When Los Angeles Angels slugging first baseman Kendry Morales celebrated a walk-off grand slam home run to defeat the Seattle Mariners on May 29 last year, the Angels’ hopes for the 2010 season shattered along with Morales’ left ankle on that fateful day.
Now, almost nine months removed from that forgettable incident, the ankle of Kendry Morales may not be fully healed in time for the 2011 season opener on March 31.
During the surgery to repair his left ankle, Morales had six screws inserted to hold the ankle in place. The screws are still there and will likely be there for the rest of his life.
Last week, Morales got a full check-up on the ankle by Dr. Phillip Kwong and Dr. Lewis Yocum, and both were pleased with the overall progress. However, Morales just started a light jogging program last month to regain range of motion and was running at about 50 percent before the Angels shut him down when he arrived at camp in Tempe.
The Angels will err on the side of caution when it comes to the progress of Morales. While they have not said that Morales won’t be in the Opening Day lineup, they are clearly being conservative.
One issue that Angels manager Mike Scioscia is not worried about is the bat of Kendry Morales. In an interview with Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, Scioscia said, “It’s not like this guy’s missed two seasons. What you lose is the experience of facing pitchers, that experience of being able to say, ‘I remember facing this guy in August and he did this and he did that.’ That’s what you lose out on.
“You don’t lose out on the ability to square up a fastball or the ability to catch up with fuzz. He lost some game experience from the injury. But he’ll get back on the horse and go from there.”
For his part, Morales is itching to get back to live action.
“I’m not the one who makes the decision. I hope to be ready for Opening Day. That’s what I want. I want to be in that lineup on Opening Day,” Morales said.
The Los Angeles Angels are clearly looking for Morales to be in that Opening Day lineup as well. In 2010, the Angels scored 202 runs fewer than the previous season and suffered their first losing season since 2003. Morales’ return to the lineup will give a much-needed boost and coming off a career year in 2009 in which Morales hit .306 with 34 home runs with 109 runs batted in, his power will be a welcome sight.
Still, Scioscia knows that rushing the recovery of Morales is not prudent for anyone, including the Angels.
“The long-range prognosis is very good,” Sciosica said. “Short range, we’re going to ease him into what he needs to do and have a timetable of when he needs to do it. He’s not a guy who’s going to need 80 at-bats this spring. He’s not a guy who’s going to need to play 25 games in the spring. …I think our first goal is to get him running 100 percent.”
And for the Angels, Kendry Morales at 100 percent is exactly what the doctor ordered.
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