June 14 -- ON KENDRICK, LIDGE, DONALD & REPLAY

BY SCOTT LAUBER

A few pregame notes:

1. Kyle Kendrick's return to the majors lasted one day.

If you follow Philled In on Twitter, then you've already heard that Kendrick has been sent back to Lehigh Valley after allowing three runs in the 13th inning last night. It wasn't so much that the Phillies were upset with how Kendrick pitched, although they obviously weren't thrilled. But they were hoping Kendrick, called up Friday to replace injured reliever Scott Eyre, could give them some innings out of the bullpen one day this weekend against the Red Sox. And because his arm isn't trained to pitch in relief, his two-inning stint last night was probably going to be all for him for a few days. So, they sent Kendrick back to triple-A and recalled lefty reliever Sergio Escalona, who probably will be here at least until Eyre or Brad Lidge get back.

Rich Dubee, a vocal critic of Kendrick during spring training, gave this assessment of his progress in developing a changeup and slider/cutter to go with his signature sinker: "I've heard he made strides down there, but [last night] was tough. Different environment, different game, different situation. He hasn't been coming in to an 11th or 12th inning, tie game, nail-biter the whole way. It was a tough situation."

If he's unable to develop those secondary pitches, Dubee hinted Kendrick's future may be in the bullpen. But the Phillies haven't given up on him as a starter yet. "He's still young," Dubee said. "He hasn't had the development time. That'll be determined at a later date. There's a lot of sinker-slider guys pitching out of the bullpen. But he also has to learn to command his sinker and not throw through his sinker. You look at the radar gun last night, he was 93. Well, 93 didn't have a whole lot of action. 89 had pretty good action the first inning he pitched. That's pitching. That's understanding who you are and what you are. That's the stages of growth he's got to go through. The thing he needs right now is consistent innings."

2. For the first time since he was placed on the disabled list Tuesday, Brad Lidge long-tossed and threw off flat ground in the outfield. He said he was able to push off his right (back) knee without any pain. He'll long-toss again tomorrow, then throw off a mound in a few days. If that goes well, he said he'd go out on a minor-league rehab assignment, although dates/location of that assignment won't be determined for several days, though.

3. In a previous post, we mentioned Jason Donald will have surgery Monday to repair the meniscus in his left knee. Talked to assistant GM Chuck LaMar, who said the Phillies don't believe the knee problem contributed to Donald's .230 average at Lehigh Valley. "He's still just adjusting to triple-A baseball," LaMar told Philled In by phone. "There's this feeling that all the prospects are in double-A, and while that may be true from a scouting standpoint, from a player-development standpoint, triple-A is still the highest level you can play. You're facing [pitchers], many who have already been in the majors who are one phone call away from getting another chance. They know how to get a job done. I think Jason is still going through that learning process."

4. Charlie Manuel is still hot about the umpiring crew's refusal to review Greg Dobbs' long foul ball to right field last night. According to the replay rules, a manager has the right to request a review, but the umpires don't have to grant the request.

"That's the first time I ever asked for a review of a play," Manuel said. "I thought there was a question of whether it was a home run or not. He said, 'I'm sure the ball was foul, Charlie. I got it right, and there's not going to be a review.' I saw the replay. The ball left the park fair. We could send that in [to the league], but I guarantee you they're not going to see it that way. When the ball leaves the ballpark, that's when the play should be called. He's supposed to call it right when it leaves the ballpark, when it's out of the ballpark."

More on all of this in tomorrow's News Journal.