Good news for Ruiz
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Good news for Ruiz
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
Carlos Ruiz's trip back to Philadelphia to see hand specialst Dr. Randall Culp sounded ominous. But the news, according to the Phillies, is positive:
An MRI showed no structural damage to the catcher's sprained left wrist, and he could be back on the field within three to five days. Ruiz will be re-examined today, at which point he will likely have an anti-inflammatory shot. Once the shot does its work, Ruiz is expected to return to the lineup.
While Ruiz is not the most recognizeable player on the team, losing him would create huge voids behind the plate in the No. 8 spot in the lineup.
"It was actually good news because there was no structural damage," general manager Ruben Amaro said, "which is good, because wrists are tricky."
Ruiz has drawn rave reviews from the Phillies for his work behind the plate, both in his defense and his handling of a pitching staff that has posted a 3.62 ERA since June 1. He has also contributed at the plate, hitting .253 with a .353 on base percentage after suffering through a dismal 2008 in which those respective figures were .219 and .320.
Ruiz suffered the injury in the second inning Friday night when he blocked the plate and tagged out Diaz.
Prior to that game in Atlanta, he was hitting .320 with a .410 on base percentage, four home runs, 19 RBI and 17 runs scored in 37 games.
Ruiz caught all 17 games during the Phillies' playoff run last season.
"We can't afford to lose anybody that plays that much," manager Charlie Manuel said. "We're losing one of our starters. That's tough. It's hard to lose guys like that. Your catcher is very important to you."
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More updates:
1) Scott Eyre is available to pitch tonight and Manuel said he will not hesitate to use him.
2) Brett Myers is still scheduled to throw a bullpen session Tuesday.
3) J.C. Romero will throw an inning in an instructional league game tomorrow.
4) Chan Ho Park is in Clearwater and could take fielding practice within the next "several days" (Amaro's words). After that, the team will make plans to get him on the mound.
PhillyPhan35....I'm willing to take that bet. Cheesesteaks at 10 paces say Moyer is NOT on the post season roster this year, unless of course we still have 5 or 6 pitchers down.
Oh boy...— TerryW
Comment removed.- Alright, Amaro has done a great job this year but he needs to step in here and pull the reigns in on Charlie. Charlie keeps trotting out injured players and burning out healthy ones. Half of the team is going to be on the DL at this pace. Someone tell Charlie we've got a significant division lead here and we don't need to be running guys into the ground if they aren't healthy or they are just coming back from injury.— JimG
- Bako stinks - cant hit - cant throw anyoen out - just got picked off Where is Chris Coste?— Abusedeaglesfan
- No Ruiz=no chance at WS. Phils have enough problems without losing a stellar defensive catcher and a leader. clutch hits in the WS last year were icing on the cake— dreinterests
- No Ruiz=no chance at WS. Phils have enough problems without losing a stellar defensive catcher and a leader. clutch hits in the WS last year were icing on the cake— dreinterests
- No Ruiz=no chance at WS. Phils have enough problems without losing a stellar defensive catcher and a leader. clutch hits in the WS last year were icing on the cake— dreinterests
- Man the injuries on this team. Lidge has to go. He can't get it done this year. How many games has he cost us.— sonnycna
- I f n hate Lidge!!!! Charlie, how could you leave him in?????? Another BRUTAL loss!
- No, we don't need him to catch Lidge. We need Lidge to stop pitching!— phillysmith
- Maybe Ruiz can close when he heals and comes back.— brinkmang
- Once upon a time, way back in 1964, the Phillies had a manager named Gene Mauch. He thought he could save a sliding team by overworking his two best pitchers, until they were not effective at all. Now tell me, children, does this sound like anything you have heard, or look like anything you have seen this year?— Delaware Jim
- Comment removed.
- I like Charlie, but sometimes he is so the master of the obvious.— pj katauskas
