Manuel eager to watch Ruf this spring
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Manuel eager to watch Ruf this spring
Bob Brookover, Inquirer Baseball Columnist
It remains to be seen who will be most impacted by the late offseason addition of right fielder Delmon Young, because that's the sort of thing that gets sorted out in spring training.
Do the Phillies carry 11 pitchers, opening the door for six infielders and six outfielders? Does it cost an outfielder a job? Does it mean Darin Ruf opens the season at triple-A Lehigh Valley, a stop he skipped on the way to the big leagues last September?
These and other answers will be revealed under the swaying palm trees of Florida's Gulf Coast when the Phillies report to Clearwater, Fla. in two weeks.
What we can tell you on a morning that had a wintery mix here in Philadelphia is that manager Charlie Manuel remains enamored with Ruf.
"We got a situation in the outfield that is going to be good, especially with Ruf," Manuel said without being asked about the power-hitting outfielder recently. "He could make it real interesting."
Those words jarred Manuel's memory from his days in Cleveland. He recalled the time when Indians general manager John Hart acquired Ruben Amaro Jr. from the Phillies in exchange for Heathcliff Slocumb.
"John Hart and I talked and we thought that Ruben and Wayne Kirby were going to be platooning in right field," Manuel said. "The only trouble was a guy by the name of Manny Ramirez came by at the age of 19 or 20 years old.
"So you get what I'm talking about with Ruf? Ruf might be ready."
It's a stretch to compare Ruf to Ramirez for a number of reasons. Ramirez was a first-round pick who was expected to become a star player and did. A year ago at this time, Ruf still wasn't on the radar as a prospect.
Ruf, a 20th-round pick in 2009, didn't reach the big leagues until the age of 25.
Regardless, it's clear that Manuel has an open mind about who will be his opening-day left fielder and that's good news for the kid who powered his way into the picture a year ago.
Have to give Ruf a legitimate shot in left, for the thirteen games he played last year you had to love his compact powerful swing. Slumps and non production come out of long swings (like Browns)that make the mechanics go haywire and are tougher to correct.— BigT- If he had played Ruf more at the end of last year it's possible he would already know but that's Charlie for you.— BCRock
- If you recall, Phil's had an outside shot at the 2nd wildcard when Ruf was called up. Injecting a kid just called up, no matter how good, is not any manager's first choice. As soon as the Phil's were eliminated, Ruf got a decent number of chances. We can argue in hindsight all day long but Cholly doesn't give up until he has to. Manuel will give the kid a shot in Spring Training this year which is what we all want to see. — vafan
- I've been certain since the end of the 2012 season that Ruf was gonna get a legit shot at the job. Nice to see Cholly agree. Sure Rube feels the same way, too.— vafan
- Is he eager to watch him sit on the bench like he did for the kid in September? Did he "earn" his right to play yet under the fake macho process? Keep the kid away from chooch too...let's keep him drug free— Friend to All
- Definitely looking forward to seeing Ruf hit ... but dreading having to watch him in the outfield. He should be fine at home (where the Phillies were able to "hide" Burrell and Ibanez in LF). Maybe they will name a BBQ place after him some day!!— Copper34
- Luxury tax or no luxury tax, the Phils had the money to spend on one of the high-priced outfielders this off-season, but they didn't. Instead, they chose to trade for Ben Revere and pay a token amount for Delmon Young. Why? Because of Darin Ruf. The Phils front office and the media can play all the games they want about who will be the Phils everyday left fielder this year but that was already decided at the end of last season when Ruf hit so many homers in Allentown that the Phils just had to see if he could hit any in Philly. He did and then he hit even more in winter ball which made the Phils quickly realize they really had something in this Ruf kid. The Phils brass undoubtedly asked themselves if it really mattered where the 30 or more homers and 90 or more RBIs came from this year, and promptly answered their own question with a smile and realization that 30 homers by Ruf was the same as 30 homers by someone else who would cost $12 to $15 million a season. I've carefully analyzed Ruf's swing and plate discipline, as well as his defensive abilities in the outfield and interactions with the other Phils. Be advised that this kid is the real deal at the plate, will become a more than adequate defensive outfielder - especially with Ben Revere playing next to him, and has his head right where it needs to be. Regardless of which player or platoon plays right field, left and center are already spoken for and won't be shared in 2013 or for the foreseeable future. I'm sure, as the title of the article suggests, Manuel is eager to watch Ruf play. We all are.— onthebucks
- Well thank God.
