Victorino heads home; Mayberry is back
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
Victorino heads home; Mayberry is back
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- The swollen right thumb that kept Shane Victorino out of Monday's game could prove to be a larger problem than the Phillies and their centerfielder originally expected.
Victorino left the team Tuesday to fly to Philadelphia for an appointment with hand specialist Randall Culp, as initially reported by MLB.com. Victorino could not swing a bat Monday and had a large wrap around his hand to help decrease the swelling.
"It's a little sore," Victorino said Monday, "but it's all right."
The injury occurred Sunday when Victorino's left cleat gave way on the Rogers Centre turf and he crumbled to the ground. In the process, he fell on his thumb.
His replacement in center could be the newest member of the roster.
Needing only four starters for the remainder of the first half, the Phillies will go with an extra bench player, and he is a familiar one: John Mayberry Jr.
Mayberry was officially recalled Tuesday from triple-A Lehigh Valley to replace Vance Worley, who was optioned after Monday's 1-0 win.
The 27-year-old began the season with the Phillies and stayed on the major-league roster until June 1. He hit .231 in 104 at-bats and had the game-winning single on Opening Day.
But because he had an option remaining, he was the odd man out on the Phillies roster. His stint in the minors wasn't all too impressive with a slash line of .265/.287/.442 in 122 plate appearances. He had four home runs but only five walks against 23 strikeouts.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
Download our NEW iPhone/Android app for easy access to all of our Phillies coverage, plus app-exclusive videos and analysis. Get it here.
Great. We lose Victorino and get Mayberry. That'll help.— eman- The good news: He's gonna live!— Rabe56
- Perhaps cliff or doc can pull John Jr. aside, and explain to him how to recognize an off speed pitch..?— patrickstar
- Mayberry needs to capitalize on his continued opportunities. Now.— shawnmac
- I just finally saw the clip of him falling down. Classic.— phillyinsd
- And you call other posters on this sight pathetic losers and idiots? Classic. — escapedcamden4monterey
- Or maybe Ryan Howard can teach John the finer points of recognizing a down-and-away breaking pitch. Just imagine how dangerous Ryan would be if he was a capable hitter against lefties and if he did not swing at pitches 2-3 feet out of the strike zone.— MrPhillie
- Geez, and another one bites the dust...— M60tanker
- Shane was hot, this is a big hurdle. If Mayberry comes in and plays good defense and has good at bats until Shane gets back, I will be happy. Time for others to wake up and carry the team. The temperature is hot, time for Howard, Utley, and Ibanez to get hot. Here's hoping Shane is not out too much longer than the all star break.— JohnFC
Comment removed.- Mayberry's slash is better against lefties .294/.294/.647 with three homers in 34 AAA at bats.— Dull
- Yep phillyinsd- classic. Too bad the turf didn't tear his knee up, that would have been hilarious.— smfree31
- I'm glad Mayberry is back. He never should have been sent to AAA at the end of spring training - he clearly earned the spot over Francisco.
And criticizing Howard is silly. Maybe he would get some fastballs and teams would play defense more straight up if people ahead of him would get on base (which they seldom do). As it is, he gets a steady diet of curve balls and sliders, and teams ignore the left side of the infield when defending him. So once again, a short fielder took a hit away from him.— Steve2181 - Why haven't I heard an outcry about the artificial turf at the Rogers Center? If this happened at the Vet there would have been an out cry to tear the place down.— Elgion
- Comment removed.
