Phillies

The Funny Thing About Polanco’s Back, Jules…

By Kyle Scott

Published: Jul 15th, 2011 · 10:13 AM EDT

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Photo credit: Zimbio

…is that it has landed him on the DL.

The Phillies were at first optimistic about Polly's back – at least publicly – but a bulging disc is exactly what ails Roy Oswalt right now… and those things don't just go away quickly.

Polanco has struggled a ton since the beginning of May, and it's not going too far to say that the one consistent right-handed bat the Phillies possess is in serious jeopardy of not performing at an all-star level for the rest of the season.

The move is retroactive to July 5. He will be eligible to come off the DL on July 20th. Ryan Madson was activated to take his spot on the roster.

Mini-prediction (semi-unrelated): The bullpen is going to be what makes or breaks this team. The lineup, even with a big trade deadline acquisition, probably isn’t going to hang crooked numbers on a consistent basis. The starters are going to do what they do, crush. It's the bullpen that will take this team as far as it can go. If they continue to do what they did in the first half – with Stutes, Bastardo, and Perez surprising lineups – the Phillies will be almost impossible to beat. If they can't sustain the level of play they displayed in the first half, it will be difficult for the starters to carry the team to the World Series, without support from one other group. The bullpen is the real x-factor here. And yes, I hate myself for using that term.