Lidge's sore arm latest bit of bad medical news for Phillies

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - The late Illinois senator Everett Dirksen is supposed to have once delivered this sage commentary on the federal budget: "A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon, you're talking real money.''

A similar vibe is beginning to settle over the Phillies' spring training. There hasn't been any single, cataclysmic event to suggest this is no longer a team to be reckoned with. Instead it's been a steady drip, drip, drip of uncertainty that has created vague angst.

A Domonic Brown here, a Chase Utley there . . .

The latest news flash to chip away at the presumed invincibility of a team widely viewed as having a free pass directly to the World Series came early yesterday morning when the buses to Osceola County Stadium pulled out of Clearwater with an empty seat where closer Brad Lidge was supposed to be sitting. Biceps tendinitis was the initial diagnosis, a significant condition that can't be overlooked.

All involved downplayed the latest development. But (insert creepy movie trailer voice-over here) in a world where Utley's general soreness soon turned out to be patellar tendinitis . . .

One player going down is an isolated incident. Two is a coincidence. Three starts to look a lot like a trend. And, remember, a spate of injuries was the Phillies' biggest worry coming into camp.

Manager Charlie Manuel is often credited with an ability to project an aura of calm certainty that everything will work out all right, no matter how much hell is breaking out around him. Even he conceded that the lengthening trainer's report has him nettled.

"Yeah, it bothers me. Especially when it's Utley," he said after yesterday's 7-6 exhibition win over the Houston Astros.

What about Lidge?

"He'll be OK. Of course, I said the same thing about Utley. I guess I always look on the positive side," he admitted.

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. didn't exhibit the same soothing demeanor when asked for an update on Lidge's condition. He stuck his head in the press-box door and blurted, "Biceps soreness. Pushed back a couple days. Lidge." Then the door slammed shut and he was gone.

Lidge said it was no big deal. Then again, he's always given the impression that if his arm detached at the shoulder while he was delivering a pitch and pinwheeled toward the plate, he'd say he didn't think it was anything serious and hoped to be back in a couple of days.

In that way, he's like former Phillies closer Jeff Brantley, who showed up one spring coming off surgery.

Brantley to reporters after the first day he threw: "It felt great. I couldn't believe how good it felt."

Brantley to reporters after the second day he threw: "It felt great. Yesterday it was really bad, but today it felt terrific."

Now, there's nothing wrong with that. Nobody likes excuse-makers. And players almost have to be optimistic about injuries. It does them no good to expect the worst. It's just that it also makes it difficult to gauge just how much legitimate concern there should be when the various ouches occur.

Spring training is a curious limbo. It infuses a needed sense of reality into the offseason fantasyland when questions like "Will the Phillies lose a series all year?"and "Can the Phillies set a modern record by winning more than 116 games?" can be asked with a straight face.

Still, nothing that happens in March really matters that much. Until an injury impacts what a player can do in the regular season, it's not much more than a footnote.

When Brown fractured his hamate bone, it was a disappointment to both the organization and its top-rated prospect. Except that he's also just 23 years old and is still a little raw. Even if he spends the entire year at Triple A Lehigh Valley honing his skills, it won't be the worst thing in the world. The Phillies can turn to John Mayberry Jr. and Ben Francisco and get on with their baseball lives.

Utley's injury is a little more problematic. He's a huge part of their offense. The fact that his knee isn't responding to treatment is a real worry. Despite all that, he's still just one player in a lineup full of pedigreed hitters. The Phillies have some internal options - Wilson Valdez, Delwyn Young, Michael Martinez, Josh Barfield - and should be able to come up with at least an adequate replacement. And there's always the possibility of a trade.

Lidge is the closer. That's a vital role. The Phillies made it to the World Series in 2009 when he had a 7.21 earned run average and led the majors in blown saves, however.

The only thing that should cause any lost sleep right now was the spring ahead of daylight saving time early Sunday morning. It's just that the drip, drip, drip of medical alerts is becoming unnerving.

An injury here, an injury there, pretty soon, there really is something to get frazzled about.

Send e-mail to hagenp@phillynews.com