Phillies Notes: McGwire checks swing on Howard contract controversy

Before Monday, Mark McGwire had never seen Ryan Howard play in person. He has seen the Phillies' slugging first baseman plenty of times on TV, but said he waits to pass judgment on a player until he sees him in the flesh.

Having been around St. Louis first baseman Albert Pujols since the beginning of spring training as the Cardinals' hitting coach, McGwire is comfortable making statements about Pujols.

"There's nobody better in the game than Albert," McGwire said. "That's all I can say. The guy does everything."

Ever since Howard signed his five-year, $125 million extension last week, Pujols' name has been mentioned in the same vein. His contract is set to expire following the 2011 season, and the Cardinals will have to pay top dollar to keep him. Atlanta manager Bobby Cox recently said he thinks Pujols is worth at least $50 million per season.

"It is our opinion, my opinion, that Albert is on an island all by himself," Pujols' agent, Dan Lozano told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Pujols, for one, has decided not to field any questions about his contract status. After Howard signed his deal, Pujols said, he texted Howard - a St. Louis native and former workout partner - to congratulate him. Pujols said Howard simply texted back, "Thank you."

When asked about Howard's deal Monday, Pujols declined to comment.

"I think they're two very productive hitters," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "I think the only thing that doesn't make sense to include them in is trade rumors - that's very foolish. It's not just Ryan and Albert, there's a guy in San Diego [Adrian Gonzalez], the guy in New York [Mark Teixeira], there's a lot of guys around. . . .

"Albert is hitting fourth today in this lineup and we're trying to win the game. As far as what this means contract-wise, I don't get into that. There's no time for it."

McGwire, who admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs after he was hired as St. Louis' hitting coach this off-season, was one of the game's most successful power hitters in his later years.

He eschewed some of the criticism of Howard's deal, saying a player can keep his power with determination.

"You never accept what you do is good enough," McGwire said. "Always try to better yourself every year. I don't think there's a player who has ever played this game who has finished a season and said that's the best they could ever do. There's always room for improvement, I don't care how good you are."

The Phillies have consistently not offered a timetable for shortstop Jimmy Rollins' return to the lineup. Rollins strained his calf before the game on April 12 and has been out ever since.

He was originally diagnosed as likely to miss between two and four weeks. It looks as if Rollins will miss more than that.

"It's a day-to-day thing," Phillies assistant general manager Scott Proefrock said.

"He may come faster, he may come slower. I know we put out these artificial dates, and we're disappointed when they don't [come back]. I want to stay away from that. It's how he feels on a day-to-day basis. The last couple of days have been good days. Hopefully, it progresses accordingly, and he's back."

Rightfielder Jayson Werth started Monday after being removed from the eighth inning Sunday with soreness in his hip and leg. After doubling in the fifth inning Monday, Werth had reached base in each of the Phillies' first 25 games. It's the longest such streak in team history since the "live ball era" began in 1920. . . . Adam Wainwright, who placed third in Cy Young voting in 2009, starts for the Cardinals against the Phillies on Tuesday.