BALTIMORE -- Cody Ross was hoping against hope the last few days that the injury to the navicular bone in his left foot wasn't as bad he feared.
Eventually, logic -- and bad news -- won out.
"I was just trying to be as positive, mentally, as I could be to try to trick myself into thinking nothing was wrong," said Ross, "and that I could go back out there and play. But it's hard to deny the fact that there's a small fracture.
"I'll let it heal, let it rest and then get back at it as soon as I can."
The timing is particularly bad, not only because Ross was seemingly hitting his stride at the plate, but also because of the string of other injuries which have struck the team's other outfielders.
"I was just starting to feel good for the first time all year," said Ross. "The team was rolling, we were playing well. It's obviously a letdown. But they'll hold it down while I'm gone."
Ross wouldn't put a timetable on his return, which could be as long as six weeks or quick as three or so.
Boston Red Sox
"You guys can ask me all you want," said Ross with a chuckle. "But I'm not going to put a date on it. Is it going to be six-to-eight weeks, is it going to be two-to-four weeks? Who knows. It's going to totally depend on how it heals.
"I feel good today. I'm walking around normal. It doesn't hurt. Those are good signs that it can be a quick recovery."
Ross said he's talked with teammate Dustin Pedroia, who broke the navicular bone in his foot in 2010 and missed the next three months.
"His was a little different, though," said Ross. "He had to have surgery and I don't have to. He said he couldn't walk for a good four weeks and I'm walking normal (already). But he was telling me all the little stuff to do to get back (quickly)."
Ross is the seventh Red Sox outfielder to go on the disabled list joining Ryan Sweeney, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carl Crawford, Jason Repko, Darnell McDonald and Ryan Kalish.
Asked if he had ever seen anything like the current rash of injuries strike one position in the same organization, he said: "Never. There's always your fair share of injuries, but nothing like this. That's amazing. That's some sort of record, I would assume."