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Lidge returns to Phillies, others to follow

THE SECOND crack of daylight came yesterday morning. After an offseason of rehabilitation that stretched through the first 3 weeks of the season, Brad Lidge officially rejoined the Phillies' active roster, having been activated off the 15-day disabled list in time to participate in tonight's series opener against the Mets at Citizens Bank Park.

Phillies' pitcher Brad Lidge walks off the field after a rehab start for the Reading Phillies.  (Steven M. Falk / Staff Photographer )
Phillies' pitcher Brad Lidge walks off the field after a rehab start for the Reading Phillies. (Steven M. Falk / Staff Photographer )Read more

THE SECOND crack of daylight came yesterday morning. After an offseason of rehabilitation that stretched through the first 3 weeks of the season, Brad Lidge officially rejoined the Phillies' active roster, having been activated off the 15-day disabled list in time to participate in tonight's series opener against the Mets at Citizens Bank Park.

It was a significant move on its own, but it also served as something of a big-picture symbol that the injury woes that have walloped the Phillies since the start of the season are beginning to fade.

If it seems as if the Phillies have been the most injury-plagued team in the National League this season, the numbers provide some stark justification for that feeling.

While the 96 days that their players have spent on the disabled list ranks fifth in the NL, behind Washington (161), New York (110), Colorado (103) and Los Angeles (99), the five Phillies who have missed a significant portion of the season are all crucial contributors: Lidge, starters Joe Blanton and J.A. Happ, lefty setup man J.C. Romero and, of course, shortstop Jimmy Rollins.

While it is impossible to quantify the amount of production the Phillies have lost due to injury, consider this: They have paid out an estimated $3.97 million to players on the disabled list this season, more than any other team in the league.

The only team that is close is the Mets, who have carried $3.45 million in dead money on the disabled list in outfielders Carlos Beltran and Daniel Murphy and relievers Sean Green, Ryota Igarashi and Kelvim Escobar, in addition to the week that shortstop Jose Reyes missed.

Tonight is the first time since September 2008 that the Mets will face the Phillies while leading them in the standings.

Thanks to a wild, come-from-behind win over the Giants on Wednesday, the Phillies are 12-9 and a half game out of first place, with the Nationals (12-10) and Marlins (11-11) both on their tail.

The 13-9 Mets have won seven in a row, but have played only six games away from Citi Field, compared with six games that the road-weary Phillies have played at Citizens Bank Park.

Interestingly enough, the Phillies might be entering tonight in third place if not for the contributions of three former Mets, all of whom were teammates last season in New York. Catcher Brian Schneider made a sprawling tag of Juan Uribe in the 11th to help Nelson Figueroa save the first game of his career, while Wilson Valdez' go-ahead double in the top of the frame put both of them in position to do so.

"Good timing, hopefully," Figueroa said after the Phillies finished off their 7-6 win over the Giants, which they trailed, 4-1, with one out in the ninth inning before San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy removed nearly unhittable starter Tim Lincecum from the game after 106 pitches.

More than any game to date, that victory showed the trickle-down effect that injuries can have on a team. Valdez is on the roster only because of the absence of Rollins. Second baseman Chase Utley started his 21st straight game. His current 5-for-29 slump might have been avoided with one of the days off the Phillies say they would like to get him, but with Juan Castro already filling in for Rollins and two reliable starters on the DL, is manager Charlie Manuel really going to sit down one of his best hitters?

Blanton (left oblique strain) is expected to be activated on Monday, which will help to lighten the load. But lefthander J.A. Happ, who last started on April 15 before elbow soreness shut him down, hasn't thrown off the mound since last Thursday. He is expected to see team doctor Michael Ciccotti this weekend, which could theoretically result in his being cleared to throw a bullpen session. But his return is by no means imminent.

And with Rollins still likely a couple of weeks away from returning, the Phillies' one healthy unit could be their bullpen.

Which brings us back to Lidge, whose addition resulted in the Phillies' optioning lefthander Antonio Bastardo to Triple A Lehigh Valley.

Although Phillies officials were noticeably reserved with their public comments about their star closer throughout spring training and the early part of the season, Lidge's solid performance in his final handful of rehab outings corresponded with a subtle brightening of their moods. While nobody expects Lidge to turn in a carbon copy of his brilliant performance 2 years ago, when he converted all 41 of his regular-season save opportunities while posting a 1.95 ERA, the velocity on his fastball has sat consistently in the low 90s, which is where it was when he emerged from the disabled list at the start of that 2008 season.

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. recently said that Lidge's slider has looked much sharper than it did throughout a frustrating spring training, and his two scoreless innings and four strikeouts in his final rehab appearance left little doubt that he was ready to return.

The proof is still in the pudding of regular-season performance, but at this point there is no doubt that Lidge is the best, and perhaps only, possible option in the ninth inning of tight games. Never was that more evident than Wednesday's victory, when Ryan Madson allowed the Giants to tie the game in the 10th for his second blown save of the season and the sixth in his last 20 opportunities as interim closer (dating back to the start of 2009).

Manuel said Wednesday that he had not decided whether to throw Lidge back into the fire immediately.

Regardless, he is back and healthy.

And for a team that limped through the last 2 weeks of April, that alone is good news.

For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese.