Friday, April 23, 2010

Strained calf lands Manny on the DL

Manny Ramirez has re-aggravated his strained right calf, an injury originally suffered in Pittsburgh the first week of the season. Rather than taking a few days off and hoping for the best, the Dodgers have placed him on the 15-day DL.

The decision looks to be all Manny's, as he's the one that told club officials that he needed more time to heal. It might seem like a strange request (this is Manny Ramirez we're talking about), but he's only been on the DL three times in 17 years. That's pretty amazing if you think about it.

If this were a younger version of Manny, I highly doubt a DL trip would be needed. But, he'll be 38 in about a month, and he's in the league without the designated hitter. Add it all up, and it's easy to see why he wants the extra time to get rest and get healthy.

In his place with be slugger Xavier Paul, who was tearing up Triple-A Albuquerque with a .361 average, three home runs, and nine RBIs in 15 games. For him, it's another audition to get the starting role next to Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier next year when Manny is gone. Numbers like those show great potential.

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