After losing a second game in a row to the Metropolitans, insult was added to the Phillies injury when they found out they literally had an injury on their hands in the form of Tom Gordon's throwing elbow.
The Phils are hoping that the stiffness he's been experiencing will be taken care of with a 15-day disable list stint. Warning, conjecture ahead: Gordon's partially torn shoulder is well documented, so it is entirely possible that that injury is causing his mechanics to be altered, which are in turn causing greater strain on the elbow.
Losing Gordon for two weeks might not be that big a deal when you consider that he only pitches once a week anyway, usually letting an inherited runner or two to score. What might be more troublesome is the fact that the Phillies came up short in The Hunt for C.C. Sabathia. The Indians accepted the Brewers offer for a trade rather than the Phillies, and so the Fightins will have to go to plan B to improve the pitching staff.
I haven't listened to talk radio today, read any message boards, or delved into the comments section at Beerleaguer, but I'm sure there are more than enough people playing the usual "Pat and Monty are too cheap to ante up for an ace starter again" card. My guess is that the real reason the Phillies lost out on Sabathia was not penny-pinching, but because they couldn't offer a package that the Indians were interested in.
The primary chip the Brewers played was outfield prospect Matt Laporta, a 23 year-old right-handed slugger batting .294/.395/.616 with 20 HR at AA. The second piece headed to Cleveland in return for Sabathia was Rob Bryson, a 20 year-old, single A relief pitcher with a fastball/slider arsenal that yields a 11.81 k/9, 2.64 bb/9. The third piece was Zach Jackson, organizational-filler that has been to AAA for four tours and can't get his ERA below the 4.12 he had there in 2006. Finally, there was the infamous Player To Be Named Later.
We don't know what the Phillies offered, but the minor league system does not have an outfield prospect with those numbers who is ready to contribute to a big league club next year the way Laporta is ready. That player is just not there. Neither is a relief prospect with great control that misses that many bats. Sure, the Phils have some Zach Jacksons laying around and probably some PTBNL's too, but they don't have any Matt Laporta's or Rob Bryson's.
The Phillies were cheap throughout the 90's and the early 2000's, but look, they just threw down $35 mill for a relief pitcher. They didn't miss out on Sabathia for those old and tired reasons, they just didn't have what the Indians wanted. It takes two to tango.
