GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Scott Rolen concluded a lengthy interview, answering all the pertinent questions about his health and well-being in a soft tone, then asked his own questions. “How many games am I playing this year, have you heard?” he asked, crossing his arms and breaking into a broad smile. “It was 120 last year and I missed that by nearly half. What did I play, 60?” It was 65. Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker hoped to protect his 37-year-old veteran third baseman last year and said he would give him enough rest so that he could play 120 games. It didn’t happen. Injuries inserted their ugly claws into Rolen’s tender shoulders, knocking him to the disabled list for 19 days early in the season and knocking him out for the season in late July due to shoulder surgery. Hence, 65 games. Baker won’t put a number on Rolen this year, although he did say, “I’d like it to be more than 120.” When told that Baker wouldn’t put a number on him for 2012, Rolen laughed and said, “He’d prefer more than 60? That wasn’t cutting it. He put 120 on it last year and I missed if by half. So it was probably pretty smart of him not to put a number on this year.” While Rolen jokes about it, 2011 was unadulterated misery for the seven-time All-Star (including last year) and eight-time Gold Glover. This season is the last year of his contract and he is a man on a mission he hopes isn’t impossible. He won’t say this is his last year as a player, just talks around it. When asked, there was a long pause before he said, “What are the words? Uh, no, I’m not spending much time on that.” he said. “But IF, IF this is my last year, I have one year left on my contract, so I want to make sure I get out there and I play and contribute. I want to be accountable for this year. “I had a hard time with that last year,” he said. “That was one of my biggest disappointments last year. I felt unaccountable. As an every-day player one of your most important jobs is the responsibility to your position and your team, be accountable for being on the field and helping the team. I wasn’t able to do that last year. So I’m looking at the present right now — just being on the field and being accountable.” For his 65 games last year, Rolen hit .242 over 252 at-bats with only five homers and 35 RBIs, batting clean-up most of the time. That doesn’t wash with him, even though his shoulder made it impossible for him to utilize his talent. After a winter of healing and workouts, Rolen is ready to roll as only Rolen can. “I have more range of motion right now than I’ve had for the last four or five years,” he said. “It lingered into the offseason. I had a lot of pain in that spot for a month into the offseason.” In mid-December, Rolen went to Florida for a rehabilitation program, “Doing some dynamic stuff. But I laid off the weights. I did strength-training, but no weights. That’s the first time I haven’t done that for a lot of years.” And? “I feel good, real good,” he said. “I’ve been hitting some for about a month. Yeah, I’m ready to go full-go this spring. “At the end of last season, I wasn’t tired. Just unfulfilled,” he said. “I’m not a numbers guy, but I do like to see a lot of games played and have my body ache at the end of the season from playing. I could actually walk after last season and I’m not used to that. This season? I want to play. I won’t look at numbers, the stats, I just want to play and stay healthy. At the end of the season I want to be tired as hell.” Baker said he didn’t talk much with Rolen in the offseason because he knew Rolen would do what is necessary to return in full health. “I’m not worried about Scotty,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about checking on him. I was getting reports and stuff. I anticipate him being in good shape. He is a prideful athlete who didn’t like last year’s results. It’s not him not at all. “I hope he plays a lot more, but I know Scotty and he’ll want to perform well and win, which is what he is all about,” Baker added. “That was a very difficult year for a guy who is used to playing and likes to play, but wasn’t able to play.” Of the games played issue, Baker said, “Man, I don’t know. I hate to put a number on it. His body will dictate that. Quite frankly, I’m hoping for more. That was just a number (120 games) that I picked and I thought about.” Rolen and the rest of the position players arrived in camp Friday and now Baker begins the monitoring. “We have to talk about how much he needs to get ready – when is he not playing enough to get ready and when is he playing too much and not saving enough for the season. That’s a fine line,” said Baker. “Scotty and I always have dialogue and an honor system thing going,” said Baker. “I know he is about as truthful and honest about whether he can play as any player I’ve had. And he knows himself at this point. If you don’t know yourself by now, it’s too late. But he knows how his body feels and how he reacts to things. And I ask him. I use my judgment as well because I can see a funny swing or a funky twinge. I’m attuned to his body language. Part of my job.” When Baker was asked about the importance of Rolen’s presence in the lineup, Baker said it is of the utmost, but he also said, “It is important who plays during Scotty’s absence from time to time. You know there is going to be some gaps, you just don’t want those extended gaps.” As who might be Rolen’s caddie, Baker offered a lengthy list “There is some competition for that gap time. Quite a few guys are there, some I know, some I don’t know. Wilson Valdez, Willie Harris, Miguel Cairo, Juan Francisco, Todd Francisco, Paul Janish, Chris Valaika — depending upon how his leg is. Depends on what we need — right, left, power, speed, defense. You’d like to have it all.” Most of all, he’d like to have Rolen at third base most of the time and forget about plugging the gaps.
