Roy Halladay placed on DL for six to eight weeks, now what?

The news could have been worse, but losing Roy Halladay six to eight weeks is certainly nothing to smile about this afternoon for Phillies fans.

Following a trip to the doctor Tuesday afternoon to check out shoulder soreness, the Philadelphia Phillies placed Roy Halladay on the disabled list. He is expected to be out for six to eight weeks with a Grade 1/2 strain in the right latissimus dorsi. This is the same sort of injury that placed Cleveland Indians pitcher Rafael Perez on the disabled list last month.

What is the injury?

According to the sources from Wikipedia, tight latissimus dorsi pain is a form of shoulder or chronic back pain. Because it connects to the spine, tightness in the muscle can link to the shoulder joint and lead to chronic pain or tendinitis.

In English, your back hurts and that makes it difficult to throw. For any baseball player that is a big concern, let alone for a starting pitcher.

If Halladay is out for eight weeks, his return would not come until late July, when the Phillies are home against the Milwaukee Brewers. That means no Halladay for the month of June, which includes home contests against the Los Angeles Dodgers and a long home stand against the Colorado Rockies, Tampa Bay Rays and Pittsburgh Pirates, and the long road trip against AL East competition form Baltimore and Toronto in addition to the Minnesota Twins. Halladay will also miss a road trip to Los Angeles and Colorado under the eight week time span.

Can the Phillies survive that stretch on the mound? Of course they can, as long as nobody else takes a hit. Cliff Lee has already served time on the disabled list, and Vance Worley hopes to return sometime soon. In the meantime Cole Hamels continues to be the ace of the staff and Kyle Kendrick will remain in the rotation along with Joe Blanton.