A game Altuve keeps on ‘playing on one leg’
Only in October could Jose
Altuve accomplish this.
His right knee is badly injured. Manager A.J. Hinch acknowledged Thursday that, if this were the regular season, the reigning American League Most Valuable Player would reside on the disabled list instead of a 25-man postseason roster. Hinch said the second baseman is “playing on one leg.”
Thoughts of removing Altuve from the lineup remain nonexistent.
“You should try to live with someone pulling your heart out of your body and see how long you can live,” Hinch said Thursday. “We’re not going to live without Jose. At this juncture, what he brings is beyond that comparison.”
“He’s part of our heart and soul. You’re going to have to drag him off the field and I applaud him for that.”
Altuve slid to beat out a third inning double during Wednesday’s 8-6, Game 4 loss. “Every time he slides, I hold my breath,” Hinch said Thursday Hinch and assistant trainer
Scott Barringer trotted out. There’s little more they can do — Altuve can not hurt himself further, according to Hinch. Both men simply sought to afford Altuve a brief reprieve.
“We know he’s hurting, we know he’s grinding, a lot of guys out there are grinding, but he’s trying to do his best to help us win ballgames,” said shortstop
Carlos Correa. “I have a lot of respect for that guy, but even more now, with how he’s handling this every single day.”
In Game 5, Altuve assumed designated hitter duties for the third consecutive day Playing defense again in this series — should it return to Boston — seems unlikely.
“We’re all watching the same guy,” Hinch said Thursday. “I love him for what he’s doing — and it’s really amazing what he’s doing. He’s kept it pretty private to himself, but I don’t feel like he could play second base right now.”
On one leg, Altuve is 4-for-16 in four games of the American League Championship Series. A fifth hit was overturned on the infamous fan interference call in right field on Wednesday.
“He’s trying to do what’s best for the team and obviously that’s having his presence in the lineup,” Correa said. “He’s one of the best hitters in the game and even on one knee he’s been pretty productive at the plate. We need him out there.