PLACIDO POLANCO retired Sunday as a Phillie. It shouldn't be the last time we hear from him.
Polanco always played in the shadow of bigger names: JimThome, Pat Burrell, Bobby Abreu, Cole Hamels, Billy Wagner, Roy Halladay but he belonged with them. He should be remembered as a hard-nosed Phillie with deep connections to the four hardest-nosed Phillies to play for the franchise in the past 20 years: Scott Rolen, Chase Utley, Thome and Carlos Ruiz.
Polanco came to Philadelphia in 2002 and turned out to be the most valuable piece in the deadline deal that sent Rolen to the Cardinals.