Phillies Notebook: Sore 'all over,' Polanco gets day off

SEATTLE - Charlie Manuel did not sound overly concerned about Placido Polanco, who has seven hits, two extra-base hits, and six strikeouts in his last 44 at-bats. But the manager did say that the veteran third baseman is battling some nagging pains, in explaining why he gave Polanco yesterday off.

"He's banged up," Manuel said. "He has aches and pains. He's been struggling some, things like that. He's got little nagging stuff."

Polanco battled a sore elbow throughout last season, then hyper-extended it in spring training. But he also has battled back pain, both last postseason and early this season.

Asked what part of the body was nagging Polanco, Manuel said, "All over."

Polanco, who leads NL fan voting for the All-Star Game at third base, was hitting .320 with a .367 on-base percentage and .398 slugging percentage on June 5. Twelve games later, he is hitting .295 with a .342 OBP and .375 SLG. Yesterday was the third time in eight games that Polanco has not started.

"He's just got some aches and pains," Manuel said. "He hasn't been hitting good. I figured it'd be a good day for him to rest."

Bad hop

 

One of the two runs the Mariners scored off Cole Hamels in their 2-0 win yesterday was set in motion by an Ichiro Suzuki chopper that took a bad second hop on Ryan Howard, catching the first baseman off guard, for a leadoff single in the sixth.

"It was bad," said Howard, who has only been charged with one error this season. "I was kind of going back because I saw the first [hop], and then once it hit again it just kind of shot up and I wasn't able to handle it."

Schneider rehab

 

Brian Schneider played his third rehab game yesterday at Double A Reading, catching seven innings and going 2-for-4 with an RBI against New Britain. Schneider, who has been on the disabled list since straining his hamstring while rounding third in Florida on May 11, is scheduled to play again today. He is hoping to rejoin the active roster on Friday, when the Phillies return from St. Louis to start a six-game interleague homestand against the A's and Red Sox.

Good timing