CLEARWATER, Fla. - One day after a scary moment in which a Manny Ramirez line drive struck him just below the right ear, Phillies righthander Roy Oswalt said the only lasting effect is some swelling in his neck.
Oswalt, who was hit by the ball in the fourth inning of the Phillies' 4-1 loss to the Rays on Wednesday, said he does not expect to miss his final spring training start, meaning he should be ready for his regular-season debut against his former team, the Astros, on April 3.
Oswalt knows the outcome could have been a lot worse. From 2003 through 2005, he was in Houston organization with Mike Coolbaugh, who died in 2007 at age 35 after being hit with a foul ball while standing in the first-base coach's box in a minor league game. Oswalt and Coolbaugh, the Tulsa Drillers' hitting coach at the time, used to play cards in spring training.
