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August 2, 2007

Under The Knife

Exhale

by Will Carroll

With the trade deadline passed, I can get back to normal life--or as normal as things get around here. Tuesday started with a drive out to Terre Haute to watch the Colts practice. Training camp isn't exactly exciting, but watching football with Peter King is a lesson. I didn't get to stop and have a coffee with him, which is kind of how I always picture King, but we did catch a ballgame on Monday night, which is the next best thing. On a night when Barry Bonds, baseball's ultimate anti-hero, stood (again) on the brink of history, it's a good feeling to know that one of my heroes is not just a great writer but a great guy.

So that "terrible place" Joe Sheehan talked about during Tuesday's trade-deadline chat? It was football practice. The great thing was that I was never out of touch. Many of you probably refreshed The Mill and saw content sent from my phone. I drove back to Indy listening to Jeff Erickson on XM Radio. I ran out of battery power on my Bluetooth doing interviews and making calls to front offices that were far more frantic than I was. Thanks to everyone--especially John Perrotto and my editors, as well as sources and media members--who made this edition of the deadline a great one for me personally and professionally.

Now, in my best Casey Kasem, powered by sleep, sweet sleep, back to the injuries:

• The Phillies made lots of little moves, enough to keep them in it, but they couldn't figure out how to keep their outfielders healthy. Michael Bourn and Shane Victorino injured themselves within minutes of each other in what might be the final straw for the Phillies' hopes. Victorino went down first with a Grade II calf strain. If you've noticed that he's a little more reckless this year, just look to center field where Aaron Rowand might have been selling his brand of baseball to the younger crowd. The speedy Victorino doesn't figure to be on the DL much longer than the minimum, but this injury is something that can recur.

  Bourn's injury might not sound as bad--a sprained ankle--but because of how he plays, this might be worse. Bourn is nearly a pure speed player and anything that reduces that speed--especially if there was any compromise in the ligaments--could be the start of a cascade. The Phillies will have to resist putting him out there at much less than 100%. The fact is, the most significant guy for the Phillies this year might be former trainer Jeff Cooper. I don't think they realized just how much they'd miss him.

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