Sammy Sosa endured a lot of behind-the-scenes criticism in the clubhouse last May for not remaining at the ballpark for games while rehabbing his bad back.
Todd Walker isn’t about to make the same mistake.
“I don’t want to disappear,” said Walker, who’s recovering from a sprained left knee ligament. “I want to keep my face around and keep rooting for the team and keep directly involved, because when you disappear, you don’t feel like you’re part of the team.
“In some cases you have to do that. Some people handle things differently.”
Walker began playing catch while wearing a leg brace Tuesday and insisted he will be ready play in two weeks.
It may be an optimistic view, but he’s sticking with it.
“I still have pain, but I wish their wasn’t a protocol with this whole deal,” Walker said. “I’d strap it on and go. . . . I feel like if I just stabilized this MCL and taped it up like an offensive lineman, I could go. But they won’t let me do it.”
Walker was kidding . . . sort of. He said he’s walking much better, but he isn’t close to being able to run, slide or dive.
“Nomar [Garciaparra] and I and everyone else have talked about it,” Walker said. “If a lineman has the same injury, he’s back the next week. We talked about the different stuff he has to do, as opposed to us.
“You come to the realization in baseball, even though you don’t realize it when you’re out there, you have to do so much with your legs and your knees.
“You have to wait for it to completely heal. I’m at the point now where it’s fine, but if I were to make a false move, I’d have to start all over again.
“That’s something you don’t want to do, especially when you’ve invested two weeks into rehab.”
