Raul Ibanez placed on 15-day Disabled List
by David Rocksteady 6/18/09
The Phillies gave fans some bad news, as they placed leftfielder Raul Ibanez on the 15-day disabled list Thursday morning with a strained left groin and brought up outfielder John Mayberry Jr. from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to replace him. Ibanez is scheduled for an MRI today and it is not clear when Ibanez will return.
They are obviously big shoes to fill, as Ibanez was hitting .312 and was second in the National League with 22 homers and 59 RBIs.
General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said that Ibanez was not happy with the decision. "We have to kind of see the forest through the trees here. He stood a chance to really damage the groin if he continues to play on it, and if he does that, he could be out for a very, very long period of time, and it just doesn't make any sense for us to do that with him."
The injury began noticeable in this past game. You saw that he was having difficulty running on a double play he hit into yesterday. He was 0-for-8 with five strikeouts in two games against the Blue Jays, and had just six hits in his past 31 at-bats (.194).
Ibanez was out of the lineup on Sunday from what they claimed to be an issue with his shoes, Amaro says that is not related to his groin problem.
Mayberry, a 25-year-old right-handed hitter, went 2-for-9 (.222) in three games with the Phillies. At Lehigh Valley, he hit .257 with eight homers and 41 RBIs in 52 games.
It is a shame to see him injured, as Ibanez has been the Phillies, and perhaps the league's MVP this year and leads all NL outfielder in all-star votes. Hopefully we will get him back in two weeks.
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