MVP-Candidate Carlos Ruiz Dealing with Plantar Fasciitis

Keeping the wonderful Phillies news flowing these days, the shining light of the 2012 season, MVP-candidate Carlos Ruiz, is dealing with plantar fasciitis. According to Matt Gelb, Ruiz has been dealing with problems since the Los Angeles series.

This can't be entirely surprising for a few reasons. One, the Phillies have just had terrible luck this year. Two, Ruiz has played in the most games for a catcher in baseball (though he is fifth in innings). Three, his offensive production since the All-Star break has suffered. He has an OPS of .871 since the break, which is still very strong and second on the team since the break, but far from his pre-break OPS of .996.

If Ruiz has to miss time on the DL or take more days off, the Phillies are going to miss him. He has a 5.1 fWAR for the season, already one of the best seasons ever for a Phillies catcher. Only Darren Daulton's 1992 season (7.4 fWAR) is clearly superior to Ruiz's 2/3 of a season this year.

More can be written about what a stellar season Ruiz is having (and we have written about it here, here, and elsewhere), but probably the most important thing we'll miss if Ruiz is injured is that he has been the sole consistent bright spot for the team this year. With the season now virtually completely lost, dealing with an injured Chooch will be like a kid who's lost his ice cream.