Red Sox skipper: We're trying to temper our excitement about OF Sizemore
Red Sox manager John Farrell is decidedly pleased with what he's seen this spring from Grady Sizemore, the resilient outfielder trying to revive his big-league career, but the skipper wants to keep expectations reasonable, reports Tim Britton of the Providence Journal.
“Everything has been very positive about him in camp. He’s also missed two years, and we temper the excitement with that,” said Farrell. “Even if he wasn’t coming off the number of challenges that he’s met physically, when you have a two-year gap, you’d have to say, ‘What is the likely number of games that a player with this path could give us?’ We’ve got to keep all that in perspective.”
Sizemore, who hasn't appeared in a big-league game since 2011 amid myriad injuries, admitted he still has work to do to regain his old form.
“I feel good but not great,” he said. “My timing feels off. It feels a little rusty. But I don’t feel like it’s been two or three years. I feel like it’s just another spring training where it’s early and you’re just trying to get a hold of things and get that rhythm down."
The 31-year-old is hitting .294/.333/.294 over six spring games thus far, though he has yet to steal a base or record an extra-base hit. Sizemore, a three-time All-Star, is contending with prospect Jackie Bradley Jr. for Boston's center field job.
“I still feel like I have a long way to go,” added Sizemore.