Disabled List

The Phillies will place Tommy Greene on the 15-day disabled list unless the righthander can convince them in the next three days that his strained right groin muscle is much better. What that means in an optimistic scenario is that Greene would sit out two starts instead of the one he already is scheduled to miss. Team physician Phillip Marone examined Greene before last night's game against the Cardinals. Marone said that, had he been forced to decide yesterday, he probably would have chosen to recommend that Greene be placed on the disabled list.

Jake Diekman was clearly enjoying the atmosphere in his new environment. On a day where the Phillies made several personnel moves, among the more interesting is the arrival of Diekman, a 25-year-old lefthander recalled from triple-A Lehigh Valley. Diekman was 1-0 with five saves and a 0.59 ERA in 13 games for the IronPigs. He had 22 strikeouts and three walks in 151/3 innings. During spring training he didn't allow an earned run in five appearances. So Diekman has been on cloud nine since receiving the news that he would be called up to the big leagues.

Ryan Howard felt a tiny pinch Sept. 18 when a team physician's needle penetrated the numbed surface of a left heel that had been throbbing red-hot for weeks. Within seconds, the syringe's milky mixture of cortisone and painkiller rushed warmly into the tiny, inflamed bursa sac at the base of the slugger's Achilles tendon. Howard and the Phillies were rolling the dice. They hoped the cortisone would ease the pain and, after a brief rest, return him to form for the fast-approaching postseason.

WASHINGTON - After Pedro Feliz loosened up in the batting cage Sunday before the Phillies' 12-10 win over the Braves, manager Charlie Manuel thought he was on the verge of being able to return to action. Two days later, the veteran third baseman was placed on the 15-day disabled list with what the team is calling lower back inflammation. Feliz made the trip to Washington, but his back had worsened since Sunday, and the team sent him back to Philadelphia to be examined by Dr. Michael Ciccotti.

Vicente Padilla will remain on the disabled list after Phillies physician Michael Ciccotti examined the righthander yesterday and discovered triceps tendinitis and elbow inflammation in his pitching arm. Padilla will undergo an MRI today and a bone scan tomorrow. He has been on the disabled list since May 30 because of biceps tendinitis. The Phillies believed that condition was resolved when Padilla made a rehab start Sunday at Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Padilla was removed from that start in the second inning after throwing just 33 pitches.

Montreal Expos rightfielder Carl Everett was put on the disabled list yesterday because of an injured right shoulder and will be out three to four weeks. An MRI exam revealed a tear and a bruise, assistant general manager Tony Siegle said. Everett was hurt on a hard slide into second base in the fourth inning of Wednesday's 9-0 loss to Florida. He was replaced in right field yesterday by Ron Calloway. Everett was batting .233, with one home run and two RBIs. The Expos will be at Citizens Bank Park for a three-game series with the Phillies beginning tonight.

It was happening again. Call it The Disabled List Dance. At 10:50 a.m. yesterday, Phillies general manager Lee Thomas strode into the office of manager Jim Fregosi and shut the door. Five minutes later, Fregosi emerged for a moment and waved pitching coach Johnny Podres into the room. Podres came out moments later and began to roam the clubhouse. He poked his head in the trainer's room. He poked his head in the bathroom. Finally he called out, "Anyone know where Pat's at?" There it was. Pat Combs was about to lose his spot in the starting rotation.

The San Francisco Giants plan to give away a Rory McIlroy bobblehead later this year. Huh? No one knows if the star golfer, who comes from Belfast, Northern Ireland, even follows the game of baseball, let alone a team on America's Left Coast. As usual in baseball these days, there's a marketing angle here. The giveaway date (June 12) takes place the same week the U.S. Open is being held at Olympic in San Francisco. The game is being pitched as "Irish Heritage Night.

Nationals manager Davey Johnson must be living right. Washington has stayed in first place in the NL East despite a series of injuries that has ravaged the team. The Nats' best player, third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, recently returned from a sore right shoulder that forced him to miss 13 games. Relief pitchers Drew Storen and Brad Lidge, leftfielder Mike Morse and utility man Mark DeRosa also were on the disabled list in April. Then things got really bad. Rightfielder Jayson Werth had surgery Monday to repair a broken left wrist that's expected to sideline him for at least three months.

