he returns, and if the answer is not this year, then Boston could be in trouble.