As the Sox prepared to send Nixon to Miami, where a neurological specialist will oversee his recovery from a mildly herniated disk, Morgan indicated that he does not expect Garciaparra to appear in the team's final exhibition games. Nor did the doctor consider it likely that Garciaparra would see action in minor league games before the opener.
"We're probably still looking at another week or two for Nomar to be back playing," Morgan said after evaluating Garciaparra's injury at City of Palms Park.
Barring an unexpected burst of progress, Garciaparra most likely also will miss the home opener April 9 against the Blue Jays. Under major league rules, players must sit out at least the first six days of the season if they are placed on the disabled list retroactive to spring training. That means Garciaparra could return no earlier than April 10 if he started the season on the DL.
"I'm definitely going to be out a few more days," he said after the evaulation. "I knew that. As far as the opener is concerned, I'm really taking it day by day."
Before Morgan saw him, Garciaparra said, "It's coming slowly. I'm able to do a little more every day, so it's progressing the way they expected. It's just slower than I'd like."
The Achilles' tendon was injured March 5 when a ball struck him in batting practice. He tried to play through the pain but that may have aggravated the injury. All told, he has played in four games and gone 0 for 8.
"It was probably more on me because I went out there and played," he said. "I probably should have taken it off, but I was thinking, `It's all right, it's a bruise, I can play through this pain.' And I did, not realizing that it was causing more inflammation in an area where it's hard to get out. That was really the case more than anything."
Garciaparra played in only 21 games in 2001 after undergoing surgery Opening Day to repair a split tendon in his right wrist. He suffered the injury when he was hit with a pitch Sept. 25, 1999, by Baltimore's Al Reyes. But his current injury is not nearly as severe, according to Morgan.
