The good news was that an MRI revealed no structural damage.
The bad news was that Ruiz has inflammation and is expected to get an injection that will sideline him for an additional 3 to 5 days. And that there is no way to be absolutely certain how long the problem might persist. "Wrists are tricky, man," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. conceded.
The Phillies made a series of moves since the end of last season that depleted much of their catching depth, so it was probably inevitable that they would find themselves worrying at the worst possible time about how quickly Ruiz can come back. The baseball gods have a wicked sense of humor that way.
There's no way to minimize how significant this issue is. In its own way, it's as worriesome as Brad Lidge blowing his 11th save opportunity last night. And all the Phillies can do right now is cross their fingers and hope for the best. After all, if pitching is 90 percent of the game, then what percentage of pitching is catching?
"I don't know," bullpen coach Mick Billmeyer said. "But you've got to have a guy back there you feel confident with. Because if you don't have confidence in him, you might not have confidence in yourself."
The catcher runs the game. The catcher guides the pitcher. The catcher can play a huge part in helping win a game, even if he strikes out every time he goes to the plate.
"We can't afford to lose nobody that plays that much," manager Charlie Manuel said. "We're losing one of our starters. And the catcher is very important."
Or, as Amaro said simply: "Clearly, we need Chooch [Ruiz] on our club."
