25 Bold May Predictions for the Philadelphia Phillies
May 2, 2012 by Greg Pinto
Filed under Fan News
The month of April has not been kind to the Philadelphia Phillies.
It’s been a container for the club’s first month with a losing record since what feels like the year the Liberty Bell cracked.
As rough as it has been for the Phillies, it wasn’t an entirely unexpected outcome. The meat of their order, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, are dealing with serious injuries. Cliff Lee has missed time with an oblique strain. Even Michael Martinez’s broken foot managed to throw a wrench into their plans.
With all of that being said, this is a club ready to put the month of April behind them and focus on the road that lies ahead. Looking at the bigger picture, the month of May could be favorable to the Phillies if the pieces fall into place.
But will they?
Can Cliff Lee’s Body Hold Up for His Entire Deal with Philadelphia Phillies?
May 2, 2012 by Alec Snyder
Filed under Fan News
Two offseasons ago, the Philadelphia Phillies shocked the baseball world when they signed Cliff Lee to a five-year, $120 million contract. While Lee has since lived up to his billing on the mound, the question does linger about whether he’ll be worth his contract in the long run—only this time, I’m not talking monetarily.
Throughout his career, Lee has dealt with many injuries, primarily in his abdominal region. In fact, each of the last three times Lee has been placed on the DL in his career prior to his current stint, it has been for an injury pertaining to his abdominals.
So when the Phillies announced that Lee was back on the DL again after his stellar 10-inning, no-runs-allowed loss against the San Francisco Giants, it was bad news for the team. It was especially bad since Lee, who’s always had abdominal injuries on the right side of his body, tweaked his left oblique.
Per the Delaware County Daily Times, Lee stated, “I’ve had ab strains, but nothing like this.” Talk about discouraging.
As a starting pitcher, Lee has produced on the mound and has lived up to the value of his contract for the Phillies thus far. But with a lengthy injury history that seems to have another issue piled upon it each year, will Lee reach the point where he’ll sustain an injury so great that it could affect his pitching for the rest of his career?
Fortunately, Lee has only had one arm injury in the past, and that was just fatigue during spring training in 2006. But with Lee turning 34 this coming August, his body could break down as the years go by.
Will Lee be able to maintain his health for the life of his deal, or will he break down immensely year by year until he becomes a shadow of his former self? We’ll examine all avenues of Lee’s career that could affect his health in the future and give a “diagnosis” as to whether Lee will hold up for the next four or five years.