Before the start of the series against his former team, Mike Moustakas spoke with the media. The Cincinnati Reds second baseman isn’t playing as he’s currently on the 10-day injured list with a quad injury, which he provided an update on. He also spoke about being one of the team leaders, and what he can do to continue that while not being able to be on the field.
On the injury
“I’m feeling a lot better. It ended up being a quad strain with some severe bruising, I guess is what it was. But yeah, feeling a lot better. Wasn’t able to participate in the game the other day. Really miss being out there with the boys – wanted to get out there and play, just wasn’t able to do it. Ended up going on the IL. Just been working, going here (GABP) in the mornings, going over to Prasco in the afternoon to double up on my rehab to get back as soon as I can.”
On when and how he got hurt and how the injury progressed
“It was in Detroit. I ended up trying to go up the middle for a line drive, one-hopper. My foot got kind of caught in the ground and kind of slid out from underneath me. I didn’t think anything of it, just kept playing. Then the next day I came in and it was a little sore, didn’t think much of it and kept playing and then a couple days later I just couldn’t move my leg anymore. I was pretty much non-competitive out there. Especially in a season right now when we’ve only got 60 games we’ve got to be out there competing every single pitch and I wasn’t able to do that, so I came out of the game and tried to rehab it and get back and just wasn’t able to get back as soon as I wanted to. So now we’re here and just working every day to get back as soon as possible.”
Will he miss just the 10 days before returning to play?
“Yeah, I was trying to get ready to play today (Tuesday). Did everything possible that I could and it just wasn’t going to happen. I had not ran yet. I haven’t seen any pitching since I was out of the lineup. But yeah, I think as soon as these 10 days are up I’ll be ready to go. No looking back, just getting back out there with the boys is my main goal and going out there and helping these boys win some games.”
On being one of the leaders of the team in the clubhouse despite not being in the organization for very long.
“It feels good, obviously. I think that’s one of the reasons I was brought in here – to be one of the leaders of this team. And there’s a bunch of great leaders in that clubhouse. I’m just more outspoken – I speak up a lot. I guess that’s kind of how it all started, but I guess the track record I had in Kansas City and the way we were able to win, all that stuff, coming with me from Kansas City and Milwaukee here, I think that helped me out a lot. It takes the boys in the clubhouse to kind of respond to that and be able to be accepted as quickly as I was and be a part of this team and part of the boys was awesome. That’s all I wanted to do, and be able to share my experiences and have that World Series that everybody wants to get and I want to get another one, to have that and have that experience in the postseason, I think that’s why everybody kind of is on board with what the plan is these next couple of months and even moving forward the next couple of years.”
Contributing as a leader when you’re out, how do you do it?
“In cases like this, when you’re on the IL, you kind of want to be seen, not heard. Stay out of the boys way and go about their business. But once that game starts, we still have jobs to do. I’ve still got something I’ve got to do – my job right now is to get back as soon as possible, but I’ll be out there cheering. If I see something out there on the field – maybe a pitchers got a tip, we can figure something out – I’m going to go out there and tell them that. Things like that. Staying involved in the game, staying locked in – if someone’s got a question for me, I’ll be there to answer, to help. Other than that, it’s basically just supporting the boys right now – letting them know how great they are and how awesome it is to watch them play ball.
I like Moose … I hope he’s back this week.
Vocal leadership has been the missing ingredient on this team for too long…..and given the nature of the manager, more necessary than ever. All you ever hear is what a ‘good’ clubhouse the Reds always have, and yet it’s nothing but losing. Time to try something different, and I hope the front office saw this as a problem and it informed their decision to go after Moose. Probably an overpay, but if the clubhouse dynamic is is disrupted, then it might be money well spent.
Sunday