What's holding back Papi?

In today's UNO Sports Tonight Question of the Day, we ask: "Is it taking David Ortiz too long to come back?"

And here's how the answers break down:

If you say "no," then you believe that Ortiz is still genuinely hurt and unable to play.

If you say "yes," then you think that there might be a little more to this story; that under different circumstances (aka he'd gotten the extension or was generally happier with the organization) we'd already see him out there.

My answer: I don't know. It's so dangerous to speculate about this kind of thing. The accusation of faking or milking an injury is one of the biggest insults you can lay on an athlete, and considering that Ortiz is a guy who will be remembered so fondly in this city, I hate the notion of him being anything less than honest about an injury. I want to believe that he's really hurting as much as he says. Then again, that might be a naive assumption.

But I'll say this: If Ortiz is intentionally taking a little longer than he should . . . I understand. I don't respect or encourage him, but I get it. After all, that's the culture over there these days. There's no trust. There's no loyalty. It's every man for himself. And if taking his time to come back from an injury if what Ortiz thinks is best for him in the long term, then that's how he has to treat this.

What happens if he comes back at less than 100 percent and struggles to maintain those great numbers? Will anyone care that he gave himself up for the team? Nope. It will get lost in a sea of drama during the regular season, and probably used against him in the offseason. He knows that as well as anyone else. That's life with the 2012 Red Sox.