Lidge has cortisone injection
Apparently, there is an explanation for Brad Lidge's poor arm strength thus far this spring. According to team doctor Michael Ciccotti, who briefed reporters this morning, the Phillies' closer has had soreness on the exterior of his elbow, which prompted the club to give him a cortisone injection yesterday.
Lidge has cortisone injection
David Murphy
Apparently, there is an explanation for Brad Lidge's poor arm strength thus far this spring. According to team doctor Michael Ciccotti, who briefed reporters this morning, the Phillies' closer has had soreness on the exterior of his elbow, which prompted the club to give him a cortisone injection yesterday.
Ciccotti stressed that the soreness was not structural, and was in no way related to the surgery Lidge underwent this offseason, which involved the interior of the elbow. Lidge is expected to long toss on Friday and throw a bullpen session either Saturday or Sunday, depending on how his elbow responds.
Ciccotti said the shot would not necessarily affect Lidge's timetable to return this season. Lidge viewed the Phillies' April 12th home opener as his target. The Phillies have said they expect him back at some point between the home opener and the end of April.
"Our goal had always been to get him back by mid-April," Ciccotti said. "Of course Brad very much wants to get back as soon as possible, but our goal had been to get him back by mid-April. And so with this, it may not necessarily change that time frame very much. Maybe the third week in April or so."
Lidge's velocity has been down throughout a handful of minor league appearances that he has made this spring. He usually experiences similar soreness in his elbow at the start of spring training, but it tends to dissipate within two to three weeks of starting his throwing program.
"It's just a matter of jump-starting him and hoping to get him over this yearly lateral elbow soreness that he has," Ciccotti said.
Comments (46)
Yeah, but he "feels good," just like he said last year before getting shut down with a knee injury, and again before offseason surgery. This guy could have a colonoscopy and claim "I feel good"- Damn...— BammBamm
- I wouldn't count on him to be very good again this year.— Sponge
- raise your hand if you feel like you have been down this road before with this guy............ oh..and where is the baseball "expert" who last week claimed that i knew nothing about baseball because i worried about lidge's lack of velocity...he said not to worry, that his "out pitch" was a slider...still not worried there sparky— Frank_Drebin
- There is no question that this guy's time has passed. He, the phils, and their brass are in denial if they believe he's going to help at all, let alone close. I realize he's getting paid a ton of money, but if this is going to be a championship team, they need to stop trying to fool everyone and get themselves a closer. If they had just blown 11 saves last year, instead of the obscene number they really blew, they'd have won as many as the yankees. It's time to accept reality that Lidge wont ever be the Lidge of 2008. Thanks for that year, Brad, but all the "I'm feeling really good" quotes in the world wont change the fact that you're not going to help them anymore.— jerzeyboy
- Not good. I hope Madson can get the job done this year.— syddan26
- Here we go again.. another year of Lidge saying he feels fine and 20 blown saves.— Dr. Michael
- .........as long as he feels well. Just break off that slide ball. That's all that matters. Just break off that slide ball.
- Cortisone injections are never a good thing. I don't remember him getting them the last 2 years. Rube time to start working on plan "C & D" because we know plan "B" is Madson/Baez— EarlKeese
should of held on to Meyers as a closer option...— thebigrocketboy- %$#@! Never, ever dump $36M into a guy who plays one inning!— 5280philly
I think it's still worth trying to get him healthy and see how it goes. Sometimes, a single cortisone injection is all it takes. Also, you can't just rely on a slider. Pitchers like Lidge succeed by keeping the hitters off balance and guessing, both as to speed and location. And can we please stop with the Myers-as-closer stuff? Did you honestly not see enough of Myers last year, looking up to watch those majestic home runs he kept giving up? The guy was only so-so as a closer, and that was 3 years ago. He can't be relied on to get major league hitters out on a consistent basis, especially with the game on the line. Barring a trade or the development of a minor leaguer or current bullpen hand, our best option at closer continues to be a healthy Lidge.— 1980- I still would go with Madson
I am assuming they got Baez for insurance. Guess they are going to be cashing in that policy eh? Whatever comes out of Lidges mouth is garbage.- Wait, all yesterday's articles were "I feel good" by Lidge; one thing is becoming clear, you can't trust a word that Lidge utters! He'll "feel good" on his deathbed!— JBinPA
- Ryan Madson will be fine— JPMaine
- Go Brad.— stan the man too
- Hey Murph is it too early to predict what closer might be available this season for trade?— SouthJerseyRob
- Expect a lot of blown saves this year as Chollie goes with his guys who he knows what they can do.— borncynic
- Cliff Lee is actually the Easter Bunny.— stan the man too
- Just added Madson to my fantasy team. Nice.— BIG_PHILLY
- I said during spring training that the most significant player on quality teams is the closer; rarely does a team go to the playoffs, let alone the World Series without a top flight closer, Papelbon, Rivera, Broxton, Nathan [gone for the season], Jenks, Wilson, Fuentes, and Lidge. The Phillies managed to do it last season, but two years in a row without a true closer will be tough and frankly, Lidge might be done. I don't like Madson as a closer, but Baez might fit the bill, although he is up there in age. Ironically, three of the best closers, Bell, Soria, and F-Rod, are with weak teams. My biggest problem right now with Lidge is his inability to tell the truth about the health, which only hurts the club. I agree with 1980; Myers is not a solid closer and a healthy Lidge is the best option, but Lidge is NOT healthy.— chuckw
- I have been reading some of these comments, and am rather sickened by what I have read. Good grief, without Brad Lidge, 2008 doesn't happen! Some of these people need to get a life and quit whinging about nonsense!— BEMiller
- The Lights just went off— PSU DEJA BLUE
Comment removed.- Lidge has become Adam Eaton, only we will eat $24 mil in 2 years instead of 3. Add Moyer in, and they are choking on $32 mil worth of useless contracts........ This Lidge thing is serious, but who can actually say it is unexpected? The guy has had 3 good years mixed in with ABYSMAL seasons. Only thing now is, the trend has ended. He is toast and the Phillies need a real closer very, very badly.— michaelfb68
- Call up Mathieson to close.
