Phillies Notebook: Phillies kicking around options with Madson out 2 months

At this point, the Phillies say they'll just have to live without Ryan Madson. They'll continue to look to upgrade the bullpen, and they'll monitor their options in the minor leagues. But for now, the best thing to do is wait.

The Phillies found out yesterday that their setup man will be sidelined at least 2 months after undergoing surgery to insert pins in his broken big toe, leaving a woefully thin bullpen to complement a rotation that has endured its own struggles this season.

But until they see how closer Brad Lidge, activated from the DL over the weekend, performs, they won't have a good idea of exactly what their needs are.

"Obviously, we are always looking to improve our club. It doesn't stop us or necessarily change the way we go about it," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "We have to see how guys react, how guys pitch. We need to be pitching better. It's pretty simple."

The Phillies got their first look at Lidge in a tight game last night against the Cardinals, and he looked a lot like the pitcher who struck out two of the four batters he faced in a lopsided game the night before. Lidge entered a game tied at 1 with a runner on second and no outs and retired three of the four batters he faced, the lone exception coming on an intentional walk to Colby Rasmus. With one out, he struck out Brendan Ryan swinging at three straight sliders. The inning ended with two runners stranded when Shane Victorino chased down a deep fly ball at the warning track.

Carlos Ruiz hit a walkoff homer in the 10th for a 2-1 Phillies win.

With Lidge returning to closing duties, Jose Contreras likely will fill Madson's role as setup man. Contreras struck out Ryan Ludwick and Matt Holliday pitching a scoreless 10th last night.

The Phillies termed Madson's surgery successful, and said they were not surprised by his post-op prognosis. The righthander, who broke the toe when he kicked a chair in San Francisco following a blown save last week, won't be able to put any weight on the foot for 2 weeks. At 4 weeks, he is scheduled to have the pins removed, at which point he can begin more aggressive weight-bearing activities. A more exact timetable will be known in about a month.

"A lot depends on how fast he can progress to weight-bearing activities after that 4-week period," head athletic trainer Scott Sheridan said. "Obviously, we are going to try to keep his arm strong and those things. That's why we're saying a minimum of 8 weeks right now."

Amaro said the Phillies are not thinking about taking any punitive action against Madson, who said he was "embarassed" while expressing plenty of remorse after the incident.

"I think he made a bad decision," Amaro said. "I think he knows it. I think it hurt our club. There's no other way around it. It was a bad decision and we're not happy about it, but I don't think he's very happy about it either. We're human beings, and sometimes we make mistakes, and he made one. It's gonna hurt him. It's gonna hurt the club."

At this point, it appears as if J.A. Happ's return to the rotation will have to wait until at least the start of June, barring a surprising fast-forward of his recovery. Pitching coach Rich Dubee admitted as much yesterday, but said as of yet there has been no talk of shutting Happ down for a month or 2 in an attempt to allow his strained forearm to heal.

Happ played catch at 60 feet yesterday, but the Phillies have no concrete plans for when he will return to the mound. Happ, sidelined since April 15, attempted to throw a bullpen session over the weekend, but cut it short when his soreness flared up. Happ said he is targeting the third week of May to return.

"To be honest with you guys, I don't even know if they've set a schedule as far as what it would look like," Happ said. "I think it's more of a day to day thing. I would like to be it the third week. I don't want to definitely set it as a thing, but if it keeps going well . . . "