PHOENIX – The Giants were concerned enough with the ergonomic health of their players that they invested in a larger chartered jet this season that features more first class seats.
And here you thought the term “wide body” only applied to Pablo Sandoval.
Well, it was a good thought, anyway.
Maybe it’s time to replace the flight attendants with chiropractors, make Barry Bonds’ old Barcalounger standard issue in the clubhouse and fit everyone for custom orthotics. Because this is officially the Year of the Bad Back.
Michael Morse could play outfield in a pinch Sunday after exiting Saturday’s game in the fifth inning because of back stiffness. That’s more than manager Bruce Bochy will get out of Angel Pagan, who hits home runs in batting practice yet remains unavailable for a sixth consecutive game because of his back discomfort.
Buster Posey has dealt with a bad back this season. And of course, Marco Scutaro hasn’t played at all.
“We’ve done things to make it more comfortable, more first class seats,” Bochy said. “We’ve done that to make the travel easier on the back.”
Morse jokingly blamed the soft beds at the Ritz Carlton for his back issues. He doesn’t believe they are significant, which is a good thing since Morse is the only backup outfielder at Bochy’s disposal behind Gregor Blanco, Tyler Colvin and Hunter Pence.
(Colvin had a bad back in the spring, by the way, and Pence has been icing his back as well.)
The disabled list isn’t out of the question for Pagan, although the Giants continue to delay the decision because their leadoff hitter still could return within a day or two. If he were to go on the DL, he’d miss the next eight games including Sunday.
“Angel’s about the same, which is good,” Bochy said. “It hasn’t gotten any worse with baseball activities. Morse is hoping to play (Monday) and we’ll have a pretty good idea on both of them by then.”
Outfielder Juan Perez, who was optioned to make room for second baseman Joe Panik on Saturday, didn’t leave to join Triple-A Fresno in Texas. Instead he’ll go back to San Francisco just in case the Giants need to bring him back to replace Pagan on the roster.
In the meantime, Panik is making his first big league start Sunday as the Giants try for a series victory behind Madison Bumgarner. They hope to follow that up with a happy – and comfortably short – flight home.