TORONTO \u2014 In Toronto on Monday, Mookie Betts tried to give Dodgers fans a reason to exhale a little bit. After tweaking his back while rounding the bases in Washington over the weekend and then landing on the injured list, Betts met with reporters before the series opener against the Blue Jays and made one thing clear: he believes this oblique issue is on the mild end, and he already feels much better than he did when it first happened.<\/p>\n
That does not mean he is happy about any of it. Betts is Betts. He wants to be on the field, and you could hear that frustration in the way he talked. Still, there was also real optimism in his comments. For a club that suddenly has to play without one of its tone-setters, that part mattered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel great,\u201d Betts said. \u201cHonestly don\u2019t even really notice that it hurts. I mean, I have to do certain movements, but it\u2019s very specific movements. So yeah, I think we\u2019re in a much better spot than originally anticipated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not as Serious as 2018 Injury<\/p>\n
That is about as encouraging a quote as the Dodgers could have hoped to hear once the word \u201coblique\u201d entered the conversation. Those injuries tend to make everybody tense up, because they have a way of hanging around longer than anyone wants. Betts knows that too. He has been through one before, back in 2018, and he said right away this one does not feel nearly as serious.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew,\u201d Betts said when asked whether he recognized it as an oblique issue. \u201cI\u2019ve had an oblique before, back in 2018, but that was on a swing. I knew that one was much worse than this.\u201d He later added, \u201cThis is much less severe than that. Much, much less severe than that. I should be back a little quicker than that.\u201d<\/p>\n
That comparison is probably the biggest takeaway from the whole session. Betts has a personal reference point for this kind of injury, and by his own telling, this one is different in a better way.<\/p>\n
\u201cA little grab\u201d<\/p>\n
What makes the whole thing stranger is how ordinary the play felt. Betts said the injury did not happen on a swing or a check swing. It happened when he took off running after Freddie Freeman put the ball in play. Betts described feeling \u201ca little grab,\u201d but even now he says most of his baseball movements feel normal. The main problem is swinging.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can still run and do everything now,\u201d Betts said. \u201cI just probably can\u2019t swing. I can go throw or do everything. I feel pretty normal.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was also a little disbelief in the way he talked about it. Betts said it had been a perfectly normal day. His preparation was normal. His routine was normal. He kept coming back to the fact that he had been doing everything the right way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI prepare. I do everything,\u201d Betts said. \u201cI\u2019ll give myself credit. I\u2019ve been doing it right. And so I don\u2019t know where it came from other than just God sending the message.\u201d<\/p>\n
Working Past Disappointment<\/p>\n
Betts admitted there was disappointment at first, especially because he came into the season feeling so good about the work he had put in physically. But he also sounded like somebody who had already moved into problem-solving mode.<\/p>\n
\u201cDepends on your mindset,\u201d Betts said. \u201cAt first, yeah, but I think just acceptance. I\u2019m in acceptance stage that this is where I\u2019m at. Might as well just get myself back right and be ready to go when the time comes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That is probably the healthiest way for the Dodgers to look at this too. The early read from Betts himself is positive. He says he is \u201clight years ahead\u201d of where he thought he would be just a couple of days earlier, and while he does not want to put a hard return date on it, he made it clear he is aiming to get back as soon as he safely can.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously I know I need to be smart with obliques,\u201d Betts said. \u201cThey can kind of linger around. So be smart about it. But I\u2019m not trying to take my time or anything. I want to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
That last part sounded very familiar. Betts hates sitting. He said it plainly later in the scrum: \u201cIt just sucks to not play in general, especially with the work I put in.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Prognosis<\/p>\n
For now, Dodgers fans will take the good news where they can find it. Betts is hurt, yes. The lineup is different without him, yes. But if the man dealing with the injury is calling it much less severe than the oblique problem he had in 2018, says he feels great, and thinks he is ahead of schedule already, that is a whole lot better than the alternative.<\/p>\n
The Dodgers need Mookie Betts back. Monday, at least, he sounded like a guy who plans on making that wait a short one.<\/p>\n
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