Posted by Danielle Wilson
The Phillies just keep on giving Braves fans more and more joy. This joy originated back when everyone found out about Chase Utley’s tendonitis. Strike one. Then, Brad Lidge told the media that he has bicep tendonitis, and although it is nothing to worry about, (I feel like I’ve said that a lot this spring), it should still be taken into concern. Strike two. To end this edition of "why the Braves will win the N.L. East", Placido Polanco is now on the disabled list, day to day, with a hyper extended left elbow. Strike three and we’re out of the running for an N.L. East championship. Not catching on? Read this tweet from ESPN’s Berthiaume:
http://bit.ly/h0YzFB See what I mean? The Phillies are definitely done for.
But wait–Oh that’s right! We have 4 starters that are capable of pitching complete game shutout’s, a lineup that should be relatively healthy and powerful by mid-April, a bench that Charlie Manuel and Pete Mackanin can confide in to help our lineup, and a bullpen full of top-notch pitchers who will seldom be used. Silly me, how could I have forgotten?
A little more on Polanco’s elbow;
Ryan Lawrence of the Delaware County Times reported that Placido said:
"It's right where I had the surgery, but it’s nothing bad. I've had it before. I’ve had it a million times. But the fact that I had surgery in that elbow, we're being safe, we're playing it very safe. We'll see how it feels tomorrow and the next day, take it a day at a time."
Please, don’t panic. There’s enough of that already with Chase being idle for so long. Placido will take caution and he knows that he has to be careful with that elbow, so Charlie will not rush him to take the field.
In today’s Phillies-BlueJays game in Dunedin, the Phillies ended up crushing the Jays 13-7. It was an absolute hit fest.
Michael Martinez and Wilson Valdez both had good days, with 3 RBI a piece. Raul and BenFran both went yard, and that is just the beginning. The Phillies combined to hit 17 hits against the Jays, the most hits coming from BenFran who is making quite a name for himself down in Florida.
The only bad news from today’s game was Placido’s injury, and J.C. Romero’s almost-injury. He was nicked in the hand and was checked out, but appeared to be safe and sound.
Tomorrow, the Phillies will take it easy with a day off, then it’s back home in Clearwater to play the BlueJays.
