Phillies Notebook: Hamels to skip start but not worried about inflammation

WITH AN 8 1/2-game lead over the Braves in the NL East and a 13 1/2-game lead over the next-closest wild-card team, the Phillies entered last night with plenty of reason to err on the side of caution in their handling of their two biggest injury concerns. But both Ruben Amaro Jr. and Charlie Manuel emphasized that with 6 weeks of baseball left and a schedule laden with games against fellow contenders, they were not in a position to make postseason health a priority.

The chief concern is Cole Hamels, who had a precautionary MRI on his throwing shoulder on Monday after a start against the Nationals in which his velocity was down 3-to-5 mph from its usual range. Manuel said later that Hamels had some trouble loosening up his shoulder, although the lefty downplayed concern about the situation.

According to Amaro, the MRI did not reveal any structural damage to the joint. It did reveal some inflammation in the posterior rotator cuff, which has prompted the Phillies to skip Hamels' next start.

"The luxury that we have with some days off, we can kind of push him back, which is good, and we'll see how he progresses," Amaro said. "But he's also doing better. He feels like he's bouncing back again. We'll kind of pre-hab him and do what's necessary to get him prepared again."

Hamels' 172 innings is tied with fellow Phillies starter Cliff Lee for third-most in the National League. Roy Halladay, who started against the Diamondbacks last night, entered the game tied with Clayton Kershaw atop the NL with 175 2/3 innings.

Manuel said he and pitching coach Rich Dubee would continue to monitor the workload of their starters, who are the main reason the Phillies entered last night with the best record in the majors (78-41) and will be their biggest advantage in the postseason.

Hamels did not sound worried yesterday about the MRI's findings. He said he is scheduled to play catch today and throw a bullpen session on Saturday before resuming his regular turn in the rotation. Righthander Kyle Kendrick likely will start against the Nationals in Washington on Saturday.

"We've got five [starting] pitchers and I think they all have inflammation in their shoulder right now," said Hamels, who is 13-7 with a 2.62 ERA, putting him very much in the NL Cy Young conversation. "This is the time of how you're able to throw through it. And because it was uncomfortable in the last start, maybe there's more inflammation than [usual]. It's just a matter of doing the, I guess it would be considered rehab. Just strengthening everything up and trying to slush out the inflammation as fast as possible."

It will be a little longer before third baseman Placido Polanco is ready to rejoin the lineup. He said yesterday he expects to be placed on the disabled list, although both he and Amaro said surgery to repair his sports hernia was highly unlikely at this time. Amaro said such surgery likely would end Polanco's season.

"They made the decision that I'm going on the DL," said Polanco, who would be eligible to return on Aug. 22 against the Mets. "Not me. I don't make decisions here. Combined, we decided that I can benefit from that. We'd rather that I miss a week now than miss a week in September."

The Phillies remain hopeful they will receive two significant bullpen reinforcements before the end of the season. Righthanders Jose Contreras and Joe Blanton have been playing long-toss, rehabbing their respective elbow injuries in Philadelphia.

"They are doing very well," Amaro said. "Both of them, we're pretty pleased with their progress, and we're going to take it slow with them. There's no rush. We want to make sure both of these guys are healthy when they get back on the mound."

There is no set date for either pitcher to begin throwing off the mound, but both have significant work to do in rebuilding their arm strength. Amaro estimated that the team would need to see them throw four or five times in major league games before they are comfortable carrying them on any potential postseason roster. The hope is that Contreras would return to a setup role, while Blanton would move from the rotation to the bullpen as a multiple-innings reliever.

The Phillies agreed to terms on two significant bonuses in the hours before Monday's midnight deadline to sign draft picks and prevent them from going to college. Georgia high school standout Larry Greene, their first selection and the draft's 39th overall, signed a bonus that, according to Baseball America, is in the neighborhood of $1 million. Greene is a power-hitting outfielder with a huge frame who dropped in the draft partly due to concerns about his signability. The Phillies also reached an agreement with switch-hitting shortstop Roman Quinn, the 66th overall selection who played high school ball at Port St. Joe in Florida's panhandle. The Phillies signed 30 of their 50 picks, including nine of their first 10, at a combined pricetag that Baseball America reported to be about $5 million.