Phillies Notes: All-Star managing helps Giants avoid Lee, Halladay

NEW YORK - Charlie Manuel painted the corners with his words. So did Rich Dubee.

But the actions of the Phillies manager and pitching coach spoke loud and clear about the workload that Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee carried during Tuesday's All-Star Game in Arizona.

Manuel and Dubee were careful not to criticize San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy for using Halladay and Lee for the first 32/3 innings of the game, which the National League won, 5-1.

"That's a tough situation," Manuel said of managing an All-Star Game, noting that the stakes have been raised with home-field advantage in the World Series going to the winning league.

But because of the number of pitches that Halladay and Lee threw - warming up and in the game - the Phillies decided to hold both of them out of the series against the New York Mets at Citi Field.

Manuel said Halladay would start Monday in Chicago and Lee would start Tuesday.

Manuel said he didn't ask Bochy to limit his demands on Halladay and Lee but hoped that the Giants manager would take it easy on his guys.

"I thought there was a chance he would have started [Atlanta's] Jair Jurrjens, and Roy and Cliff would each pitch one [inning]," Manuel said.

Dubee said he had "an opinion" about the way Halladay and Lee were used, but preferred to keep it to himself.

Dubee noted that Bochy managed "to win the game" and that if the Phillies make the World Series, "we'll thank him."

Inadvertently or not, Bochy might have made an impact on the pitching matchups in his club's three-game series against the Phillies July 26-28 at Citizens Bank Park - the first meeting of the teams in last year's National League Championship Series.

If the Phillies stay with a five-man rotation - no sure thing, since Thursday is an off day - then neither Halladay nor Lee would be scheduled to pitch against the Giants.

Ryan Madson is back in the bullpen. He's just not back as a closer - yet.

Madson was activated from the disabled list before Friday's game. He had been on the shelf since June 19 with a right hand bruise he first suffered May 19 against Colorado.

Madson threw seven pitches in a rehabilitation assignment with single-A Clearwater on Wednesday. Manuel said Madson likely will see action in the seventh and eighth innings for a couple of games before moving back to the closer role.

For now, Antonio Bastardo will remain the closer.

"I'm totally fine with that," Madson said. "I kind of want to get my feet wet as well."

Dubee said Madson threw well in his rehab assignment but needed time to prepare for the demands of the closer role.

"We'll ease him back into that," Dubee said. "When that time is, he'll tell us with the way he's throwing."

The Phillies placed all-star third baseman Placido Polanco on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 5, with lower back inflammation.

Polanco is the 13th Phillie to go on the DL this season. He joins Shane Victorino, Brad Lidge, Jose Contreras, Joe Blanton, and Roy Oswalt on the shelf.

Polanco expects to be activated for Wednesday's game in Chicago. He took batting practice on Friday.

"It's feeling better," Polanco said. "We just want to rest it so it doesn't get worse. That's why they have the DL situation - so you can have the complete 15 days."

Polanco said he feels as if he is "90 percent" recovered from the injury.

Manuel said he wanted Polanco to cover that final 10 percent before returning to the active roster.

"When he comes back, I want him to feel good about himself," the manager said. "I want him to have fun playing, not feeling like his back is hindering him in any way."

Roy Oswalt, who has been on the disabled list since June 24 with lower back inflammation, said he hoped to pitch off a mound during a bullpen session next week in Chicago.

"I'm feeling really good," the righthander said. He did not speculate on the timing of his return but said he expected to be back to 100 percent soon.

"I think I should be bouncing back pretty good," Oswalt said.

Assistant general manager Scott Proefrock said centerfielder Shane Victorino, who has been on the DL since July 4 with a sprained ligament in his right thumb, likely will begin a rehab assignment Saturday in Reading. . . . Entering Friday's game, the Phillies in their first six seasons under Manuel have the best record in the National League in games after the all-star break at 268-171 (.610). . . . History lesson: Raul Ibanez (six), John Mayberry Jr. (four), and Domonic Brown (two) combined for 12 RBIs in the Phillies' 14-1 win over Atlanta in the last game before the all-star break. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that's the highest RBI total by Philadelphia's three starting outfielders since Cy Williams and Johnny Mokan drove in seven each in a 20-14 win over the Cardinals on May 11, 1923.