BY SCOTT LAUBERNEW YORK -- Just sat down in the press box here at Citi Field (still not a fan of this place), and my e-mail buzzed with news from the Phillies that Brad Lidge has been placed on the disabled list with a "sprained right knee." The move is retroactive to June 7, meaning Lidge is eligible to be activated June 22. Ruben Amaro Jr. is scheduled to give us more details in about an hour, and as always, when I hear something, so will you.
Lidge, of course, has been insisting to anyone who asks that his knee is perfectly fine. Thus, Lidge either has had a setback since his last outing Saturday, or the Phillies want to put him on the disabled list to allow him to work through his problems without having to pitch in actual games. Lidge is 0-3 with a 7.27 ERA and is 13-for-19 in save situations. Opponents have hit .306 against him. But in his last seven games, Lidge is 5-for-7 in save chances with a 1.42 ERA and a .182 opponents' batting average.
Regardless, we'll get more info from Amaro in a little while.
To replace Lidge, the Phillies have purchased the contract of lefty-hitting catcher Paul Bako from double-A Reading. Bako, 36, signed a minor-league contract last month after being released in spring training by the Cubs. He has a .231 career average in 11 major-league seasons, most recently with the Reds last year. With Reading, he batted .357 (15-for-42) with a double and 10 RBIs. Again, we'll get more information about Bako's projected role from Amaro and Charlie Manuel, but I would think he'll serve as the backup catcher, freeing up Chris Coste to be a right-handed pinch-hitter, something the Phillies have been trying to add since the offseason (remember their flirtations with Nomar Garciaparra, Gary Sheffield, etc.).
More in a bit.
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