Jake Diekman was clearly enjoying the atmosphere in his new environment. On a day where the Phillies made several personnel moves, among the more interesting is the arrival of Diekman, a 25-year-old lefthander recalled from triple-A Lehigh Valley. Diekman was 1-0 with five saves and a 0.59 ERA in 13 games for the IronPigs. He had 22 strikeouts and three walks in 151/3 innings. During spring training he didn't allow an earned run in five appearances. So Diekman has been on cloud nine since receiving the news that he would be called up to the big leagues.

The return of Cliff Lee from the disabled list was more than a sliver of light in these darkest of days for the Phillies. It was more than a silver lining, too. Watching this offensively inconsistent team that is short on sluggers, rail thin in the bullpen and challenged defensively, it's easy to forget that the Phillies' starting rotation is still the gold standard in the National League. You might not want to hear that after another monumental bullpen collapse allowed the New York Mets to complete a three-game sweep Wednesday night with a 10-6 victory at an increasingly hostile Citizens Bank Park.

With Cliff Lee scheduled to return from the disabled list Wednesday night against the Mets, the Phillies have Kyle Kendrick available in their bullpen. Exactly how they will use Kendrick remains to be seen, but his reinforcement is definitely needed. Pitching coach Rich Dubee acknowledged Tuesday that the Phillies need to get their bullpen in order and that's an understatement. After closer Jonathan Papelbon served up a three-run home run to Mets rookie Jordany Valdespin in Monday night's 5-2 loss, the Phillies' bullpen had a major-league worst 4.86 earned run average, which more than neutralized a starting rotation with a 2.98 ERA, the fourth best in baseball.

TREVOR CAHILL took a four-hit shutout into the eighth inning, and the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks beat Washington, 5-1, Tuesday night to stretch the Nationals' losing streak to five games. Teenager Bryce Harper went 0-for-3 in his home debut for the Nationals. The 19-year-old Harper, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft, is 2-for-9 since being recalled from the minors on Saturday. Cahill (2-2) allowed one run and six hits in 7 1/3 innings, striking out five and walking one. Arizona starters are 4-0 with a 1.30 ERA over the past five games.

ATLANTA - Cliff Lee's stay on the disabled list may not be much longer than the mandated 15 days. Lee threw what he termed a pain-free bullpen session Wednesday at Turner Field, taking the next step in his recovery from a strained left side. He is eligible to be activated Friday, but it won't happen then. Still, there is optimism. The lefthander said he is scheduled to throw another bullpen Saturday. If that goes well, he could be activated next week. "It's slowly gotten better," Lee said.

Two of the most recognized minor-league names of recent years stepped into major-league roles on Saturday. The Washington Nationals called up outfielder Bryce Harper and the Los Angeles Angels brought up outfielder Mike Trout. These are names you should be reading about for a decade. Harper already is a national name, having been the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft at an age when most teenagers are just finishing 11th grade. Trout has been known to fans in this region since his days at Millville, following in the footsteps of his father, Jeff, a star for the 'Bolts in the 1970s.

This must the be the Golden Age for baseball senior citizens. Jamie Moyer is turning back the clock in Colorado and Omar Vizquel, who turned 45 on Tuesday, started a pair of double plays at second base for the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. Now in his 24th major-league season, Vizquel made his debut on April 3, 1989. George H.W. Bush was barely two months into his presidency, Rain Man was the No. 1 movie at the box office and future author Jose Canseco was the reigning American League MVP. Vizquel, a native of Venezuela has played in four different decades with six different teams, has 11 Gold Gloves, 2,842 career hits and is a three-time all-star.

SAN DIEGO - When Cliff Lee completed his 10th inning of work on Wednesday, he pleaded for more. Lee had felt "a little something" near his ribcage during the 10th inning, but he still told pitching coach Rich Dubee he wanted the 11th inning against San Francisco. "I didn't really think much about it, to be honest with you," Lee said. The next day, after the Phillies flew south to San Diego, the soreness lingered. The lefthander played catch Friday, and it was still there.