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Rolen possibly sidelined until May

Rolen possibly sidelined until May

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By Jordan Bastian
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MLB.com |

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Scott Rolen stood in a back room inside the Blue Jays' clubhouse on Thursday, weaving a gruesome tale about his recent hand injury. Casually mixed within the gory details was an important piece of information: Rolen could be sidelined until some time in May.

During a routine fielding drill on a practice diamond behind Knology Park this past Sunday, Rolen was struck on the tip of his right middle finger with a hard line drive. Toronto's third baseman suffered a non-displaced fracture in the finger and was flown to Baltimore, where he underwent surgery to repair the mangled digit.

Hand specialist Dr. Thomas Graham inserted a pin in the tip of Rolen'sto bounce just in front of his glove. The third baseman anticipated a short hop, but the baseball stayed in the air and drilled Rolen's hand.

At first, Rolen didn't believe the injury was anything serious. The incident wasn't too different from other fielding accidents throughout his 12 seasons in the Majors. Rolen's finger was bleeding, but the way his fingernail appeared to be bent, he figured the baseball had simply ripped off his nail.

As it turned out, the nail wasn't the problem. The tip of Rolen's finger was broken to the extent that bone had been exposed. Rolen headed from Knology Park to a local emergency room, where a doctor used stitches to help stabilize the third baseman's finger temporarily before the operation in Baltimore.

"It's kind of gross,"