IS LAMENTING OVER THE LATISSIMUS
UPDATE (3:13 p.m.): BRADENTON, Fla. -- Placido Polanco lost the pop up in the sun and found the back of the pitcher's mound instead. And immediately after falling to the ground, he was concerned.
"When it first happened, you really get scared," Polanco said. "You don't know what's happening. It doesn't feel right. But the doctor took a look at it. It's nothing big at all."
The Phillies' third baseman said he is day-to-day with what is being called a right knee sprain. The injury will not require an MRI and Polanco said he could be back in action within two to three days.
"It didn't feel right and it was pretty sore," Polanco said. "But it's getting better already after the icing."
Polanco was treated by one of Pittsburgh's doctors, who inspected the ligaments in Polanco's right knee. The doctor told Polanco there is a slight hyperextension in the back of his knee but no damage to the ligaments.
Polanco said he will arrive early to Bright House Field on Tuesday morning for treatment. After what happened earlier, Polanco is relieved.
"Tomorrow is a big day to see how it feels, how swollen it is," Polanco said. "Then, go from there."
UPDATE (2:15 p.m.): Official word in the press box is that Polanco left with a right knee strain. The severity of the injury is still unknown. More to come.
EARLIER (1:51 p.m.) Placido Polanco has left Monday's exhibition game with an apparent injury to his right knee suffered in the third inning.
Polanco called for a pop fly on the infield hit by Pittsburgh's Delwyn Young but misjudged the ball in the sun and tripped over the back of the mound. He fell to the ground, grabbing his right leg. Polanco then tried to stand back up and fell over in pain while Charlie Manuel and Phillies athletic trainers came to his assistance.
Polanco stayed on the ground for a few minutes before two trainers helped him off the field. Cody Ransom replaced Polanco at third base.
We'll have an update as soon as we get one...
Bob Brookover and Matt Gelb team up for their third straight season covering the Phillies for the Inquirer and philly.com.
This is Brookover’s second stint writing about the Phillies, having joined the coverage team after seven years as an Eagles beat writer. Brookover was hired by The Inquirer in 2000 as the Phillies beat writer after spending 13 years writing about the team for two suburban newspapers. While on the Eagles beat, Brookover, who had covered just two winning Phillies teams in 15 seasons, saw the Phillies move into a cash-cow new ballpark and begin playing a brand of the game he found unrecognizable. Follow him on Twitter here.
Gelb is in his third season covering the Phillies. He was hired by The Inquirer in August 2009 after graduating from Syracuse University. He has also covered baseball at The Star-Ledger and Cape Cod Times. Born and raised in Bucks County, he attended Central Bucks High School West. Follow him on Twitter here.
To submit a question for Matt Gelb's Phillies mailbag, click here.
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