Whether it was Odubel Herrera's tender left foot, the team's meek offensive output in the season opener, or a combination of both, Ryne Sandberg wrote up a much different lineup card in the Phillies' second game of the year.
Herrera is day to day after fouling a ball off his back foot Monday, although he will be available to pinch hit Wednesday, Sandberg said. With him out, Ben Revere shifts back to center field and will be flanked by Darin Ruf in left and Jeff Francoeur in right.
"I like to use different guys to start the season, get everybody feeling part of the team and everybody having a chance to play, so tonight was a chance to get two new guys in the lineup," Sandberg said, noting that he likes Francouer's right field defense and the added balance of this lineup, which has three right-handed bats.
It made sense, too, to give Ruf an early-season opportunity to start. The Phillies are not a powerful team, nor do they project to walk a lot. Carlos Ruiz had their only two walks in the season opener, and that came after a spring in which the team ranked dead last in baseball with a .294 on-base percentage.
Ruf has a decent idea of the strike zone. He has a .339 career OBP in 447 plate appearances, and in 2013, when he received his most major-league playing time, his on-base percentage was 101 points higher than his batting average.
It's a way to insert some pop and plate discipline into a lineup that badly needs it.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Ruf said when asked if he had an idea of what his role would be with the Phillies this season. "It depends on how I play obviously, I think you kind of play yourself into roles. Hopefully I can perform well enough to have an expanded role on the team."
With Domonic Brown temporarily shelved by an Achilles injury, Sandberg said he plans to go with whichever outfielders are swinging well.
So if Ruf provides an extra-base hit or two, or works counts like so many of his teammates don't, he could find some playing time. His start against right-hander Rick Porcello on Wednesday night shows that Sandberg doesn't view him as strictly a platoon player. The manager could have put left-handed hitting Grady Sizemore in left, but didn't.
But whatever his role becomes, Ruf says he's not taking it personally.
"People are always gonna judge you all the time whether you play well or don't play well," Ruf said. "If you play well, someone's always going to find a reason to say why you're not going to be able to take your game to the next level. There's always going to be people putting a ceiling on a guy, saying he can't do this or can't do that."
The Phillies' front office did place a ceiling on Ruf, defensively, after the 2013 season, when GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said firmly "Ruf is not a rightfielder."
Sandberg on Wednesday was not as quick to dismiss the possibility of using Ruf in right field if the situation warrants it.
But all the noise, all the limitations placed on Ruf haven't changed his mindset. He's a 20th-round pick who forced his way through the farm system and now finds himself starting the second game of a season.
"I've enjoyed my time greatly here in Philly," Ruf said. "I don't know if I would have been able to make it as far as I have to this point if I was in another organization. So to be in the position I'm in now, I'm extremely grateful. ... They didn't have huge expectations for me, but you kind of just play your way up every single level. This has been better than expected for sure."