Will Carlos Quentin conquer plantar fasciitis?

Plantar fasciitis is quickly becoming a common enemy in Chicago sports. The foot injury has kept Carlos Quentin out the last month and a half, but now Q! is ready to come back, perhaps as early as tomorrow. But how effective will he be?

Make no mistake: this injury blows. Big time. It basically ruined the careers of NBA greats Andrew Toney and Andres Nocioni (Ha!). But before you laugh too hard at my hilarious joke, remember that Noce wasn't always the worst player ever. There was a time - specifically in the 2005 playoffs against the Wizards - when Noce was accurately described best with words like "bulldog" and "warrior". Then he got plantar fasciitis, missed a third of the 2006-07 season, and quickly became a laughingstock. 

Of course, an NBA small forward is going to rely more on his feet than a power hitter major league left fielder. From all reports, Q! should still be able to hit, and he had been during his rehab assignment in Triple-A Charlotte. Quentin has seven hits and four walks in 21 at-bats, but has just one extra base hit.

Naturally, the Sox are planning to ease him back into the lineup. From the Trib's Mark Gonzalez:

Given the fact that he has a foot injury and that Jermaine Dye has stabilized the third spot he once occupied, Quentin could hit somewhere lower in the order to prevent clogging the base paths.

Oh boy. Actually, Carlos, it's fine, go ahead and clog those bases. It's better than the alternative, which is, you know, getting out. What's the over/under for when newspaper beat reporters stop writing dumb stuff like this? 2020?

I'm sure the Sox are doing everything they can not to rush Q! back, but they honestly need him. And need him to be good. With Quentin in left, Scotty Pods slides over the center, and, boom, the Sox' biggest hole is plugged (fifth starter be damned). At least in the short term. Obviously, a Quentin-Pods-Dye outfield would be brutal defensively, but if they all hit like they can, it really shouldn't matter. This White Sox offense will be back to being explosive.

But will Quentin be able to mash right away? Who knows. But if anyone can do it, it's Q!perman.