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Raul Ibanez News & Rumors

NY Yankees might be closing in on Raul Ibanez
February 7
New York Daily News
 
"The Yankees appear to be zeroing in on Raul Ibanez as the extra bat that Joe Girardi was pitching for last week. The Yankees are seeking a left-handed hitter and other possibilities have included Eric Chavez and ex-Yankees Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon. But Ibanez appears to be their best option for an outfielder because he could occasionally play left field and the Yanks are unsure if Matsui or Damon can, according to sources. If the Yankees decide they prefer Chavez and his ability to play first or third, he could be re-signed. The Yankees would like to keep expenses on their final winter piece as low as possible, so whoever comes cheapest could get the roster spot, too."
Streaky Ibanez focused on the ring
October 2
CSN Philly
 
"Raul Ibanez nearly set a few records this season and they were all the dubious kind. Most notable, of course, was the epic 0-for-35 slump that lasted from April 18 through May 1. The streaky, 39-year-old veteran was one more out away from tying the franchise record held by none other than the epically mediocre Steve Jeltz, the poster child from the Phillies' most mediocre era ever. But immediately on the heels of that long hitless streak, Ibanez rewarded manager Charlie Manuel's patience with another streak. In this one, Ibanez went 8 for 12 with three doubles, two home runs and eight RBIs. That, folks, is Raul Ibanez. Mr. Extreme."
Mayberry still in Phils' lineup as Ibanez heals
August 30
CSN Philly
 
"John Mayberry Jr. got another start in left field for the Phillies on Monday night as Raul Ibanez continued to recover from a left groin injury. "I thought about playing Raul," manager Charlie Manuel said before the game against the Cincinnati Reds. "But I talked to [head athletic trainer] Scott Sheridan and he feels Raul needs to move around some in the outfield first. We want to see how he can run first." Ibanez, who has not started a game since Aug. 21, did some running and agility drills in the outfield before the game. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said Ibanez responded positively. "He ran well," Amaro said. "He's pretty close." Even before Ibanez was injured, Mayberry had taken"
Even as the hero, Ibanez remains modest
August 1
Allentown Morning Call
 
"There are days when Raul Ibanez has to be dragged out of the cage. He was like that at 29. He's still like that at 39. The left-hander is all about putting in the time, which sometimes in the end, means the spotlight is on him. That part makes him totally uncomfortable. Example: Sunday. Ibanez carried the Phillies in their 6-5 win over the Pirates at Citizens Bank Park. He homered twice, including a two-run shot in the eighth inning that tied the game at 5, and drove in the game-winning run with a walk-off, RBI double in the 10th inning, giving the Phils their fifth series sweep of the season. He smiled after the game. He answered every question thrown his way. But he was reluctant -"
Moment of truth arrives for five Phils
July 17
PhillyBurbs.com
 
"The focus is clearly on the task at hand: Keeping their place at the top of the hierarchy of the National League and taking another ride down Broad Street at some point in late October. Still, you have to imagine that in the back of their minds, the countdown clock has already started ticking. After all, baseball players are human beings who can read the writing on the wall as well as the expiration date on a contract. Jimmy Rollins. Raul Ibanez. Ryan Madson. Roy Oswalt. Brad Lidge. Those are five players who have all given the Phillies some memorable moments over the years. Three of them wear world championship rings. The other two have given an honorable effort that led to playoff runs."
Ibanez breaks through, Hamels tosses gem in win over Nationals
May 4
Philly.com
 
"YOU ARE 39 years old. You have been hitting baseballs longer than some of your teammates have been driving cars, and you have been doing it at a damn high level. And then one day - poof. An 0-for-4 turns into an 0-for-8 turns into an 0-for-12. At first you are frustrated. Then you are lost. Then you are frustrated with feeling lost. The stages of grief are a lot like the stages of a slump. There is denial and isolation and anger and bargaining - or, as Charlie Manuel put it last night, a whole lotta praying - and plenty of depression. But there is one step that Raul Ibanez never reached, and that was acceptance. Nobody knows how Raul Ibanez' season will unfold from this point forward. Not"
Raul's Gold
May 4
Philly.com
 
