Lidge, Ibanez and Eyre to have surgeries
Phillies closer Brad Lidge, left fielder Raul Ibanez and reliever Scott Eyre each will undergo surgical procedures next week.


Phillies closer Brad Lidge, left fielder Raul Ibanez and reliever Scott Eyre each will undergo surgical procedures next week.
The Phillies announced their first big move of the offseason on Friday when they picked up left-hander Cliff Lee's $9 million club option.
Ten years after being drafted in the first round by the Phillies, Opening Day starter Brett Myers was told by GM Ruben Amaro Jr. on Friday that he would not be brought back in 2010.
The Phillies had hoped to be at Yankee Stadium on Thursday for Game 7 of the World Series. They instead found themselves on a train to Philly.
Brad Lidge chalks up his disappointing 2009 season as learning experience, while also realizing that he must be better in 2010.
The Yankees defeated the Phils, 7-3, on Wednesday night to win the 2009 World Series in six games. As disappointing as this defeat was, the Phillies have earned the right to look to the future with confidence.
Hopping into an elevator in a brown leather jacket in the concrete corridor of Yankee Stadium, Pedro Martinez made his second premature departure of the evening.
After their Game 6 loss in the World Series, the Phillies left Yankee Stadium late Wednesday night disappointed, but with an understanding of what they had accomplished.
Second baseman Chase Utley came close to an improbable feat, making a strong case to be the Series' MVP while playing for the runner-up.
As they ventured into the offseason during the wee hours of Thursday morning, the Phillies found themselves sharing handshakes and hugs with many of the same guys that they'll once again call teammates next year.
As Charlie Manuel wonders why the Phillies weren't at least able to force a Game 7, his focus won't necessarily be on his suspect pitching staff. Instead, he'll have visions of his offense unable to take advantage.
There is that bittersweet feeling now -- the satisfaction of knowing that a story once again had a big ending that was celebrated by just one team, and yet that emptiness of knowing that there is a long winter ahead and a patient wait until next spring.
The Phillies, trying to become the first National League champion since the 1975-76 Cincinnati Reds to win back-to-back titles, were lacking against a superior team.
On the field at the new Yankee Stadium after the Yankees dispatched the defending-champion Phillies to win the World Series, Commissioner Bud Selig called this year's playoffs "a tremendous postseason."
We're Calling All Captains for this 105th World Series between the defending champion Phillies and 26-time Yankees.
The Yankees came up with the big hits and the big plays Wednesday night to clinch their first championship since 2000 with a 7-3 victory over the Phillies in Game 6 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium.
Ryan Howard's World Series became more forgettable during Game 6 on Wednesday night, when he set a dubious record that Willie Wilson had owned for 29 years.
Fielding the Phillies' 7-3 loss to the New York Yankees in Game 6 of the World Series on a short hop ...
The Yankees will have to record 10 outs in relief to win their 27th World Series title, holding a 7-3 lead over the Phillies in Game 6 on Wednesday night with starter Andy Pettitte out of the game.
Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino will play Wednesday night in Game 6 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium. Victorino suffered a bruise to his right index finger Monday in Game 5 at Citizens Bank Park when Yankees right-hander A.J. Burnett hit him with a pitch in the first inning.
New York native and Grammy Award-winning recording artist Mary J. Blige sang the national anthem prior to Game 6 of the World Series on Wednesday night in New York.
Game 6 of the World Series, it seems, will be full of strategy, schematics and the type of mental intrigue normally reserved for a game of backgammon or chess. The Yankees and Phillies will engage in mind games.
In winning the 1979 World Series championship, the Pirates became the third team in Major League history to take the last two games on the road in the Fall Classic. Now the Phillies, with victories in Games 6 and 7 at Yankee Stadium, can become the fourth.
Yes, six years have passed since the World Series reached a Game 6. But before that historic drought, there was a three-year deluge of Game 6 drama.
With the Series down to its final days and the outcome still undecided, championship merchandise has already been manufactured for both the Phillies and the Yankees. While the winning team and its fans will proudly sport champion T-shirts, the losing team's apparel will be sent to Indonesia to aid in the nation's recovery from a September earthquake.