One pitch in spring training and Brad Lidge is headed for surgery tomorrow. They say it is a simple scope. They say it will take 3 to 6 weeks for recovery. Bad news, indeed. And I feel sorry for Lidge, who seemed genuinely excited to be starting over with a new team. No doubt not the start he envisaged.
Speaking of which, there was a Jim Salisbury story in this morning's Inky about 3rd-baseman Scott Rolen, traded over the offseason to the Blue Jays. I used to have seats off of left base because of Rolen, who ended up leaving Philadelphia on a sour note. He did the same with St. Louis, this time because of abiding friction between himself and manager Tony LaRussa. In the piece, the moody player says that he was hoping a deal would have brought him back to Philadelphia, but the Phillies were leery of his surgically-repaired shoulder. (Brad Lidge, anyone?) Apologies to Pedro Feliz, but an infield of Rolen, Rollins, Utley, and Howard would have been awesome. Can Scott Rolen really be 33 already? And looking like such a grizzled veteran.
