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Can Roman Quinn stay healthy? Phillies wonder

ATLANTA - Roman Quinn slashed a sinking liner to left. It smacked Mallex Smith and rolled a few feet from the Braves leftfielder. Quinn scurried to second for a double. He did not stand there for long. On the second pitch, he scampered toward third. He beat the throw, which skipped into left field, and Quinn's legs had carried him around the bases like that in the second inning of a 7-6 Phillies loss Tuesday.

ATLANTA - Roman Quinn slashed a sinking liner to left. It smacked Mallex Smith and rolled a few feet from the Braves leftfielder. Quinn scurried to second for a double. He did not stand there for long. On the second pitch, he scampered toward third. He beat the throw, which skipped into left field, and Quinn's legs had carried him around the bases like that in the second inning of a 7-6 Phillies loss Tuesday.

"I tried to use my speed as much as possible," Quinn said.

But this is not how Quinn's 15-game big-league tryout will be remembered. Instead, Quinn succumbed again to injury, this time a strained rib-cage muscle. He is not likely to play again this season.

The Phillies are left with a bitter taste; Quinn impressed them with his on-base skills and game-changing speed. But the 23-year-old outfielder is so brittle that a career as a major-league regular is difficult to predict.

"That's always going to be in the back of everybody's mind because he doesn't seem to stay on the field as much as you'd like him to," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "Resilience and reliability is important. So that's going to be a big test for him next year. It's obvious what he brings to the table as far as making things happen. He's a catalyst for a lot of things, the least of which is coverage in the outfield, so it's a matter of whether he can stay on the field or not."

The injury is the same he had earlier this season while in the minors. It cost him more than six weeks of action. Add it to the list of maladies in recent seasons: a ruptured Achilles, a fractured wrist, a strained quadriceps, a concussion.

Quinn, in 69 plate appearances, posted a .263 batting average with a .373 on-base percentage and .333 slugging percentage. Mackanin still believes in the talent, and it is enough to perhaps win Quinn a job next spring. But the manager stressed to Quinn that he must shorten his swing to reduce strikeouts.

"I don't want to see him turn into a slap-and-go guy," Mackanin said, "but some of the swings that I've seen are just way too big for what he needs to do to be successful."

Extra bases

Aaron Nola (strained right elbow) began a throwing program on flat ground this week, Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said. The young pitcher has not reported pain. Eventually, he will pitch from a mound and face hitters in Florida. "All those things need to happen," Klentak said, "but we're going to be pretty conservative with the pace." . . . Jeremy Hellickson will make his final start of the season Thursday. It will be the Phillies' last game ever at Turner Field.