Ouch!

Make that ouch, ouch ouch!!!

The Phillies announced today starter Joe Blanton and relievers Brad Lidge and J.C.Romero will begin the season on the DL. When roughly a third of the pitchers you plan to carry north start the season rehabbing you know you're in trouble.

Pitching was a concern before the Phillies started camp; it's a bigger one now as they break it. Meanwhile, Kyle Kendrick has had quite an interesting few days. On Tuesday he learned he'd lost the battle for the fifth spot in the rotation and today he discovered he'd been reinstated, all without throwing a pitch.

Last year the Phils stumbled out of the gate as is their wont, but matters weren't helped when Jimmy Rollins made an early visit to the DL. As the man who starts the Phillies engine, J Roll was literally and figuratively sorely missed but their slow start was made worse by shaky starting pitching, especially from Brett Myers, and Lidge's slow recovery from injuries, a recovery that frankly he never really entirely made. Now it appears the Phils will begin the NL title defense in a deeper hole.

The offense with the exception of Raul Ibanez seems poised to take off again this season. Good thing because the Phils are likely to rely heavily on it to overcome their pitching shortcomings.

Anybody seen Cliff Lee lately? What? Rehabbing, too! He'd fit right in.