Phillies Notebook: Phillies sticking it out with struggling Ibanez

Raul Ibanez was back in leftfield last night and, since he was hitting .169, that's no longer a given.

But he was in there partly because righthander Mike Pelfrey started for the Mets and partly because the Phillies aren't ready to pull the plug on a hitter who turns 39 in June. Asked how he can tell the difference between a player who is in a slump and a player who is too old, Charlie Manuel laughed.

"I wrote Julio Franco off three times and he played another 15 years. So I don't know. I'm serious. He proved me wrong all three times," the manager said, referring to a player whose last major league at-bat came at age 48.

Ibanez went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts and a walk in last night's 10-3 whupping of the Mets. He's hitless in his last 30 at-bats and his average is down to .161. But Manuel still insists that can be overblown, pointing out that even players having MVP seasons endure hit-less stretches.

"Back in [the old] days nobody talked about it that much. Nowadays they see everything and you get eight at-bats [without a hit] and you're in a slump," he said. "You can't be a worrier. You've got to relax and swing and work on coming out of it. Because, like I say, now if you go 0-for-8 somebody says you're in a slump."

Maybe. But it will be interesting to see if Ibanez starts this afternoon's game against Mets lefthander Jonathon Niese.

Righthander Roy Oswalt, who flew home to Mississippi to help with the cleanup from severe tornado damage to one of his family homes, remained away from the team yesterday. GM Ruben Amaro said he expected to talk to Oswalt today, but had no idea whether Oswalt would make his next scheduled start Tuesday vs. the Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. With Thursday's off day and another open date Monday, the Phillies have quite a bit of wiggle room. If, as seems likely, Oswalt isn't ready to go, Cole Hamels could start in his place and still have an extra day of rest.

Catcher Carlos Ruiz, who had to leave Sunday's game at Arizona in the first inning after experiencing sharp pains in his back and down his leg, was not placed on the disabled list yesterday. Instead, Dane Sardinha was summoned from Triple A Lehigh Valley and lefthanded reliever Mike Zagurski was optioned to the IronPigs. Ruiz is expected to miss at least a few games.

"His back is sore. There's no change in his MRI from last year to this year. We had a baseline one from last year," Amaro said. "Not bad news but we did feel like we had to cover for a few days. Because of the position, obviously."

The general manager also updated the condition of several more injured Phillies.

Joe Blanton (impingement in right elbow): "We hope it's just a couple starts. The news [after he was examined] was much better than the alternative. We don't think there's any ligament damage. We're not happy he's on the DL, but we're happy it's not super-serious."

Domonic Brown (off to a hot start in his rehab assignment after fracturing the hook of the hamate bone in his right wrist): "He's getting closer. He's getting healthier. He's still in a rehab situation. He's swung the bat OK. Likely he'll stay in Clearwater through the weekend and then we'll make a decision."

The general manager added that Chase Utley (right knee tendinitis), Jose Contreras (right elbow strain), J.C. Romero (right calf strain) and Brad Lidge (right posterior rotator cuff strain) all continue to make progress.

Lidge was examined by team Dr. Michael Ciccotti yesterday and was cleared to begin a throwing program to begin today. Blanton was also examined and is expected by begin tossing in the next few days. Contreras is also expected to begin tossing on or about May 5. Romero threw in the bullpen yesterday. He will throw on the side again tomorrow and go through some drills and, if all goes well, will most likely begin a rehab assignment Tuesday, possibly at Class A Lakewood.