Recently, we speculated as to whether it was time to say goodbye to Scott Rolen. Now Jon Heyman and Dusty Baker seem to be pessimistic about the chances that Rolen will make a full return:
“Hopefully, he gets back,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “He’s such a big part offensively, defensively and even baserunning. I can tell ’em what to do to. But he can tell ’em and show ’em what to do.”
Pressed as to when Rolen might return, Baker said, “I really don’t know.” Others around the team suggested the return is not certain at any date.
Make of that what you will. None of us know whether Rolen will return. Dusty doesn’t seem optimistic, but let’s not read as much into his comments as Heyman did. All I know is that if Rolen returns, but he’s the Rolen we’ve seen the last year and a half…well, I don’t think that Rolen can help this team on the field.
But hey, I’ll take the Rolen of 2010 pre-All Star Break. Gimme that guy.
Finally, I’ll submit this portion of the Heyman article, without comment:
It’s a big loss for Baker, who likes to have great veterans to help with a team that relies on a lot of young players. New Jersey product Todd Frazier entered today’s game hitting .298 with three homers, including two in New York at Citi Field. But Frazier doesn’t do for this team what a healthy Rolen would do.