Elbow

After throwing 110 pitches against Arizona on April 24, Vance Worley went looking for Cole Hamels. The ball was coming out of Worley's right hand just fine. But there was extra pain in his elbow. He remembered that Hamels had often talked about the same thing last season, when he pitched with a bone chip the size of a Tic Tac in his left elbow. "What is, exactly, a bone chip?" Worley asked Hamels. "Can you give me some of your symptoms?" Hamels started listing a few. When he finished, he asked Worley: "Do you have any of them?"

Mike Schmidt became a half-million dollars richer yesterday, and he didn't have to win the lottery to do it. Rather, the windfall resulted from a clause in his contract that said he would receive that sum if he were still on the Phillies' roster on May 15. Seeing his 1989 salary doubled overnight didn't excite Schmidt, who is more concerned these days with the sore left elbow that may have contributed to his being homerless since May 2....

Pitcher Cole Hamels underwent two surgeries Friday. The Phillies said that team physician Michael Ciccotti removed loose bodies from Hamels' left elbow and that surgeon Ernest Rosato repaired a hernia. The procedures were successful, according to the Phillies, who said that Hamels will be able to begin a throwing program in three to four weeks. Hamels, 27, went 14-9 with a 2.79 ERA in 32 games, including 31 starts. He pitched six shutout innings and earned a victory in his only postseason start against the St. Louis Cardinals.

As if the Phoenix Suns didn't have enough trouble already, the prognosis on Charles Barkley's tender right elbow is not cause for optimism. Barkley, the heart, soul and spirit of the Suns, played last night in Game 3 with a large protective wrap on the elbow. At times during the game, he sat on the bench with ice on the elbow. If this series lasts much longer, his effectiveness could be in doubt. Suns team physician Richard Emerson said the elbow was not damaged when Barkley collided in Game 2 with Chicago's Scott Williams, but it was inflamed.

Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham grabbed his throwing elbow as he was helped off the Georgia Dome carpet and we could hear the gasps from Channel 29 viewers all the way down here. "I had a little palpitation," coach Rich Kotite said after the Birds' 20-12 loss to the Falcons. "I went over (to the bench) and I knew immediately it wasn't serious, so I felt a lot better. " Understandably so. Kotite, after all, has had Cunningham for just 20 of his 48 regular-season games as the Birds' head coach.

The huddle included Phillies manager Nick Leyva, general manager Lee Thomas, trainer Jeff Cooper and club physician Dr. Phillip Marone. After a while, the door to Leyva's office opened and righthander Steve Ontiveros was invited to join the group. Then the door closed again. By the time Ontiveros emerged, the best-laid plans once again had been scrambled. Ontiveros, it was announced, would not be activated from the disabled list. He would not pitch Thursday at Dodger Stadium.

With his elbow still giving him problems, Phillies righthander Joe Blanton was scratched from his scheduled start Thursday against Colorado after warming up in the bullpen. The club announced that Blanton was unable to pitch because of soreness in his right elbow. Blanton came off the disabled list May 8 after he was sidelined with a medial impingement in the elbow. An impingement occurs when the membrane that lines the elbow becomes caught in the elbow joint. Blanton was replaced by Kyle Kendrick, who pitched two innings in relief Tuesday at St. Louis.

Righthander Mark Portugal was told last night that he will have surgery on his right elbow Monday and will miss at least three months. In addition, lefthander Matt Beech was placed on the disabled list. Reliever Ken Ryan was activated, and struggling pitcher Bobby Munoz said he and catcher Mike Lieberthal are friends but "have a communication problem. " And that wasn't all. After their 3-1 win over Colorado, the Phils sent pitcher Scott Ruffcorn (0-0, 4.38 ERA) and infielder Kevin Sefcik (.150)

The diagnosis - bone chips in his right elbow - is in for Glenn Robinson, and the 76ers forward must decide whether to have surgery and possibly miss the remainder of the season, or rest it in the hopes of playing again. Robinson was examined Monday by orthopedist James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala. He was given two options: surgery that would sideline him for three to five weeks, or rehabilitation that may get him back sooner. "I'm stuck in between right now," Robinson said last night before the Sixers' game against the Chicago Bulls.

National League MVP Larry Walker of the Colorado Rockies' will undergo arthroscopic surgery on a troublesome right elbow Tuesday in Denver and is expected to miss most of spring training. The team expects the rightfielder to be 100 percent healthy by opening day. Walker felt pain in his elbow after swinging and missing a pitch in the Rockies' 160th game of the season on Sept. 26. Later in that at-bat, Walker belted his 49th homer of the season. He never got a chance for No. 50 as the pain in the elbow prevented him from playing the final two games.

