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Phillies' Polanco pain-free after elbow surgery

CLEARWATER, Fla. - As Placido Polanco strolled the clubhouse to say his hellos, he was stopped by first-base coach Sam Perlozzo. They shook hands and instantly the conversation turned to Polanco's left elbow. He rolled up his shirt sleeve, showed Perlozzo the two scars, and smiled.

Placido Polanco had surgery last October to remove a bone spur and repair a tendon in his left elbow. (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)
Placido Polanco had surgery last October to remove a bone spur and repair a tendon in his left elbow. (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)Read more

CLEARWATER, Fla. - As Placido Polanco strolled the clubhouse to say his hellos, he was stopped by first-base coach Sam Perlozzo. They shook hands and instantly the conversation turned to Polanco's left elbow. He rolled up his shirt sleeve, showed Perlozzo the two scars, and smiled.

No more pain.

"Much better," Polanco said.

Those two scars come from a surgery Polanco had Oct. 29 to remove a dime-size bone spur and repair a tendon in his left elbow. So now the 35-year-old Polanco comes to camp confident (Who isn't these days?) and healthy.

But he's also a year older. His situation merely underscores the larger issue for the Phillies headed into 2011: how to keep an aging lineup on the field and productive. The Phillies had 18 players on the disabled list in 2010; Polanco was one. They were the oldest team in the majors (31.8 years), and even with the subtraction of 47-year-old Jamie Moyer they will likely still take that crown in 2011.

Sure, there are ways to diminish the chances of injury, but there is no way to prevent them from happening. Bumps and bruises will come, and the older a player gets the less likely he is to play through something.

That's exactly what Polanco did in 2010. He hopes to never do it again.

"It's not fun sometimes," Polanco said. "It hurts. It prevents you from being 100 percent. With time, I learned to play with the pain."

There were days when it was obvious Polanco was hurting. During the season, Charlie Manuel said he'd cringe every time Polanco had to dive to his left at third for a ball and land on that injured elbow. If he fell the wrong way, the bone spur shifted and caused even more pain.

Polanco used cortisone injections during the season to ease the pain, but it wasn't until after his surgery on Oct. 29 that it finally felt right.

To make sure it isn't a problem, Polanco said he would wear a protective pad on his elbow whenever he hits. That's how the injury occurred, when Polanco was hit by a Tim Hudson pitch last April 21.

Polanco still hit .298 with a .726 OPS, but he had his worst slugging percentage (.386) and fewest extra-base hits (35) since 2006. The injury wore him down.

After Aug. 1, Polanco had just a .319 slugging percentage. In 226 at-bats, he had eight doubles, one triple, and no home runs. The pain, coupled with not being able to fully extend the elbow, completely drained Polanco of his power - which is limited to begin with.

Polanco could not play in Game 1 of the National League division series because he aggravated the elbow shortly before the postseason began. In the playoffs, he was 6 for 29 (.207).

Polanco said the doctor told him the bone spur was actually bigger than originally believed from looking at X-rays. He asked Polanco if he wanted to keep it (some players actually do that) as a souvenir.

Remembering all the pain it caused him, Polanco laughed.

"I didn't want to see it," he said.

at 215-854-2928 or mgelb@phillynews.com. Follow on Twitter @magelb.