We can all relax now because Onthebucks has carefully analyzed this kid, and gives us all his seal of approval.
Forget spring training, let's start the season right now, and pencil this kid in for Cooperstown.
— The Truth Hurts - Well, the Truth does Hurt, doesn't it? Wow. You fit right in with the image of the negative fan in the South Philly stands. As for me, I believe that the comments of "onthebucks" were right on point. Darin Ruf had a great year at Reading and posted numbers that were reminiscent of those put forth by Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinski when they first broke into the majors. Perhaps it took Ruf a while longer to develop his stroke. He certainly did not look over-matched in his 37 plate appearances in "The Show" last September.
I too kept an eye on the kid last season and through the winter. In Venezuela, he played a very decent left for his squad and showed consistent power. It is obvious that he is going to get a real shot at the regular job. And if D. Brown can step forward and show something at the plate that is commensurate with his minor league output (especially in 2010), then Amaro will be hailed as a genius. It certainly is time for Brown to show what he's got. This could be a very, very good outfield if the corners come through.
Would love to see more posts from onethebucks. As for you, The Truth Hurts, take a hike.— World - Thank god. Ruf and Halladay are the KEYS to the season— WFChamps
- You guys who have Ruf as your latest Tyler Cloyd crack me up. Expecially those of you who can't spell his name correctly. But woo hoo everybody's got the kid's name spelled right today. And whatever happened to Tyler Cloyd?— PhillySubsMac
- WFChamps: Couldn't agree more. Throw in the health of Howard and Utley as well.— cbanger
Note to Charlie ... please remember that Darin Ruf will occasionally strikeout. He may even (god forbid) go 0-4 in a game. He has potential, but he's not Babe Ruth. Give him a legitimate chance.
@PhillySub ... Tyler Cloyd can be a decent 4 or 5 pitcher in MLB IMO. Last year people were calling for him because we had injuries and the Phils decided to further deplete the bullpen by putting Kendrick in the rotation instead of calling up Cloyd while he was still fresh. Ultimately, they called him up after he had pitched the most innings in one year in his life. He still had a couple of terrific starts. Jury is still out on him.— zubzub- Ruf...young, cheap and has power. Something the Phils have lacked for the past 3 years. I'll be pulling for him, for sure.— scootch
- Gimmme a break with all this Ruf insanity. Dom Brown was rated as the number one prospect by Baseball America and BLAH BLAH BLAH. Dom doesnt appear to be baseball player, he might be a terrific athlete but cannot track fly balls to save his life. Brown was considered cant miss by alot of scouts yet he shown nothing at the plate and his defensive liabilities are downright scary. Now we come to Ruf, he has shown he can minor league pitching but didnt exactly tear the League up when he was called up against a lot of other Sept call ups. Jury is very much out on RUf suceeding in fact I believe him to be a looong shot to make it. Probably gonna be high strike out guy,low obp and defensive butcher in field. Phils are full of one tool players at this point, and with a team where the strength is pitching you really gotta question having so many defensive liablities. LF/Rf,3b, and the worst 1b in MLB RYan Howard. Essentially, the Phils have atleast three 1st basemen playing in the field with both YOUNGS,Ruf,and HOward. If Halladay pitches closer to Halladay of old the rotation should be solid but how many games will their defense cost them? Esp since they lose so many one run games.— Over_Exposed