A visit to orthopedic surgeon James Andrews confirmed the Phillies' diagnosis of a bone chip and inflammation in Vance Worley's right elbow. Andrews immediately ruled out any serious problem with Worley's ulnar collateral ligament - which means no Tommy John surgery is needed. "Immediately after he grabbed my arm, he knew it wasn't Tommy John," said Worley, who visited the specialist in Pensacola, Fla. "Now I just have to go out and get it going. " Worley was not immediately sure of the plan for his return to the field.

After throwing 110 pitches against Arizona on April 24, Vance Worley went looking for Cole Hamels. The ball was coming out of Worley's right hand just fine. But there was extra pain in his elbow. He remembered that Hamels had often talked about the same thing last season, when he pitched with a bone chip the size of a Tic Tac in his left elbow. "What is, exactly, a bone chip?" Worley asked Hamels. "Can you give me some of your symptoms?" Hamels started listing a few. When he finished, he asked Worley: "Do you have any of them?"

After a 4-3 victory Tuesday that gave the Phillies their first three-game winning streak of 2012, Vance Worley dampened the mood. He said he's been scratched from his scheduled start Wednesday because of elbow soreness. Kyle Kendrick will start for Worley in the series opener against Chicago. Kendrick has pitched only one inning in the previous 11 days and could be severely limited in how deep he could throw. He made three starts for Cliff Lee while the lefthander was disabled, and the Phillies lost all three.

NEW YORK - LeBron James scored 32 points, including eight straight to start the fourth quarter, to lead the Miami Heat to an 87-70 win over the New York Knicks on Thursday night - and gain a 3-0 lead in their series. New York, meanwhile, set an NBA postseason record with its 13th straight playoff loss. The Heat held the shorthanded Knicks to eight field goals in the second half and will go for the sweep Sunday. Dwyane Wade added 20 points for the Heat and Mario Chalmers had 19, hitting consecutive three-pointers in the fourth quarter, when the Heat finally brought some beauty to what had been an ugly game.

ANDY PETTITTE allowed three earned runs and seven singles in five-plus innings for Double A Trenton on Wednesday night in his third minor-league start as he works toward making the New York Yankees' rotation. Pettitte, 39, trying to come back after retiring following the 2010 season, struck out three and walked one in a 10-4 loss to the Erie SeaWolves, a Tigers affiliate at Trenton's Waterfront Park. "I felt good," said Pettitte. "It was another step in the right direction.

OKLAHOMA CITY Thunder forward James Harden underwent tests Monday following his concussion in the previous day's game against the Los Angeles Lakers and will be re-evaluated on Tuesday. Harden participated in limited activities on Monday but must go through additional steps under the NBA's concussion policy before he is cleared to play again. Harden dropped to the floor after taking a vicious backward elbow to the head from Metta World Peace after the Lakers' forward had dunked over two Thunder players late in the second quarter of Los Angeles' double-overtime win Sunday.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. - Ryan Madson, slated to be Cincinnati's closer after signing as a free agent in the offseason, will miss the entire 2012 season because of a torn ligament in his right elbow. The Reds said Saturday that team medical director Timothy Kremchek told general manager Walt Jocketty the ligament was torn from the bone of Madson's right elbow. Madson, who pitched for the Phillies from 2004 through 2011, agreed to a one-year contract guaranteeing $8.5 million with the Reds.

Kansas City Royals closer Joakim Soria decided Friday to undergo reconstructive elbow surgery, which will force him to miss the entire season. Soria left Sunday's game against Cleveland with a pain in his right elbow that was later diagnosed as ligament damage. Surgery is set for April 3 for the two-time all-star who has 160 saves the last five seasons. He also missed the 2003 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.   Chamberlain hurts ankle Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain dislocated his right ankle while playing with his son on a trampoline, jeopardizing his immediate future after yet another odd misstep for New York's bullpen at spring training.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Three rows of scouts seated behind home plate at Bright House Field took notes as Joe Blanton fired his 30 pitches on Monday. Each time, five raised radar guns, looked down, and scribbled the number. This was Blanton's first outing of the spring; hardly a time for judgments. But when you're a pitcher who prided himself on an uncanny ability to take the ball every fifth day without fail, every milestone is important. That Blanton tossed two scoreless innings in a 9-3 victory over the Yankees was secondary to his declaration that his right elbow didn't hurt one bit. As far as he is concerned, there is no need to even think about the nebulous elbow condition that limited his 2011 season to 11 games.

Ryan Zimmerman, the Washington Nationals' very first draft pick and face of the franchise, signed a six-year extension (through 2019) for a cool $100 million, a source told the Associated Press on Sunday. The deal includes a full no-trade clause.   "Hey Nomar" Nick Punto, once a Phillies prospect and now an American League journeyman, signed a two-year, $3-million deal with Boston in the winter. Punto wears No. 5, last worn in Boston by fan-fave Nomar Garciaparra.