"When Raul Ibanez's feet touched second base, he looked to third and saw Ryan Howard staring at him, clapping. He began to shed the batting gloves from the 38-year-old hands he has trusted for 16 major-league seasons, only to fail him for 35 straight at-bats. Washington shortstop Ian Desmond tapped Ibanez on the rear and informed the Phillies leftfielder that, indeed, he too knew about the streak. He had a message for Ibanez. "If you can get out of that, you can get out of anything," he recalled Desmond saying. "I thanked him for that," Ibanez said. The Phillies won, 4-1, over the Nationals on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park, and it was not because of Ibanez's two doubles. One did score"
Phillies need production from Ibanez
April 25
Philly.com
 
"Ruben Amaro Jr.'s prescription for the Phillies' offense is simple. "Hits," the general manager said after his team improved to 15-6 despite riding a 13-game stretch in which they have failed to score more than four runs in any game. And he is confident that manager Charlie Manuel has enough quality personnel to make those hits appear? "Yes," he said. One player with the ability to show Amaro's faith to be well-placed is Raul Ibanez, who spent yesterday working out in the batting cage while trying to shake a funk that has seen him hit .187 with a .265 on-base percentage and .253 slugging percentage in his first 20 games. Last year, Manuel's patience with Ibanez was rewarded when the"
Victorino collides with Ibanez, bruises left eye
March 22
MLB.com
 
"Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino left Monday's game in the fifth inning after violently colliding with teammate Raul Ibanez. Victorino suffered a bruised left eye and a sore jaw, but otherwise is OK. Victorino and Ibanez pursued a fly ball in left-center field when they collided. Victorino slammed into Ibanez's left shoulder and tumbled to the ground. The Phils' center fielder started bleeding from the nose and mouth. He also suffered a cut above and below his left eye. He eventually got up laughing and ran off the field. Ibanez remained in the game."
Ibanez might be the guy to fill in for Utley in Phillies' batting order
March 16
Philly.com
 
"This is the time of year when managers like to move names around their lineup cards as if they were tiles on a Scrabble board. Spring training is a laboratory when they can play around with different formulations, trying to discover which ones are combustible, which are inert. It's a process that falls somewhere between an exact science and throwing darts at a roster card. What sizzles today might fizzle tomorrow. For most of last season, Charlie Manuel didn't have to think too hard about the middle of his order. If all were available, second baseman Chase Utley would normally hit third, Ryan Howard fourth and Jayson Werth fifth. These days, Werth plies his craft on the opposite coast of"
Ibanez confident he can excel despite age
February 21
Philly.com
 
"The very thought made a 38-year-old man giddy. Spending his first winter in Philadelphia, Raul Ibanez was introduced to shoveling, facial hair, and bitter-cold runs. And he went sledding. "I jumped on one of those little sleds," Ibanez said, "and went down a hill. It's brilliant. Whoever came up with that - phenomenal." He will be 39 come June 2, so that makes Ibanez the elder of the Phillies' clubhouse. The new beard is littered with splotches of gray penetrating the brown fuzz on his chin, just the latest sign of aging. With one season remaining on the three-year, $31.5 million deal Ibanez signed, the Phillies are banking on the leftfielder not yet showing his age on the diamond. History"
Ibanez planning to be a strong presence for Phillies
February 16
Philly.com
 
"The cell phone buzzes, and Steve Saunders glances at the text. Behind him, two members of the Eagles' offensive line grip dumbbells as polo-shirted trainers monitor their movements in a wall-length mirror. Ten miles away, across a river and a city and a snarled stretch of macadam, Raul Ibanez is engaged in a dashboard-pounding ritual familiar to most Philadelphia drivers. Saunders laughs and shows the screen of his phone to a visitor. "This road sucks!," it reads. Thirty minutes later, Ibanez strolls into Power Train Sports wearing sweat pants, a sweat shirt and thick facial hair that he hasn't gotten around to shaving. The beard, dark black with a patch of gray near the chin, offers a"
Phillies do not plan on moving Ibanez
December 15
Foxsports.com
 (scroll down)
"The Phillies want to trade Blanton to clear payroll for Lee but do not plan to move left fielder Raul Ibanez. Ibanez, who will earn $11.5 million next season in the final year of his contract, is working out and hitting every day in Philadelphia. He was not fully recovered from surgery to repair a sports hernia in the first half of last season."
Amaro: Ibanez is a subject Werth talking about
November 19
Philadelphia Daily News
 
