Was a 35-year old Ramírez suddenly too old? And was Ortiz hurt? What was wrong with Boston's sluggers?
The short answer last night: Nothing. Ortiz and Ramírez propelled the Red Sox to a 7-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays and looked, well, in midseason form.
Against that backdrop, Ortiz revealed after the game he has a torn meniscus in his right knee, the result of an injury he suffered last June, when he caught his foot in the netting at Yankee Stadium in batting practice. Ortiz said he "played through it" for the remainder of 2006; a season, you will recall, in which he belted a career-high 54 homers. Ortiz said once he stopped playing, the pain went away, which is why he did not feel the need to have a procedure done during the offseason.
Yet the knee began bothering him "from the beginning" of 2007, and has been sore, he said, for much of the season. The injury has impeded him from using his legs properly and, he admitted, may affect his ability to hit for power. But Ortiz said he has no current plans to undergo surgery.
"I don't want to get under the knife," he said. "I think I'll be fine. I have days when I feel fine. And then I have days like [tonight], when I do a lot of running, and it gets sore."
Ortiz said he had "a couple" of MRIs last season that revealed the tear, but it did not concern the medical staff enough to take action. He said he will receive treatment for the rest of the season, and if the knee does not improve, will look into surgery during the winter.
"I'm not getting inflammation right now," he said. "If I get inflammation, then I might have to consider something . . . the cold weather might affect me. I start feeling better right after I warm up. It didn't bother me at all in spring training."
Ortiz conceded his inability to crouch in his stance as low as he'd like may explain why he hasn't hit as many home runs this season.
