Vance Worley's been pretty terrific this season, striking out 45 batters in 44 innings and posting a 3.07 ERA, good for an above-average 123 ERA+.
Naturally, he was due for some bad news and here it is: he'll miss Wednesday's start because of elbow soreness.
“It’s something I can pitch on, but it’s just bothering me enough where I want another opinion on it,” Worley said, via Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.
Worley's expected to be examined by a doctor in Philadelphia on Wednesday, and Kyle Kendrick will take his place in the rotation.
There's word that left-handed pitcher Joe Savery is headed to Philadelphia, which means that there could be a transaction on the horizon. And Zolecki talking about the possibility of the 15-day disabled list is fairly terrifying.
No one talks much about Worley because the Phillies have Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels in the same rotation with the right-hander. But it's hard to argue with the results.
And it's also hard not to be a little concerned about his cautious optimism towards the elbow.
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“I’m not worried," Worley said. "I just want to confirm what it is. That’s all.”
See what I mean? That's the baseball-player equivalent of waving a giant flag that says "NOTHING TO SEE HERE NOW MOVE ALONG, PEOPLE" (which would, indeed, be a giant flag). Any time a pitcher starts talking about elbow soreness and immediately cautions the press that nothing is wrong, it doesn't mean everyone should panic immediately, but it also doesn't mean happy fun time for fans of that player's team.
It's entirely possible that Worley will end up being fine and that this won't be an injury that keeps the Phils from righting the ship. But with the way 2012's gone, it's hard not to be a little panicked, regardless of whether or not Worley's the fourth-best pitcher in the rotation.
