Phillies Notes: Polanco dealing with pain

WASHINGTON - Last week, Placido Polanco was hoping for an early clinching. His wish was granted. Now he can have a large needle stuck into his left arm yet again.

With time to spare as meaningless games are playing out, the Phillies third baseman will be able to have a fourth cortisone injection before the postseason begins.

Polanco will return to Philadelphia on Wednesday to see team physician Michael Ciccotti for an examination.

Two of the previous shots were in his elbow, where bone spurs have caused constant pain this season. That has developed into tendinitis in his left forearm, where he had a third cortisone injection in June. The fourth one also will be in his forearm.

Polanco is merely delaying the inevitable, and he knows it. He will undergo off-season surgery to remove the bone spurs. But the hope is that this injection will power him through October.

He said he will need about three days to recover from the shot. Polanco wants to try to play in Sunday's series finale at Atlanta, so for that to happen, he would need to have the injection either Wednesday or Thursday.

With the tight schedule, it is possible that Polanco has played his last game of the regular season.

On Monday, Jamie Moyer threw off a mound for the first time since injuring his left elbow in July. In a 20-pitch bullpen session, he threw all fastballs. The next test comes Friday in another bullpen session.

"For the first time, I was very pleased," Moyer said.

The 47-year-old lefthander suffered a sprained ulnar collateral ligament and a strained tendon July 20 in St. Louis.

Since then, Moyer has been rehabilitating after he was told he would not need Tommy John surgery.

He has talked about possibly pitching in the Fall Instructional League but has yet to discuss the matter with the Phillies.

"I'm assuming we'll just wait and see how things progress and go from there," Moyer said.

"Everything has been positive so far. To set any timetables on it, I don't think it's fair."

Shane Victorino said he plans to leave the team Thursday. His wife Melissa is pregnant with the couple's third child. Victorino will fly home to Las Vegas on Thursday and likely miss Friday's game for the birth. . . . A group of Phillies, led by Mike Sweeney and Victorino, visited Walter Reed Army Medical Center on Tuesday.