SLOW & STEADY
Tulowitzki’s recovery timeline uncertain, but Jays shortstop confident he has more to offer
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Troy Tulowitzki misses the clubhouse and the competition.
He misses the grind and the highs and the lows — especially the highs — and he misses being a leader to his younger teammates.
What the veteran Blue Jays shortstop doesn’t miss, however, is the pain so excruciating that even the most routine plays became a challenge. So, rather than suffer in silence and potentially stubbornness, Tulowitzki underwent surgery in April to have bone spurs removed from both of his heels in the hopes of saving and ultimately prolonging his all-star career.
Recovery has been slow and meticulous but Tulowitzki said on Tuesday that, even though there isn’t a specific timetable mapped out, he hopes to return to the Jays at some point this season.
“I don’t want to sit here and (say) for sure I’ll be back, but at the same time I like my chances with the way things are going,” Tulowitzki said in the visitors dugout at Tropicana Field prior to the JaysRays contest. “That’s definitely a goal of mine to come back and help these guys. I miss them. It’s crazy. It’s like family the time I’ve been here.”
Of course, the Jays have plenty of reasons to want Tulowitzki back — starting with the fact they’ve gone with seven different players at short this season and are paying him $20 million US to rehab.
If there is any fault on either side, it’s perhaps that Tulowitzki didn’t have the surgery earlier considering he went on the disabled list on July 29 last season with a sprained ankle. But Tulo wouldn’t be alone among athletes who felt he was invincible and hoped to play through the pain.
When he showed up in Dunedin in February, though, it was clear that wasn’t going to be possible. What he had persevered through over previous seasons was no longer an option.
“It was painful,” Tulowitzki said. “I fought through it for a good period of time. I didn’t sit there and talk about it as I was going through it, you just keep on playing games and going out there for your team.
“But, this spring training it just got to be a little bit too much. At this point in my career, I wanted to give myself a fair chance to come back and be the player I know I can be and also end my career when I want to end it and not because it’s being forced.”
Tulowitzki was understandably cautious when asked about a potential date for his return. Just this week he began hitting live pitching and taking ground balls but running has been limited to light movement in the outfield and nothing yet on the basepaths.
Meanwhile, as he works at the team’s spring training facility in Dunedin, Tulowitzki has been keeping tabs on his struggling teammates, who entered Tuesday’s game with a 30-36 record.
“They haven’t quit. I would be frustrated with these guys if I didn’t see effort,” said the 33-year-old California native. “But they continually give effort every single night. It seems like some of the young guys are getting better and some of the veterans are sticking with it even though they might be having tough years. That’s part of baseball.
“These guys are also gaining some experience. Some (young) guys, some good guys in the minor leagues that I know will be here shortly. Sometimes teams get headed in the wrong direction and then you find yourself real quick. I’m hoping that’s going to be the case with us.”
Just when Tulowitzki gets the chance to help contribute to that turnaround is uncertain. He says he’s operating on a week-to-week schedule with the team’s training staff and making
sure he passes every test.
“I’ve got to do it the right way. I understand that,” Tulowitzki said. “I don’t want to sell myself short. There were times in my career where I tried to play through things and maybe the product that was out there wasn’t what I approve of. This time I needed to do it this way. It’s what I owed to my teammates and this organization.
“You guys know me. I love this game, man. I would do anything for it. That’s the part I miss, competing every day trying to find ways to help my team win and then trying to get these guys to play on a level that maybe they don’t know they have in them.”