Roy Oswalt got knocked around by the Diamondbacks last night and didn’t stick around after the game to talk to the media about it. Matt Gelb of the Philly Inquirer reports that Ruben Amaro was meeting with Charlie Manuel just as the reporters arrived and that earlier he had “huddled with a team official” during the game in, I presume, a manner that was unusual or else it wouldn’t have been mentioned by Gelb.
The question: did Roy Oswalt simply have a bad night or is his back acting up again?
Charlie Manuel said he was “concerned” about Oswalt’s ineffectiveness yesterday, but both he and catcher Brian Schneider said that Oswalt made no complaints of any physical problems. He had back spasms earlier this month. Last week pitching coach Rich Dubee said that he didn’t think Oswalt was 100% recovered, but of course he pitched a fine game against the Padres on Thursday.
For all of the injuries the Phillies have had so far this year, none of them -- in my view anyway -- can keep them from winning the NL East. If something happens to the rotation, however, all bets are off. Here’s hoping Oswalt just had a bad night.
