Is Scott Rolen finished?

Rolen says no: “I’m not shutting it down,” he said. “But we are running out of time.” Rolen, on disabled list recovering from Aug. 3 surgery on his left shoulder, has not taken batting practice since Aug. 31 when he admittedly overdid it. I don’t know what to make of Rolen. It’s pretty clear that he’ll never be the hitter he once was, and that’s a problem for someone that will be hitting in the middle of the order (if Dusty Baker has anything to say about it). On the other hand, despite losing a step, he’s awfully good defensively for about 100 games a year. Is he done? I don’t know the answer to that, but I know this: the Reds should have prepared better for not having him in the lineup in 2011. They did nothing in the off-season, which is so foolish, I can barely put it into words. My grandmother knew that Rolen was a good bet to get hurt this year. Cincinnati may think that Juan Francisco or Todd Frazier or, heck, Yonder Alonso is the answer. R...