Brad Lidge threw a bullpen session on Tuesday and is set to throw another one on Thursday.

“No pain at all,” Lidge told reporters Tuesday.

If all goes well Thursday, Lidge will be activated next week when the Phils are in Atlanta.

J.A. Happ (elbow) and Ryan Madson (foot) continue to progress. Jimmy Rollins (calf) is headed to Clearwater for a rehab assignment early next week.

Brad Lidge threw a bullpen session on Tuesday and is set to throw another one on Thursday.

“No pain at all,” Lidge told reporters Tuesday.

If all goes well Thursday, Lidge will be activated next week when the Phils are in Atlanta.

J.A. Happ (elbow) and Ryan Madson (foot) continue to progress. Jimmy Rollins (calf) is headed to Clearwater for a rehab assignment early next week.

Jimmy Rollins is, in fact, hitting in the No. 3 spot behind Shane Victorino and Placido Polanco.

Utley is sidelined with flu-like symptoms.

To make room for J-Roll, Wilson Valdez was designated for assignment.

Jimmy Rollins has been activated from the 15-day disabled list and will bat third in the lineup tonight against the Pirates.

No word yet why Chase Utley is not batting third.

Phillies vs. Brewers

Sunday, May 16th 8:10 p.m. EST

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: The absolute most important thing is that the Phillies have a chance to bury the Mets deeper and deeper into the NL East abyss.

Oh, and they have a shot at a three-game sweep against the overrated Brew Crew and that stupid mascot. It’s Cole Hamels (3-2, 4.53) versus Dave Bush (1-3, 4.24). Doug Davis was scheduled to start, but he’s having some sort of medial issue.

Hamels’ furstrating string of good start/bad start continued last week against the Braves, as he allowed three runs in five laboring innings. OK, so he wasn’t necessarily bad, but five innings isn’t what you’d expect out of your No. 2.

Carlos Ruiz IS NOT playing, unless there’s an emergency. The hope is Chooch will be back from in full force Monday when the Phillies get back home for a two-game set against Pittsburgh.

Phun Fact: On this date in 1984, Steve Carlton belts a grand slam to give the Phils a four-run lead in an eventual 7-2 victory over the Dodgers.

NL East Update

A victory would put the Phils 4.0 games ahead of the Nationals, who lost three of four including Sunday’s game to the Rockies, and the Marlins. The Fish swept the Mets this week and the Braves took two of three from the D’backs.

After days of lying to fans and beat writers, the Phillies announced Saturday night that Brad Lidge will make a second trip to the disabled list.

Lidge has had inflammation of his throwing elbow since earning his last outing on Sunday. An MRI taken this week showed no structural damage, but the hope was that the inflammation would subside after a fews days rest.

Never happened.

“This isn’t something we didn’t anticipate,” Phillies assistant general manager Scott Proefrock said.

Lidge is eligible to come off the DL May 25, but that appears unlikely.

Jose Contreras will be the closer during Lidge’s absence.

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You might not see Lidge until August, at the earliest, if deemed 100 percent healthy. That’s not to say Lidge will start feeling better and he’ll be back in early June.

I’ve been saying all along that Lidge’s troubles are more serious than the team is letting on. I believe his elbow is shot to you-know-what … and I’m sticking to that.

• Brad Lidge took an MRI on his ailing elbow and it revealed no loose bodies or structural damage. Lidge could be back by the time the Phillies return from Milwaukee on Monday. He’s day-to-day.
• Jimmy Rollins continues his progress from a strain calf, which has cost him more than a month. J-Roll is playing minor league games this weekend and should be activated sometime next week.
• Carlos Ruiz is day-to-day with a strained knee and could return this weekend. A stint on the DL, according to the team, is noT necessary.
• Juan Castro is working his way back from a knee injury, as well. Brian Schneider is on the 15-day DL, so right now, Paul Hoover is your everyday catcher… until only this weekend, we hope.
• Can ANYONE explain how the Phillies are 20-13 with this massive list of injuries????

So, Phillies Phandom is undergoing some exciting changes. Very, very soon we’ll have a new home. You can visit us at PhilliesPhandom.net beginning…. well, not sure exactly when, but we’ll definitely let everyone know. Bookmark it.

If you have a blogging interest and are aPhillies fan, we’d love to hear from you.

For more info, shoot me an e-mail at Matt8421@aol.com

Tuesday, May 11th

Phillies vs. Rockies

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: First doubleheader of the season. (I hate when Phils games are rained out on my off nights from work. Thankfully, I was still able to watch some good baseball. Mets-Nats game was a blast, as was the A’s-Rangers… OK, sorry for the tangent).

Game 1 is scheduled for 3:10 p.m. with Roy Halladay (6-1, 1.45) toeing the slab against Aaron Cook (1-3, 6.03). This is a homecoming for Doc. He grew up in Colorado, but has never pitched in Coors.

Game 2 will feature Jamie Moyer (4-2, 4.38) coming off his best start in years, a two-hit shutout of the Braves.  The Rockies counter with Jason Hammel (0-2, 9.16), who, if I can remember correctly, pitched pretty darn well his last time out against the Phils. It will be the struggling Hammel’s first start since April 26.

NL East Update

The Phillies (20-12) are 2.5 games in front of the second-place Mets (18-15) and Nationals (18-15). The Mets rallied from a 6-1 deficit to beat the Nats last night, 8-6.

Fun Phact: On this date in 1947, a crowd of 41,660 — the largest in baseball history at the time — came out to Shibe Park to watch the Phillies sweep a doubleheader against Brooklyn.

With a conflicting G20 summit taking place in Toronto, the Blue Jays – Phillies series slated for June 25-27 will relocate. Goodbye Rogers Centre, hello Citizens Bank Park.

Roy Halladay’s return to Toronto will have to wait, however the Jays will still be considered the “home” team. This means that they will bat last, as well as the AL Designated Hitter rule will be implemented.

Word is that all extra revenue will be sent to the “Keep Jayson Werth in Philadelphia” relief fund.