Tracy Won’t Rush Roberts Into Lineup

Wanting to prevent a recurrence of last season, when Dave Roberts needed a second stint on the disabled list after attempting to return prematurely from a hamstring injury, Manager Jim Tracy said the team would preclude its leadoff batter from rejoining the lineup before he is fully healed.

Roberts, who strained his right hamstring May 4 while trying to steal a base, ran at full speed Sunday for the first time since suffering the injury and is eligible to come off the disabled list Thursday.

But Tracy would not commit to a target date for the return of his left fielder because of what happened last season.

Little more than a month after returning from a two-week stint on the disabled list because of a strained right hamstring, Roberts aggravated the injury and was forced to go back on the disabled list.

“Hamstrings are a very tricky thing,” Tracy said. “This one is very tricky due to the individual because if you push the envelope too quickly and you take his legs away from him, you’ve in essence lost a player. That’s what we’re guarding against and that’s why we’re being very cautious about what we’re doing.”

Said Roberts: “We decided to put myself on the disabled list because of what happened last year and the history. I think we went about it the right way.”

The Dodgers are taking a similar approach with right fielder Juan Encarnacion, who sat out a third consecutive game Sunday because of a sore left shoulder. Tracy said the extra day of rest, combined with an off day today, could allow Encarnacion to return close to full strength Tuesday when the Dodgers open a three-game series in Philadelphia.

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Jason Grabowski, the player Tracy has picked to replace Roberts in the leadoff spot for five games, is more renowned for his bulging biceps than his speed and can’t recall having led off since high school.

“I guess I’m not the prototypical leadoff hitter,” Grabowski said, “but I know I’m a patient hitter. I’m not afraid to hit with two strikes.”

Grabowski had a double in three at-bats Sunday during the Dodgers’ 6-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium and is hitting .278 in the leadoff spot.

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Owner Frank McCourt said he has not established any guidelines in terms of how well the first-place Dodgers must perform the rest of the season for Tracy to keep his job.

McCourt said the decision whether to retain Tracy after his contract expires at the end of the season would ultimately be his, with significant input from General Manager Paul DePodesta.

“I’m going to say 99 times out 100, I’m going to be going with their recommendation,” McCourt said of his senior executives. “That said, I think Jim Tracy is doing a great job.”

Tracy declined to assess his performance this season but indicated that he felt his Dodger teams exceeded expectations during his first three seasons.

“I’m aware of three clubs that I’ve managed up until this point,” Tracy said, “and I don’t think there’s any one of them I can’t look in the mirror and say they achieved what you would expect that group of players to achieve -- and then some. I think 86, 92 and 85 [victories] would attest to that, and then you add in season-ending injuries, almost 700 days [lost] to the disabled list.”