- Holy Molee!!!— craiggo
- Where are all those posters doubting my medical and rehab and baseball knowledge last week? Anyone involved in medicine knows you don't get a cortisone injection one day and run out and throw two days later. You just don't do it. Lidge will continue to experience lost velocity and he will continue to try to throw harder to get it back, and he will continually get soreness from trying to throw harder. That's how it goes when your joint surfaces deteriorate and you can get the mph on the ball that you strive for. Keep striving, keep hurting. It's clear that whatever Lidge says, we need to believe the opposite is happening. Yesterday's "I feel good" was a load of ****.— Mark1npt
- Abandon Ship! All is lost!! The Sky is falling! Woe unto us all, 2012 is upon us! Oh, and of course, the know-it-alls told us this would happen....— stan the man too
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- I love Lidge for all he did in 2008 and for being a stand-up guy last year. Here's hoping he loves himself this year and takes his time getting healthy. I'd rather he get healthy and throw for a couple of weeks in the minor leagues before rushing back. See you in May, Brad!— frankenslade
- I can't understand why the team isn't smart enough to just hire some of these posters to run the team. They obviously are brilliant successful geniuses who would win the WS every year if given the chance....or so their giant ego seems to tell them.— stan the man too
- What I don't understand is why the coaches let him work holding runners and on his secondary and/or new pitches (cutter, two seamer) as it was reported earlier when he wasn't 100%. You built your arm strength and work on being healthy. Then you take it from there. Blanton, as reported the other day, hasn’t thrown a curve ball yet or at least until his last start and he looks healthy.— EL Zorro
- Yeah, and you are Stan the Man too. Isn’t that a little bit hypocritical?— EL Zorro
- Mar1inpt -- no offense, but I don't know your qualifications. Certainly, you might be one of the throngs of skilled orthopedic surgeons who spend their time on this message board. On the other hand, I do know Dr. Cicotti's qualification so, if it's OK with you, I'll take him at his word. I'm assuming he has determined that Lidge's elbow soreness is caused by inflammation. That's why he's getting a corticosteroid injection - to reduce and even eliminate the inflammation that's causing his discomfort. This type of treatment is EXTREMELY commonplace and not nearly as dire as some folks here might think. In fact, it's possible -- very possible -- that this injection could provide relief for several months.— 1980
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- two points: Mark1mpt is as anonymous as the rest of the posters, so whether he is an expert or not is anybody's guess. Secondly, enough of the Lidge won it for us in 2008, so we are ungrateful wretches for questioning his health; everyone appreciates what he did in 2008, but I know our little group just paid over $9,000 for our usual two season ticket seats and that this is 2010, not 2008, so we care about Lidge's health THIS year.— chuckw
- They should blast some James Brown on the speakers during his entrance of his first game of relief back.— the sichee-ation
- They should've traded for George Sherrill when they had the chance last season... i bet they can still get him from the Dodgers who may want to further pare down their payroll in the wake of the war of the mccourts.— terryharmon
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Listen to some of you morons............Wahhhhhhhhhh!!!! Lidge will never be the same......wahhhhhhh.....Amaro doesn't know what he's doing.....wahhhhhhhhMadson sucks.......wah the team made Jamie Moyer the 5th starter..........wahhhhhhhhh.......we don't have Cliff Lee........wahhhhhhh......Let's cry about the 3 time NL East Division champions, 2 time NL Champions, and 2008 WS Champs not doing what we want based upon our "expert" opinions!! Get over it idiots, put your pants on, get out of your mother's basement and get a job.- On a positive note...Brad - Thanks for 2008!— booman55
- doublyworse, i just drafted him late in my fantasy draft... can someone give me an example of a pitcher who got a cortison injection in spring training and went on to a good season?— jim715
Heath Bell, paging Heath Bell, please pick up your Phils uniform.- Dear Don Diego de la Vega: You may be right about the know-it-all comment... but then again, I wouldn't really know myself.— stan the man too
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