"Walking by a gaggle of reporters on his way out of the posh Waldorf Astoria here at Disney World, Ruben Amaro Jr. held up his hand and formed a circle with his finger and thumb. The message? No news to report. That doesn't exactly come as a surprise. At this time last year, the free-agent signing period had yet to even begin. (Free-agency dates changed earlier this fall as a result of bargaining between the league and the players association prompted by collusion allegations.) The markets for various positions are still in their formative stages, and the Phillies don't figure to contend for any top-dollar players. "We had some productive discussions with some agents on free agents and with"
Revitalized Ibanez leads Phillies over Mets
August 9
Philadelphia Daily News
 
"THE HARDER you look, the less you find. That was the perspective Raul Ibanez offered yesterday after the Phillies won for the 14th time in 17 games, after his three-run homer provided the pivotal blow, after they defeated the New York Mets, 6-5, to maintain a two-game deficit behind Atlanta in the NL East. Have no doubt: Ibanez looked hard. He watched video. Tinkered with his swing. Picked the brain of anybody who had one to pick. For 4 months, the only things missing were an oracle and the entrails of a goat. "Oh," Ibanez said slowly, "I looked." From the earliest days of Grapefruit League play, which he finished hitting 7-for-54, to the final days of June, which he finished hitting .240"
Ibanez, Werth broke their slumps, team's
August 3
Philly.com
 
"It's been said many times a baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint. For a contender, though, there may be junctures during the marathon where he or she better pick up the pace before the road becomes a long, steep incline. For the Phillies, that juncture came July 20, when they fell seven games behind Atlanta in the NL East. Last season, the Phillies were never more than 51/2 games off the pace, and that was on April 19, so only the most panicky among their followers were concerned. If the Phillies return to postseason play for the fourth consecutive season, it's likely their recent surge, when they quickly carved their seven-game deficit down to 21/2 games, will be considered a"
Ibanez a late scratch, too
August 2
Courier-Post
 
"Ryan Howard's rolled ankle in the first inning of Sunday's win over Washington left Charlie Manuel without his biggest offensive star, but that was simply the icing on the cake for the Phillies' depleted offense. Hot-hitting left fielder Raul Ibanez was a late scratch from Sunday's lineup after he rolled his wrist diving for a fly ball off the bat of Adam Dunn one day earlier. Although Ibanez stayed in Saturday's game after the injury -- even hitting a two-run home run -- he told Manuel on Sunday that the injury had worsened. "He said the wrist was sore, so we didn't play him," Manuel said. "He couldn't play." General manager Ruben Amaro reported that a "precautionary x-ray" came back"
Ibanez sits with sore wrist
August 2
Philly.com
 
"When Raul Ibanez dove for a ball in the first inning Saturday, it looked gruesome. His left wrist bent so far backward that his glove flew off as the ball fell out for a single. But Ibanez shook it off and later hit a home run to tie the game in the seventh inning. After the game, Ibanez had an X-ray. It was negative, but the soreness was enough for Charlie Manuel to scratch Ibanez from his lineup Sunday. Ibanez is optimistic he can play Tuesday in Florida. "I banged it up pretty good there," Ibanez said before Sunday's 11-inning win over Washington. The leftfielder did not take batting practice. In Manuel's original lineup, he was supposed to hit second and play left. After arriving at"
Phillies' prescription: Trade Ibanez
July 23
Philadelphia Daily News
 columnist Paul Hagen
"THIS IS THE busiest time of year here at Handy Dandy Advice Dispensary Inc. With the trade deadline coming up a week from tomorrow we are, quite frankly, swamped. So many helpful hints to hand out, so little time. This is when you have to prioritize, like triage, putting those with the greatest need at the front of the line. And look who's standing right there. Why, it's your Philadelphia Phillies. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr., from all indications, has his band of merry men working overtime in search of pitching help. This is laudable. (It also would have been unnecessary if he had kept Cliff Lee, but that's a tired old topic that doesn't need to be rehashed now.) There are also"
Manuel says Ibanez isn't in a platoon
July 19
Courier-Post
 
