Frustrated Dunn still sidelined by strained oblique
Adam Dunn says his strained right oblique feels about the same.
His frustration level is definitely on the rise.
“It’s terrible,” Dunn said. “This is the part of the season where I know everybody’s beat up, but this is it, this is where you want to be at. September, playing meaningful games and not being able to do anything, it’s awful.
“I’d rather be out there not doing anything than what I’m doing now because it’s terrible.”
Dunn missed his sixth straight game Wednesday night, but he did swing a bat to test the injury before the game.
Obviously frazzled, the White Sox’ designated hitter/first baseman couldn’t even remember how many swings he took in the indoor cage.
“Anywhere from 10 to 100,” Dunn said.
While he is cautiously hopeful about getting back on the field soon, Dunn realizes he is stuck with a nagging injury that needs time to heal.
“It’s felt better,” Dunn said. “Standing here doing normal stuff kind of feels fine. Problem is, I have to swing a 34-ounce bat, which is not that bad until you really try to gear up for it and it’s just not better yet.”
Dunn strained the oblique on the Sox’ last road trip, and he told manager Robin Ventura he was good to go after sitting out two games (Sept. 1-2) at Detroit.
In a Sept. 5 home game against the Twins, Dunn re-aggravated the injury and has yet to return.
Ventura doesn’t want to deal with a similar situation.
“You just want to make sure they’re telling the truth about how they’re feeling,” Ventura said. “We’ve already gone through that once with him saying it feels pretty good to pulling it. He still feels it, so it’s not worth having him go in there and then set him back another week. We’re just going to wait it out.”
If the wait is extended, there’s not much Dunn can do.
“I don’t even know how to kind of explain it,” he said. “It feels fine when I pick up a bat and swing it, and then I go and try to hit and I don’t know if it’s because you tighten up or what, but it kind of grabs you.
“If it happens as bad as it is now, again, I’m done. As bad as it (stinks), I’d rather miss today and try again tomorrow.”