Ryan Braun still not DL situation

Phoenix - Manager Ron Roenicke said today that he still doesn't think left fielder Ryan Braun will end up on the DL despite his lingering left leg injury that has him out of the starting lineup for the 10th time in 13 games.

"Just talking to (trainer) Roger (Caplinger), I still don't think that's what it's going to be," Roenicke said of a possible DL stint. "But you always get concerned when an injury isn't healing up the way you want it to.

"Roger thinks it's getting better. But if it doesn't (continue), we're going to have to start talking about (a DL stint). If it's not progressing, than I would worry about it. But when Roger tells me it's getting better all the time, I feel OK. It's not coming along real fast.

"A lot of Ryan's game is his legs. He had two or three ground balls in that Colorado that he would have beat out normally. Because he can't run, they 're outs. He relies on his speed in the outfield, too. When you don't have the speed you're used to having, it changes his game.

"We're going day by day. I'm hoping he can play tomorrow."

The news was much better today on right-hander Shaun Marcum, who left the game Sunday in Colorado with a neck strain suffered making a diving play on a bunt. Marcum went to a chiropractor today and said he had "immediate" relief.

"It was a couple of things out of place. He adjusted them," said Marcum. "I should be good to go now. As soon as he did it, I said, 'That felt good.' It was immediate improvement."

Marcum said he expects to make his next start Friday in San Francisco.

"I plan on it," he said. "I don't see any reason why not." 

I know many of you are wondering why Yuniesky Betancourt is back at short today after Josh Wilson started there Saturday and Sunday and went 4-for-8. Basically, Roenicke said he's not ready to bench Betancourt despite his substandard play.

"The longer I play him, the longer 'Yuni' sits out," said Roenicke. "I don't want 'Yuni' sitting out too long. I still want him to have the opportunity to get it back together. We'll see how tonight's game goes. I may have Josh back in there tomorrow or the next day."

As for future plans at short, Roenicke said, "It's who is playing better. I don't know if it's strickly 50-50 (in splitting time).

"Right now, (Wilson) is playing better. I saw Josh a lot when he was with the Mariners. I know what Josh is. He's a really valuable player to have, and when he's swinging the bat well, I like putting him back out there. Probably if Casey (McGehee) didn't have that real good game yesterday, Josh probably would have been at third base.

"Whoever is out there doing well, I'd like them to have the opportunity to play more."

Because Wilson is a career .230 hitter, I asked Roenicke if he assumed he couldn't sustain his recent hitting surge.

"Sometimes, different atmospheres help," said Roenicke. "And because he started off well with us, sometimes your mind set changes. If you struggled the first few games, that makes it a lot more difficult to turn it around, especially when you're an extra player.

"I know he is a good defender. Offensively, I didn't know what he would do, especially coming off the bench."


(jsonline.com)