"Phillies manager Charlie Manuel insists he's not platooning Raul Ibanez and Ben Francisco in left field. The evidence is starting to suggest otherwise. Francisco started for the second straight game against a left-handed pitcher in this four-game series with the Cubs. In all, Francisco has started against lefties five of the last six times the Phillies have faced them. Manuel said he doesn't see it that way, that he's trying to keep Francisco fresh for when he needs him as a pinch-hitter. "Every now and then, I've got to get Ben in a game," the manager said. "If he's going to come off the bench and hit for us, he's going to have to get in a game. To me, against a lefty is the best time to"
Manuel must make All-Star picks
July 3
Wilmington News Journal
 
"Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said he's consumed with his team's play. But by Sunday at noon, Manuel will have to make some decisions that could be felt both in his clubhouse and in the World Series. As manager for the National League All-Star team, it is up to Manuel to pick the reserves. He'll have about 10 reserves to choose once the fan voting determines the starters and the player voting determines some of the reserves. The league that wins the All-Star game gets home-field advantage in the World Series. The National League hasn't won the midsummer classic since 1996. This season it will be held in Anaheim, Calif., on July 13. So does Manuel take someone like Ryan Howard at first"
Phillies' Raul Ibanez tries to turn it around
June 27
Philly.com
 columnist Bob Ford
"The game had ended, and nearly all the Phillies made their escape from Citizens Bank Park quickly and quietly. They would have to report for another day game soon enough and, really, it wasn't as if the team wanted to hang around and savor the nuances of Saturday's muggy 5-1 loss to Toronto. There are games like this, annoying bunions on the schedule in which very little goes right. Cole Hamels wasn't very good and the Phils' offense couldn't do much with Blue Jays starter Shaun Marcum, who had the annoying ability on this occasion to throw his diving change-up for a strike. The Phillies fished around for the ball, but they didn't find it very often, and that was pretty much how things"
Phillies LF familiar with Mike Cameron's injury
May 23
Boston Herald
 
"Phillies left fielder Raul Ibanez has some advice for Red Sox center fielder Mike Cameron on how to cope with a lower abdominal tear that eventually may require surgery: Grit your teeth and try to block out the pain. "You wake up in the morning and you say to yourself, 'How am I going to make it through one day?' " Ibanez, who suffered the same injury last season and played through it until he underwent surgery in November, said prior to last night's 5-0 Red Sox win. "You figure out a way." Cameron has been on the disabled list since April 20. He had hoped to return last week during a two-game series against the Yankees in New York, but after experiencing tenderness in his abdominal"
What's eating Raul?
April 11
Wilmington News Journal
 
"The Phillies need Raul Ibanez to hit in their lineup. Yet through the first 3 games of the season, he was at .091. This followed a spring training in which he hit .130, which followed offseason surgery on his groin area, which followed the second half of last season, when he hit .232 with 12 HR and 34 RBIs. In other words, Ibanez had struggled since coming off the DL last July after hitting .312 with 22 HR with 59 RBIs into mid June. So Phillies manager Charlie Manuel was happy to see Ibanez go 3-for-4 with 2 doubles and 3 RBIs Friday night in the Phillies' 8-0 win over the Astros. "He's very relaxed," Manuel said. "He's taking a deep breath. He's really concentrating on what he's doing."
Ibanez rounding into form for Phils
April 11
Wilmington News Journal
 
"Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said Raul Ibanez can be his own worst enemy with the way he frets over every at-bat. So Manuel said he was glad to see Ibanez go 3-for-4 Friday with two doubles and three RBIs in the Phillies' 8-0 win. This came after Ibanez had gotten off to a 1-for-11 start this season, which came on the heels of a .130 batting average in spring training, which came on the heels of offseason sports hernia surgery, which came on the heels of a .232 average after the All-Star break. One game, of course, doesn't change everything. But Manuel said before the Phillies played the Astros on Saturday that he was encouraged by what he saw. "He's very relaxed," Manuel said. "He's"
Manuel happy to see Ibanez snap slump
April 11
Courier-Post
 
"Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said Raul Ibanez can be his own worst enemy with the way he frets over every at-bat. So Manuel said he was glad to see Ibanez go 3-for-4 Friday with two doubles and three RBIs in the Phillies' 8-0 win. This came after Ibanez had gotten off to a 1-for-11 start this season, which came on the heels of a .130 batting average in spring training, which came on the heels of offseason sports hernia surgery, which came on the heels of a .232 average after the All-Star break. One game, of course, doesn't change everything. But Manuel said before the Phillies played the Astros on Saturday that he was encouraged by what he saw. "He's very relaxed," Manuel said. "He's"
Ibanez in camp, without the limp
February 22
Courier-Post
 
"Having finished his typically rigorous workout Sunday, Raul Ibanez walked through the Phillies' clubhouse to his locker, a path he will tread several times a day for the next six weeks here at Bright House Field. But on his first day in camp, something looked different. He wasn't limping. "I feel a lot better," Ibanez said. "It's a big difference." Now, at last, he can admit it. For several months last season, he gritted his teeth and coped with searing pain caused by a torn abdominal muscle. Ibanez had a sports hernia and, although doctors gave him the option of having surgery last July, he opted to play through it, never publicly acknowledging discomfort that he says grew "unbearable.""
Surgery for Lidge, Ibanez, Eyre
November 8
Courier-Post
 
"A few medical updates, courtesy of the Phillies: -Brad Lidge does, in fact, have a "loose body" floating in his right elbow, possibly a cause of his dreadful season. Lidge will have that obstruction removed Wednesday in a procedure performed by team physician Dr. Michael Ciccotti. At the same time, Lidge will have his right flexor/pronator tendon evaluated. If there isn't any damage to the tendon, Lidge is expected to be ready by spring training. If there is, he could miss the start of camp. -Raul Ibanez will have surgery Monday to repair a sports hernia. Like Chase Utley's hip injury last season, Ibanez's groin/abdominal problem was the worst-kept secret in the Phillies' clubhouse during"
Ibanez downplays report saying he has torn abdominal muscle
October 26
Philadelphia Daily News
 
"Raul Ibanez did not rule out the possibility of offseason surgery yesterday, but did not discuss in detail the injury that has hampered him throughout the season. Ibanez, who hit just .232 with 12 home runs and 34 RBI after spending nearly a month on the disabled list with what the Phillies termed a strained groin in June and July, reiterated what he has said throughout the second half of the season: that he is physically "fine."But a report in Sports Illustrated this week said Ibanez is playing with a torn muscle in his lower abdomen that forced him to see a specialist in Toronto in June. The report said that Ibanez opted against surgery, choosing instead to pursue an aggressive"
Ibanez insists he is not playing hurt
October 26
Courier-Post
 
"There's considerable evidence, accumulated anecdotally over the past 3 1/2 months and published last week in a national magazine, to suggest Raul Ibanez has been adversely affected by a lingering, and potentially serious, groin injury. Just don't tell Ibanez. "No, I'm fine. I'm doing fine," he said Sunday at Citizens Bank Park after the Phillies took batting practice, played in a simulated game and did anything they could to remain sharp for the World Series. Ibanez, the Phillies' 37-year-old left fielder, is focused like a laser. It's a quality that seems to have stemmed from spending 10 seasons in the minors, getting designated for assignment twice and nearly having to continue his"
Utley and Ibanez not about to sit
October 26
Courier-Post
 
