Rizzo: Mattress talk ‘ ridiculous’
Keep your mattress to yourself, Bill from Schaumburg. That goes for you, too, sports talk- radio host.
Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo’s back will be just fine by the time he gets to that next hotel room on the road.
‘‘ Ridiculous,’’ Rizzo said of all the analysis and airtime devoted to the mattress quality at hotels in Cincinnati after he casually mentioned that’s where his back started bothering him.
It was just a throwaway line, he said, ‘‘ but people decided to run with it. It doesn’t just happen in Cincinnati.’’
Rizzo, who’s expected to return from the 10- day disabled list Monday, took swings off a tee Thursday as he tested his lower back during a lengthy workout.
There is no single reason for why his back tightens annually, he said, or why it lasted more than the usual one or two days this time.
‘‘ You have certain hotels where you wake up, and you’re a little more stiff,’’ he said. ‘‘ But we played a 17- inning game, we had a long road trip, traveling, the beginning of the season — it’s a number of things.’’
Manager Joe Maddon has talked with Rizzo about taking fewer swings in the batting cage as part of his routine.
‘‘ I believe guys swing too much,’’ Maddon said. ‘‘ I don’t think Billy [ Williams] did that. I don’t think [ Ron] Santo did that. I don’t think Ernie [ Banks] did that. They probably didn’t even have a batting cage to do that in.
‘‘ The point of diminishing returns always sets in, whether it’s physically or mentally. I think you should do enough, not more than enough. With Anthony, I’m trying to convince him to back off — no pun intended — a little bit because swinging too often can actually exaggerate the issue, I think.’’
Rizzo said he agrees with the principle, but he’s not going to change his routine dramatically. Even with the recurring issue, swinging has not tended to bother his back, he said.
‘‘ Guys do tend to hit a lot, and I’ll fall into that category a couple of times throughout the year,’’ he said. ‘‘ But I try to limit my swings and stay as fresh as I can.
‘‘ I’m going to do whatever I do. I’ve been doing the same thing for 10 years of my professional career, especially the last four or five years. I don’t know if I’m necessarily going to change that. I’ll tweak it, but I’ll probably just stick with what I know best.’’