The morning after: So now what?
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The morning after: So now what?
Matt Gelb
When Greg Dobbs went into the Phillies clubhouse during Monday's game to prepare for a possible pinch hitting appearance in the later innings, he saw shortstop Jimmy Rollins at his locker, a few stalls down.
Dobbs, who went through a painful and costly calf injury of his own for the entire 2009 season, could sense Rollins' disappointment.
"He was like, 'I can't believe this is going on,' " Dobbs said. "I felt for him. He was extremely frustrated."
That's ominous.
The Phillies will know more about how severe shortstop Jimmy Rollins' right calf strain is Tuesday when he undergoes an MRI.
But the feeling in the clubhouse following Monday's 7-4 win was palpable. No one could be very optimistic about Rollins because there is one universal truth to calf injuries: Without significant rest, they can linger. Considering it's only April 13, that's the last thing the Phillies want.
For Rollins, it's an injury that could be especially frustrating. He likes to run at the top of the order and the Phillies need him to be able to do that.
Should Rollins have to go to the disabled list, Juan Castro is probably the guy at shortstop.
“Jimmy’s a special type of player. It’s hard to replace a guy like that," second baseman Chase Utley said. "But with Castro, you know what you’re going to get. He plays great defense. He’s fresh off of spring training and he’s had some at-bats recently."
Yeah, except Castro booted a routine groundball at shortstop Monday and also made two errors at shortstop in 18 spring training games. He's limited with the bat, but if it came to this situation, the Phillies would likely be asking their new shortstop to hit eighth. (Frank Fitzpatrick has more details on Castro.)
At triple-A Lehigh Valley, there is some depth with major-league experience. Both Wilson Valdez (Mets) and Cody Ransom (Yankees) played in the majors last season. Each had decent springs for the Phillies. Valdez is hitting .474 (9-for-19) with Lehigh Valley. Ransom is hitting .188 (3-for-16) with a home run.
Even if Rollins doesn't need to go on the disabled list, the Phillies could look at one of those guys for a short-term solution. Castro is the only player on the current roster other than Rollins who can play shortstop.
Is there a blueprint for success recently without Rollins? Yes: In 2008, Rollins didn't start for 28 games in parts of April and May with a left ankle injury. Over that span, the Phillies were 16-12. During that period, Shane Victorino handled the majority of games as leadoff hitter (12 games), followed by Jayson Werth (eight), So Taguchi (seven) and Geoff Jenkins (one). Yeah, times were different.
Victorino would be the most likely candidate to slide into Rollins' spot in the order. In 2010, Victorino has hit the ball hard at times but is just 5-for-31 (.161 average) to begin the season. He has one extra-base hit, a home run.
In his career, Victorino has batted leadoff in 44 games (204 plate appearances). His OPS is .615 and the complete line looks like this: .227/.291/.324.
For now, the Phillies will wait on Rollins' examination with relatively small expectations.
No major worries here folks. A day off helps Werth. Vic can bat lead-off. No real good time for an injury, but April is less bad than July, Aug, or Sept. Castro can bat 8th. Charlie can sub Ben, Dobbs, or Gload in for Werth if needed (who hasn't been batting to form really yet). JRoll can take the time needed (as can BubbaBlanton) to heal up right.- CLIFF LEE was never fond of Fidel's family....— stan the man too
- As a regular runner, the muscle injury that takes longest to heal and is most frustrating is calf strain. I've learned the hard way you just can't rush getting it healed, so hope jRoll backs off until it is COMPLETELY healed, then back off some more to make sure or it will just keep nagging him.— Z-Force
- "Castro is the only player on the current roster other than Rollins who can play shortstop." Really? You must been the "only BENCH player on the current roster" who can play short, because Polanco clearly could play (having started 122 games at that position over his career, according to www.baseball-reference.com). (Of course, that creates a hole at 3rd.) Beerleaguer suggests that Rollins might have a bit of an attitude problem, and arrived late to the ballpark yesterday. Wouldn't surprise me.— chris duckworth
- Chris thanks for the Beerleaguer info now Im not the only one who thought he was late. If not for that stupid foul pole screen, Chase's hr was mine.— EarlKeese
- Can we stop with the "Jimmy was late" speculation? He was penciled into the starting lineup and replaced at the very last minute after the lineup card was already handed to the umps. Thats why you had Castro batting leadoff instead of at the bottom of the order. If Jimmy was really late, don't you think Charlie would have had no problem leaving him out of the lineup altogether and inserting Castro at the bottom of the lineup?— Phlflyer1
- Why no reports on Lidge giving up two more hits and another run yesterday to single A players?....Is he no longer news? Are you being told by the Phils to lay off? Are they trying to hide Lidge's difficulties? What's up with the reporting here? A measly Twit?— Mark1npt
Comment removed.- The ship is sinking, the ship is sinking! The ship is sinking, the ship is sinking! This is clearly the worst 5-1 defending NL champion in the history of baseball. Please people, lay off the caffeine and enjoy some baseball games.— JettMartinez
- You know Kenny, Pedro as a reliever might just work.— F. Harry Stowe
- Put Jimmy on the 15 day IR, bring in Wilson Valdez and put Castro back on the bench. Have Gload play RF if Jayson is out for a day or two or Ben Francisco. The team will be fine depending on the Nats choice for pitchers, righty , lefty choices. The pitching is far better than any one here on this board including alllllll of us thought it would be. Stop wailing for a bit and enjoy them.— KGKoons
- Agreed Jettmartinez, no reason for people to start jumping off the bridge right now...injuries happen to every team every season, and it's why they have 25 man rosters and dozens of minor league teams. Jimmy needs to let it get all the way back, and in the mean time, the rest of the team needs to contribute just a little more. Phils will be fine.— Bleue
- Yeah, Jimmy is having an MRI because he was late.— dasher
- Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino, Placido Polanco, Raul Ibanez. That's five healthy all stars in the line up. And Werth is not really that hurt. Does any other team in the NL have that many everyday starters...anyone. I think the Phils are still good then.— Phillyphan26
- Dallas Green was watching Freddy Galvis at SS in Reading on Sunday. All Freddy did that afternoon was go 3 for 4 with a double. Handled all his chances in the field with ease. But guess we'll be stuck with Jose Reyes' backup from last season at SS if Jimmy can't go.— Dull