"Nobody knew for sure that Chase Utley had a hip injury last year until the offseason when the Phillies announced that he was undergoing hip surgery and might not be ready for the start of the season. Sure, it was easy to speculate that he was hurt. But Utley would never utter a word about it. He kept playing all the way through the World Series. That brings us to this season. It has been speculated that Utley has an injured foot after fouling a pitch off it against Houston on Sept. 4. It has also been speculated that his hip might be bothering him, too. Raul Ibanez, meanwhile, went on the disabled list in June with a groin injury. He clearly hasn't been the same hitter upon returning on"
Ibanez might need off-season surgery
October 26
Philly.com
 
"Phillies leftfielder Raul Ibanez might need off-season surgery on a small muscle tear near his abdomen. "I don't know, we'll see what happens," Ibanez said reluctantly yesterday when questioned about an article in Sports Illustrated that reported that Ibanez put off surgery in late June. Ibanez would not say that the lingering injury has affected his play. "No, I'm fine," Ibanez said. "I'm doing fine. That's all stuff that's in the past. I spoke to that [reporter] but that's stuff in the past. I don't even think about it. I'm fine right now." The SI report said Ibanez was given the choice to have surgery in June or go on the disabled list to rest and play through the injury for the"
Lee, Ibanez fit right in with this Phillies group
October 23
Philadelphia Daily News
 
"Men have a funny way of showing affection for one another, especially men who play sports for a living. It is often brusque and never flowery. Basically, if your chops aren't being busted, you're probably not one of the boys.Cliff Lee became a Phillie on July 29 and promptly reeled off five gems. Those performances surely endeared him to his new teammates, who reciprocated when the Daily News featured Lee in two of our popular power pages this month.Sensing an opportunity to have fun at Lee's expense, a teammate tacked the two-page poster up to the humble lefthander's locker stall. It remains there today; a humorous reminder that no one is safe from shenanigans. We kid because we care."I"
Phillies Ibañez strikes back
October 16
Denver Post
 
"In the end Thursday night, grit won over glitz. Philadelphia's Raul Ibañez, the hardworking, 36th-round draft pick, overshadowed the Dodgers' Manny Ramirez, the slugging drug cheat with dreadlocks. Ibañez is proof that there's nothing wrong with a dream. The lifetime grinder lifted the Phillies to an 8-6 victory over the Dodgers, his three-run home run the final loop in Thursday's entertaining rollercoaster ride. "My heart is still pounding," admitted Phillies reliever Chan Ho Park. "What a game." Given the quicksand nature of the Phillies' bullpen, it felt like the Dodgers were leading, even when they were trailing 5-4 in the eighth. But everything changed with Ibañez's swing. Facing"
Ibanez coming to life for Phillies in the postseason
October 9
Philadelphia Daily News
 
"Raul Ibanez led the Phillies at the beginning of the season and he is leading them at the end. Through two games of the National League Division Series, he is hitting .500 with four RBI. He stroked the two-run single in the sixth inning that gave the Phillies life yesterday. He has been here only a year, but it is long enough that you wonder whether he is surprised when that kind of life does not end in a victory."We definitely expect it to end well every time here," Ibanez said yesterday evening, after the Phillies' 5-4, series-evening loss to the Colorado Rockies."Our club is a good club and we play well late in the game," he said. "At the same time, [Rockies closer] Huston Street did a"
Ibanez is always prepared
October 7
Philly.com
 
"It's another day at the ballpark for Raul Ibanez, and there's nothing leisurely about it.Three and a half hours before game time the 37-year-old leftfielder with barely measurable body fat quickly pulls on his Phillies uniform, and he's off and running. To the training room. To a quiet place where he goes through his daily exercise routine. To the video room, where he studies the opposing pitcher. To the batting cage. To the field for batting practice.Ibanez is nothing if not a fanatic about preparation."There are some players who are just natural and have the ability to just go out and play," said Pat Gillick, senior adviser to Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. and the GM at"
Phils don't plan to bench Ibanez
September 6
Courier-Post
 
