Anthony Rizzo provided a little more context for his back injury, and why it is, or isn’t, more concerning than his usual annual stiffness / lumbar spasms.
On the plus side, Rizzo doesn’t rule out Opening Day, but he also knows the importance of making sure he doesn’t end up losing 30 games because he tried to push too hard for a specific game: “We are kind of just calm down and I’ll be back there as much as possible as fast as I can, “he said, according to Cubs.com. “I have achieved a lot, but we are going to take it day by day. I’d rather lose a couple of games than a big chunk if necessary. “
Rizzo still feels that this is not that unusual compared to previous years where he and the training staff have managed to get him out for over 150. The slight difference is that he still felt bad after his live BP session on Sunday, so he closed things up a bit. Still, he said yesterday that he felt better than Monday / Tuesday.
Ideally, you’d see Rizzo in a position to try some BP live perhaps this weekend, and then play in at least a couple of the upcoming preseason games against the White Sox and Twins. Rizzo has shown incredible ability to play very well through injury, but he is not like you. want you have to start doing that from the first moment.
