This injury stuff is really getting ridiculous. Just when it looked like they might be getting close to having a healthy lineup again, the Phillies today announced that both Chase Utley and Placido Polanco have been placed on the 15 day disabled list. Talk about a double dose of bad news.
Utley's injury is a sprained thumb that occurred last night when he slid into second base attempting to stretch a single into a double. While the Phillies still haven't revealed the actual extent of the injury, they will definitely be without their star second baseman for the next few weeks.
As for Polanco, he's been dealing with an elbow injury all season long and needs the time off to allow it to heal. Polanco hasn't played since the first game of the Blue Jays series so he was likely retroactively placed on the 15 day DL.
With two roster spots now opened up, the Phillies have called up Greg Dobbs and Brian Bocock from Lehigh. Neither player deserves to be on the major league roster but the Phillies infield is spread incredibly thin at this time. As it is, if the Phillies don't make a trade over the next two weeks, you are going to see Wilson Valdez and Juan Castro starting on a daily basis. For a team that already struggles to score, having those two toiling at the bottom of the order is going to make things even uglier.
No, it's not quite time to panic just yet, Phillies fans. Losing Utley and Polanco are tough blows but neither has an injury that sounds too serious. Now, if Jimmy Rollins suffers a setback and the team is forced to go with Dobbs or Bocock on a daily basis....
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