"During the last week of June, when shortstop Jimmy Rollins was stuck in a career-worst slump, he was benched for four games and even told to sit out batting practice, a strategy designed to clear his mind. Left fielder Raul Ibanez isn't getting the Jimmy Rollins treatment. But Ibanez, hitless in 14 at-bats and 10-for-78 (.128) with one home run in his last 32 games (113 at-bats), wasn't in the Phillies' lineup Friday night for the opener of a four-game series against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Manager Charlie Manuel said it was a routine night off for his struggling left fielder against tough Houston lefty Wandy Rodriguez. "It's two different situations," Manuel said,"
Slumping Ibanez given the night off for Phillies
September 5
Philadelphia Daily News
 
"Charlie Manuel is kind of stuck.He knows that the only way slumping Raul Ibanez will find his groove again is to play. He also knows that going out night after night without having some success can become a mental anchor.So, for the seventh time since Ibanez came off the disabled list with a strained left groin, the manager posted a lineup last night that didn't have his regular leftfielder in it. Ben Francisco got the start in that spot."Raul's had some down time. That might be one of his problems," Manuel said. "At the same time, he's been struggling. I think he definitely needs to play in a game to get out of it. In a game's where you get your timing. You can go back and take all the"
Ibanez confident he'll regain stroke
August 22
Philly.com
 
"Raul Ibanez said he has been through worse slumps than the one he is now enduring, and each time he has figured out the problem. So, based on his experience, the Phillies' 37-year-old leftfielder believes it's just a matter of time before he regains the stroke that made him the club's best hitter over the first three months of the season. "It's going to be back," Ibanez said yesterday before the Phils concluded a three-game series against Arizona at Citizens Bank Park. "It's a six-, seven-month season, and I'd rather go through it now than later. You're always one good swing away. It's never as bad as it looks." Charlie Manuel decided to give Ibanez a rest last night, starting Ben"
Phillies' Ibanez still has what Cubs want
July 22
Chicago Sun-Times
 
"Speaking of Raul Ibanez, how has that whole left-handed-hitting thing worked out for the Cubs since they rearranged a division-champion roster to fit Milton Bradley in? Four months and $30 million later, well ... ''Look, we still need a left-hand bat that can hit in our lineup and drive in runs,'' manager Lou Piniella said Tuesday. It seems $30 million doesn't go as far as it used to -- unless you're the Philadelphia Phillies, who gave the same three-year total to Ibanez that the Cubs gave to Bradley, becoming more aggressive when the Cubs expressed some interest in Ibanez early in free agency. By Monday night, the switch-hitting Bradley was hitting a tense .201 against right-handers and"
Phillies' Raul Ibañez comes home with the road team
July 16
Miami Herald
 
"''It was a list of his goals, the dreams he hoped to achieve in baseball,'' said Lopez, who grew up with Ibañez's older brothers, Tony and Armando, and now is the football coach at Doral Reagan High. ``It's amazing, after all the years, all the sacrifice, all the hard work -- I think he might be close to checking them all off. Who would have ever believed it?'' Ibañez could be the best story of perseverance in baseball today. After 14 years in the majors, he played in his first All-Star Game at 37 on Tuesday night. The next goal could be a World Series ring. On Thursday, Ibañez will be back home in South Florida with the world-champion Phillies for an important four-game series with the"
Raul Ibanez gets second rehab start
July 8
Philly.com
 
"Raul Ibanez said he was "feeling good" after taking the next step in his rehabilitation last night, starting in left field for the triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs at Coca-Cola Park.The Phillies all-star, working his way back from a groin strain, went 1 for 2 with a walk in the IronPigs' 6-2 International League loss to the Pawtucket Red Sox. A day earlier, he had gone 0 for 2 with a walk for double-A Reading.Ibanez played five innings for Reading on Monday and pronounced himself pain-free. He was in the lineup for seven innings against the PawSox.The starting pitcher for Pawtucket was righthander Clay Buchholz, an International League all-star who entered the game with a 6-1 record and a"
Phils' Ibanez makes first rehab stint
July 7
Philly.com
 
