Freddie Freeman I shouldn’t be playing right now. Doctors told him that his sprained ankle usually takes at least four weeks to heal. He has been playing on the ankle for two weeks and the results are getting worse.
In the sixth inning of Friday’s gameFreeman had three 97 mph fastballs. He tipped a foul. He spun and missed against the other two.
Can he still generate the power needed to be productive at bat?
“I don’t know,” he said. “I haven’t had an extra-base hit in a while.”
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Maybe he won’t have a chance on Sunday. One of the greatest batsmen of our time is struggling to bat right now. With a World Series berth up for grabs for the Dodgers on Sunday, Freeman should be on the bench.
David RobertsDodgers manager made no promises that Freeman would remain in the lineup for Game 6 of the National League Championship Series. Roberts said he would discuss the issue with Freeman during practice Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
“I don’t think his swing is right,” Roberts said Friday. “I’m sure it’s the ankle. We’ll have that conversation, but it’s certainly an option not to have him there for Game 6, yes.”
Freeman wasn’t kidding about not having an extra-base hit in a while. The last: a double 22 days ago, the day he injured his ankle.
In the division series, he had four hits in 14 at-bats.
In the championship series, he had three hits in 18 at-bats.
He went hitless in five at-bats in Game 5 on Friday, stranding runners at second and third base in the first inning and leaving the bases loaded in the fourth.
Did not play in Game 4 and was eliminated in the eighth inning of Game 3after Roberts said he could see Freeman working.
Loaded with an unexpected power source on Friday, the Dodgers have a good enough patch for Sunday’s lineup.
Rookie Andy Pages he hit two home runs on Friday. He can remain in center field on Sunday, with the New York Mets scheduled to start left-hander Sean Manaea.
Kike Hernandez he started at second base against Manaea in Game 2. Chris Taylor started at second base against left-hander José Quintana in Game 4 and could start there against Manaea on Sunday.
That would leave the Dodgers with Max Muncy at first base and Hernandez at third, or vice versa.
The monotony of treatment on Freeman’s ankle (hours of treatment, every day) does not guarantee that it is healing. The treatment prepares you to play to the best of your ability.
It’s not that the ankle feels much better, nor much worse.
It’s not that he can’t do something this week that he was able to do last week. He can’t do what has made him an eight-time All-Star.
It is what it is, as they say.
“It’s like you’re running a 100-meter hurdles race,” Freeman said. “I still face the same obstacle. I run into that every time.”
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If the Dodgers bench Freeman on Sunday and win, they would have four days off before the start of the World Series. In total, that would give Freeman six days to focus on rest and treatment, rather than forcing his injured ankle to endure swing after swing.
That could be enough to put Freeman in the World Series starting lineup. Maybe not. But this isn’t working, and the Dodgers should be smart to recognize it.
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This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.