Pureed carrots, apples, sweet potatoes and, if he’s feeling like a treat, a banana-orange medley are just some of the recipes Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz can enjoy over the next six weeks as he recovers from the foul liner he took to the jaw on Monday.
As the bruised 43-year-old told reporters on Tuesday, he has been reduced to eating baby food after suffering a broken jaw, not to mention at least a half-dozen fractures in his cheek area.
‘Ball hit me pretty flush in the cheek, but I feel good,’ Albernaz said.
The good news for Albernaz is he avoided surgery and a concussion, although the first-year manager won’t exactly be comfortable any time soon.
‘I can’t blow my nose for six weeks, because one of the fractures is kind of like where my orbital bone is,’ he said. ‘If I blow my nose it’s going to go up into my eye.
‘Six weeks of soft foods,’ Albernaz added. ‘Can’t do anything strenuous.’
First-year Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz is seen with a bruise on his right cheek
Albernaz was seated at the near side of the dugout closest to home plate on Monday when he was struck with a foul line drive off the bat of Jeremiah Jackson’s bat
And that includes fighting with umpires, although the Fall River, Massachusetts native isn’t sure he can adhere to that directive.
‘Medically speaking, yeah I probably shouldn’t,’ he said. ‘I think everything gets thrown out the window when that first pitch happens.’
Albernaz was seated at the near side of the dugout closest to home plate on Monday when he was struck with a foul line drive off the bat of Jeremiah Jackson. The Baltimore infielder immediately recognized the problem and was seen staring into the dugout as trainers rushed to Albernaz’s aid.
Remarkably, Albernaz wanted to keep managing.
‘I was trying to get back out there after my concussion protocol was fine, but they wanted me to get a CT scan,’ Albernaz said. ‘I was trying to get it after the game, but obviously the medical team has better judgment than I do.’
Albernaz visits the mound to make a pitching substitution during the fifth inning Tuesday
On Tuesday, Albernaz did return to the dugout, where he also had to face questions about injured infielder and former first-overall pick Jackson Holliday.
‘I said I don’t believe in timelines, and this is a perfect example of that,’ Albernaz said after Holliday suffered a setback from a wrist injury during a rehab assignment in the minors. ‘It all depends on the player. It’s great to see Jackson being communicative and open at every turn.’
But as for Albernaz, his timeline to return to solid foods remains an estimated six weeks.
‘This is what we’re here for,’ he said. ‘We’re here for the players. We have a game. I’m physically able to be here, so let’s go… If my jaw was wired shut, I’d still be here.’
