Rollins' second calf injury isn't as bad as first one.


For the first time since mid-April, the Phillies lineup was the way it should be. Every starter was playing and they were handling John Lackey and the Red Sox fairly well along with the help of a stellar performance by Cole Hamels.

But once Jimmy Rollins hit a single in the sixth inning and had to limp to first base, the mood was immediately sucked out of the air.

The Phils got by without Rollins for an entire month, but no one wants to see if they could pull it off again. Even Juan Castro and the newest-but-not-so-new member of the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs, Wilson Valdez, weren't happy to see Rollins pull up like that.

It was clearly his right calf again as Rollins aggravated the injury that kept him out of the lineup, until recently, since mid-April.

However, Rollins doesn't seem all that concerned.

"An hour later, it feels a lot better than it did when I came out," Rollins told the media after the Phillies' 5-1 win against the Boston Red Sox, "so we'll see."

Charlie Manuel, on the other hand, seems a bit more worried than Rollins.

"Yes, I'm concerned about Jimmy," Manuel said. "He said he doesn't think it's bad, but we'll see. We'll probably be able to tell more about it tomorrow."

It's possible Rollins is simply downplaying the significance of the injury this time because he would rather try to play through instead of having to head back to the disabled list and definitely miss at least 15 days of action, but that doesn't seem like a move that would work with Manuel.

If Charlie thinks Rollins needs two weeks to sit on the bench, watch, and recover, then that is exactly what will happen regardless of what Rollins says. It will all come down to what the team doctors recommend, but it doesn't seem likely Rollins hits the DL again.

He will most likely miss a game or two, but Castro is ready to go and has shown he can fill in well enough for Rollins in the field and at the plate.

Also, now that Valdez has cleared waivers (surprisingly enough) and accepted an assignment to Triple-A ball, the Phils have an insurance policy should Rollins regress and have to be placed on the Mark Prior List.