JUPITER, Fla. • The hope that longtime coach Jose Oquendo would be off his crutches and able to contribute come opening day ended Sunday as the Cardinals announced that he would take a medical leave of absence.
The length of his absence is described only as "for the foreseeable future" in a release from the club.
Oquendo had surgery on his right knee during spring to clear up a persisting injury, one that he also had addressed this winter with surgery. As recently as this past week, he expected to be able to be off the crutches -- if only to make the trip from the dugout to the third base coach's box, as he has for nearly two decades with the team.