On Monday, the Chicago Cubs placed All-Star first baseman Anthony Rizzo on the disabled list with back tightness, which he said began last week in Cincinnati.
Now, Rizzo has identified a culprit for his injury: a hotel bed in Cincinnati. He has also identified a solution. According to ESPN, Rizzo said, “I think the next time I go [to Cincinnati], I’ll sleep on the floor.”
We’re a little skeptical that a night on the ground will help Rizzo’s aching back or that one bad hotel experience means all of Cincinnati’s beds must be forsaken, but hey, it’s his body, so maybe he knows best. From some quick googling, doctors seem to be split on the effect sleeping on the floor can have on back pain.
Luckily for Rizzo and the Cubs, the first baseman’s back injury does not seem particularly serious. Rizzo played through the tightness last Thursday before sitting out a three-game series and taking his spot on the DL and told ESPN 1000 in Chicago that he has experienced this kind of pain before, typically later in the season. It sounds as if this DL trip is largely precautionary, with an eye on preventing the tightness from hindering him later on.
Rizzo hopes his back “settles down” now and won’t be an issue the rest of the season.
“Usually it’s July, August, September,” Rizzo said about past back issues. “You mentally grind through it, and as long as you can move, you can play. This is one of those things where we talked and I don’t want to be locked up for the entire year.
“Hopefully, we put a nip to it the next five days and don’t have to deal with it.”
If all goes well, Rizzo will be back in the Cubs’ lineup before long and his back issues won’t follow him for the rest of the summer.
And if you were wondering, the Cubs will return to Cincinnati next month for a four-game series against the Reds. The team might want to consider a new hotel… just in case.
[ESPN]
