BAD BACKDROP
Rizzo’s lingering back issues create nagging pain for Cubs during short season
He’s Anthony Rizzo. Of course there’s nothing to worry about.
That’s the way the Cubs have been conditioned to think when it comes to Rizzo and his annual bouts with back pain and stiffness.
The bouts don’t last long. Rizzo always comes back swinging soon.
But it’s that time again. The first baseman missed another day at the office Tuesday and had an MRI exam — one week after the first workout he was held out of because of his back, which manager David Ross described then as “a little stiff.”
Rizzo, 30, took live batting practice Sunday and was encouraged by how he felt.
“Once he cooled down, some of that stiffness came back,” Ross said. “He’s still day-to-day. Going to have some tests run and see where he’s at.”
Rizzo’s history says there’s nothing much to see here. Why would this time be any different? Despite his back flareups, he has been close to an iron man over his Cubs career, averaging 153 games the last seven seasons.
And the 25 or so pounds he took off over the offseason and during baseball’s monthslong shutdown were intended to keep that going. The back issues were part of the reason Rizzo logged all those hours with a personal trainer.
Hitting coach Anthony Iapoce coined the nickname “Skinny Rizz” a few days ago.
“Skinny Rizz, Big Rizz, Strong Rizz, Bad Ankle Rizz — he’s still got power,” Iapoce said.
The last of those guys — Bad Ankle Rizz — only furthered the narrative that Rizzo, who survived cancer as a teenager, can handle whatever ails him. After badly spraining his right ankle while fielding a bunt last September, he shocked everyone by playing in a game four days later and homering against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field. He was in the lineup every day after that until the Cubs were eliminated from playoff contention.
“It’s just mind over matter, really,” Rizzo said then, his ankle resembling an eggplant.
His back has never set off the kind of alarms the ankle injury did. In 2016, for example, he said of an onset of back stiffness, “I’ve had this before.” Then-manager Joe Maddon said it was “not a concern.”
In 2017, it was already being characterized as a “rinse, repeat” sort of mini-problem.
“I should be fine,” Rizzo said when his back barked at him, and in short order he was.
In 2018, the Cubs had to put Rizzo on the 10-day disabled list with lower-back pain, prompting this from Maddon: “Anthony is one guy I don’t worry about.”
Yet, with next Friday’s opener looming — the start of what seemingly everyone in baseball has termed a 60-game “sprint” — the Cubs had better hope it isn’t.
Rizzo’s bat being anywhere but in the lineup — specifically, in the No. 2 spot behind leadoff man Kris Bryant — when the season starts against the Brewers might make Ross worry plenty. So might a recurrence of that old, familiar stiffness at any point in the two months to follow. There aren’t enough games for the Cubs to be without arguably their most dependable hitter.
Last week, when Rizzo missed his first workout, he hung around in the bleachers and watched his teammates have an intrasquad scrimmage. He hopes to hang around Wrigley Field for a lot longer — next year, when the Cubs hold a $16.5 million option on him, and beyond.
As long as his durability isn’t in question, Rizzo clearly has a bright baseball future. Why would this incidence of back trouble be any different from previous ones? That’s the narrative the Cubs are counting on.