TA on hamstring injury: 'I'm ready to go, but my leg ain't' originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Tim Anderson still didn't know the severity of his hamstring injury when he spoke Monday night prior to the White Sox game in Seattle.
But the South Side shortstop was upbeat and seemed ready and willing to sit for a few days should the team take a precautionary approach with one of the most important pieces of its lineup.
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"It's a long season. We're still early on. So I think the biggest goal is be healthy when I do get back in," Anderson said. "I'd rather sit right now and get healthy and be there for the rest of the way. Just playing it smart and being smart with my decision, make sure I'm making the right moves and getting the right treatment that I need.
"I'm ready to go, but my leg ain't. So I've got to play the waiting game."
RELATED: TA not expected to play during Sox series vs. Mariners
Anderson was removed from Sunday night's contest in Anaheim after he pulled up running to first base on a game-opening ground out. The White Sox described it as hamstring tightness, which Anderson echoed Monday.
Manager Tony La Russa said that Anderson is unlikely to play during the team's three-game series in Seattle, adding that it'd be great news if Anderson would be good to go by the White Sox home opener Thursday.
But even an hour before first pitch, at least according to Anderson, the White Sox were still waiting for the results of an MRI, unsure of just how severe the injury was.
Anderson, unsurprisingly, expressed a desire to stay off the injured list, though he will approve anything that assures his late-season health.
"I don't want to go on the DL. Nobody does," he said. "So yeah, I'm definitely trying to avoid that. But being smart, and if I need to, I'm open for it. But I don't want to. I'm going to try to get healthy. Like I said, I'm going to play it smart and see where I land at."
The White Sox cannot afford another extended absence for one of the key cogs of their lineup. Eloy Jiménez was knocked out for five to six months when he ruptured his pectoral tendon in the final days of spring training. That's already one Silver Slugger sized hole in the batting order, and any missed time by Anderson would create another.
The team will have to deal with that for at least the next three games, it seems. But if that's what prevents Anderson from being away longer, so be it.
"Today was better than yesterday. So I think that's definitely a positive in my way," Anderson said. "But I think the biggest goal is continue to keep pushing and doing what they need me to do to try to get back out there as soon as I can, but be healthy, for the most part."
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