Phillies Notebook: Disabled list not likely for Phillies' Rollins

A couple of hours after fouling a ball off his foot Monday afternoon, Jimmy Rollins couldn't even walk to the training room without pain. In fact, Rollins said, teammate Cody Ransom had to help wheel him around the clubhouse in an office chair.

But the immediate prognosis for the shortstop is an encouraging one for the Phillies. Rollins missed last night's game against Arizona and is expected to miss at least one more, but neither Rollins nor manager Charlie Manuel thinks a trip to the disabled list is in the cards.

"I'm glad that the X-rays came back clear," Manuel said. "I didn't particularly want him sitting out today, but that's how it goes."

Rollins suffered the injury - officially termed a left foot contusion - when he fouled an 0-1 pitch from Jason Hammel off his instep during the second inning of the Phillies' 5-4 victory. After falling to the dirt in pain, he remained in the game and played the final seven innings. Postgame X-rays revealed no fracture.

"I was able to walk today," Rollins said. "[Monday] night I couldn't really walk around on it. I was kind of on one leg hip-hopping."

Yesterday, the hip-hopping had been replaced by a two-legged gait with a noticeable limp. Rollins said he "possibly" could play tonight, citing improvement over the previous 24 hours. But at least 1 more day off seems likely.

And so the Phillies were once again left with an odd-looking lineup last night, as Shane Victorino led off, Raul Ibanez hit third and Wilson Valdez batted eighth while filling in for Rollins at shortstop. Rollins already has missed about 2 months with a calf strain.

Victorino left the Phillies' 9-5 victory in the top of the seventh inning with a strained left oblique.

Brad Lidge was unavailable to pitch last night, thanks to back-to-back, hair-raising saves in which he allowed eight baserunners and threw a total of 64 pitches. Charlie Manuel did not spell out his plans for a potential save situation, although righthanders Ryan Madson and Jose Contreras have both performed spot-closer duty this season.

"We'll do what we have to do," Manuel said.

Veteran lefthander Jamie Moyer, who continues to hold out hope that he will be able to avoid surgery on his ailing elbow, is scheduled to visit orthopedic surgeon Lew Yocum today in Los Angeles. Moyer suffered a sprain of his UCL and a strain of his flexor tendon last week in St. Louis. On Saturday, he was placed on the disabled list, with the Phillies saying that they expected him to miss a "significant" amount of time. The 47-year-old is in the last year of his contract.

Utility man Juan Castro, released by the Phillies on July 17 to make room for the return of Placido Polanco, has signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers, where he played last season. The Phillies gave Castro a $750,000 contract in the offseason with the hope that he would provide an upgrade over former utility man Eric Bruntlett. But Castro hit just .198 in 126 at-bats and saw much of his playing time go to Wilson Valdez, a veteran who was promoted from Triple A when Jimmy Rollins first went on the disabled list in mid-April.

A dynamite weekend pitching matchup may have been scuttled when the Nationals scratched Stephen Strasburg from a start last night against the Braves because of shoulder inflammation. The rookie sensation had been on schedule to face Cole Hamels on Sunday in Washington.

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said Strasburg has "stiffness and discomfort" in his right shoulder, but an MRI and X-ray show no structural damage, and "given a couple days' rest and anti-inflammatories, he should be better."