"Raul Ibanez went hitless in his first minor-league rehabilitation game yesterday, but that didn't bother the Phillies' all-star leftfielder.Ibanez was thrilled that for the first time in weeks, he didn't feel even a twinge of pain in his left groin."I felt better than I even expected," he said after playing five innings for the Reading Phillies in a 4-3 matinee loss to Connecticut.Ibanez had played with a groin strain for several weeks before going on the disabled list June 18."Back when I was playing, every time I'd move I could feel it," Ibanez said. "I didn't feel anything today. That was good."Ibanez's rehab will shift to Allentown tonight. He will start in left field for the triple-A"
Ibanez unlikely to return from DL Friday
June 30
MLB.com
 
"Phillies left fielder Raul Ibanez said last week that his strained left groin feels much better. But while it has improved, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said, "One day he can be doing great, and another day not as great. We have to keep our minds open there." Ibanez is eligible to be activated from the disabled list Friday against the Mets at Citizens Bank Park, but that is unlikely to happen. Amaro said Ibanez will see team physician Michael Ciccotti again this week. "We'll re-evaluate him and see whether he's physically able to start some type of rehab," Amaro said."
Ibanez says he's 'feeling better'
June 20
Courier-Post
 
"The Phillies said the MRI on Raul Ibanez reinforced their original diagnosis of a strained left groin. Ibanez was placed on the disabled list Thursday and had his MRI later that day. He wasn't available to the print media before the game, but he told a TV reporter: "I'm feeling better. I expect to continue to progress and be back healthy." That was welcome news to Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, who will be without arguably his best hitter at least until July 3. "That's fantastic," Manuel said. "Like I always say, especially with Raul, we want him back as soon as possible. That's good news." That would seem to indicate that Ibanez didn't tear his groin or suffer a sports hernia, which"
MRI on Ibanez's injury shows it's just a strain
June 20
Philly.com
 
"A sense of relief wafted through the Phillies' clubhouse yesterday after it was learned an MRI on Raul Ibanez showed his groin injury was no more severe than the team announced on Thursday.A club spokesman said before last night's game against Baltimore the results of the MRI were consistent with the original diagnosis - a strained left groin.Ibanez, who ranks third in the majors in home runs (22) and runs batted in (59) and is batting .312, was placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday. The 37-year-old leftfielder is undergoing rehabilitation treatments."I'm feeling better," Ibanez said. "I expect to continue to progress."Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said Ibanez probably won't swing"
Phils put Ibanez on DL
June 19
Courier-Post
 
"The decision to go on the 15-day disabled list was an easy one for Raul Ibanez As much as he didn't want to disrupt his career season, the Phillies' left fielder was clearly limping Wednesday night when he grounded out in the fourth inning, and he was struggling to chase down balls in the outfield. But it wasn't his Achilles' tendon that was the problem as much as a previously undisclosed left groin strain the Phillies say has been bothering him off and on since April. Once it started affecting his play, Ibanez knew it was time to let it heal. So he didn't try protesting when the Phillies' medical staff recommended that he go on the disabled list. Ibanez and Phillies general manager Ruben"
Phils put Ibanez on 15-day DL with strained groin
June 19
Philly.com
 
"The Phillies are going to have to get through at least the next two weeks without the hitter who has been their most productive so far this season. Raul Ibanez, who was leading the Phillies in hitting (.312) and was second in the National League with 22 home runs and 59 runs batted in, today was put on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left groin. Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro said the groin problem began in April but didn't become an issue until the recent trip to the West Coast. The injury became evident during Wednesday night's 7-1 loss to Toronto when Ibanez limped to first base during a double play and struggled to chase down a fly ball. Ibanez is the current leader"
Phillies hope Ibanez injury not long-term
June 19
Philadelphia Daily News
 
"THE MOST unsettling part for the Phillies had to be the uncertainty when they waited for the results of an MRI that was scheduled to be conducted late yesterday evening. As of the end of the team's 8-7 loss to the Blue Jays, the only definite about the ailing left groin of Raul Ibanez was that it would sideline the star leftfielder for at least the 15 days he is required to be on the disabled list.Beyond that?"I'm always pretty confident that it can be fixed," said Ibanez, who is hitting .312 with 22 home runs and 59 RBI. "So I think it will be fixed. That's me talking."Hopeful, rather than confident, is the word that best fit the rhetoric of Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. when"