CLEARWATER, Fla. — Cliff Lee didn’t wait long to test his ailing left elbow. While his teammates were on the diamond at Bright House Field doing drills Wednesday morning, he headed around the corner to an auxiliary bullpen and threw a bunch of pitches.
“Same as yesterday,” he said bluntly. “There’s still something there.”
That wasn’t good news.
Lee has a tear in his flexor tendon. He was first diagnosed with it in May. Two trips to the disabled list in 2014 and an offseason of rest and rehab did not fix it. He’s in the process of determining whether he can endure the discomfort and pitch through it.
He might be able to do that for a short time, but probably not for an extended period. The tear probably will only worsen if he continues to pitch. The only way to fix the problem will be to have surgery, which would cost Lee the season and probably his time with the Phillies as his contract is guaranteed only through this season.
Surgery might also mean the end of Lee's career. He is 36 and does not know if he wants to go through the ordeal (the procedure and the rehab) just to possibly get back on the mound in a year.
It was just a few weeks ago that Lee reported to camp feeling good — he had not given his elbow a strenuous test yet — and saying he wasn’t buying into this Phillies’ rebuild. He was the first to thumb his nose at it and say he believed the Phillies could be a surprise team, no matter what management had said.
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Soon, Jonathan Papelbon and Cole Hamels followed.
With a healthy Lee, the Phillies are a long shot to have a winning record.
Without Lee, which seems to be an inevitability ...
Well, why go into the gory details?
“He’s one piece of the puzzle and obviously a big piece,” Papelbon said Wednesday. “You know, somebody’s going to have to step up, plain and simple. Teams have people go down and people have to step up. That’s basically what it boils down to.”
Hamels echoed those remarks.
“If a guy goes down it provides an opportunity for another guy, a veteran or young guy,” he said. “Everyone has to step up. That’s been true throughout the history of baseball.”
Pitchers share many bonds. One of them is the haunting reality that a career can change or be lost on one pitch.
“I think guys deal with that every day,” Hamels said. “You’re playing a game and you only have a small window and you want to maximize your time for as long as you can, especially to be able to play at the highest level. But throwing a baseball is not natural.
“It’s another game you have to play besides the one on the field and that’s obviously making sure you’re healthy.”
Papelbon feels for his friend.
“It sucks, man,” he said. “Everyone in this clubhouse knows what kind of competitor he is and the knowledge that he has of the game to pass on to some of the young kids in this clubhouse.
“I don’t know, man. It’s hard to kind of put into words. It really sucks. I’m sure he’s disappointed. I mean, I would be.
“But I do know he’s a great teammate and a great guy and he’s going to do what it takes to get back, do everything he can to get on the mound.”
The game goes on.
Papelbon and Hamels were proof of that as both were on the mound in Wednesday’s 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Hamels allowed a two-run homer, but he came away healthy after building his stamina to three innings in his second spring start.
Papelbon pitched a perfect inning.
Meanwhile, Lee contemplates his future.
“Hopefully I come in tomorrow and it feels good,” he said. “We’ll see.”