The Zo Zone

Tom Gordon revealed yesterday that he has a slight tear in the labrum in his right shoulder.

He and the Phillies hope he can pitch through it.

"We’re confident we can manage this year and hopefully the next year," Phillies assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said.

It's an interesting piece of information. Gordon certainly would not be the first pitcher to pitch through a tear in the labrum. Coincidentally, when I talked with Randy Wolf on Friday in San Francisco, he told me about the MRI he recently had on his shoulder. His shoulder looked almost pristine, which astounded his doctors. He said they were shocked because most pitchers who have pitched as long as Wolf typically have some sort of abnormality, whether that be a tear, slight tear or other wear. Wolf has pitched nine seasons in the big leagues. Gordon has pitched 19, so this revelation did not completely surprise me.

So what does this mean? Not much, other than we finally know what Gordon is up against and why he can't get "100 percent" healthy. He just has to hope he can manage it, like Amaro said. But I also think this gives us a better understanding why the Phillies moved Brett Myers into the bullpen earlier this season, and why they have no plans to return him to the rotation. They just cannot be certain Gordon will remain healthy and effective.

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Yeah, the Phillies can hit.

They beat the Los Angeles Dodgers last night at Dodger Stadium, 15-3. They had a season-high 26 hits. Ryan Howard had two, two-run home runs. Shane Victorino tied a career high with five hits. Aaron Rowand set a career high with five hits. Chase Utley had two doubles, which gives him a league leading 39 this season. (He needs 21 more doubles to break the franchise record, which Chuck Klein set in 1930.) Even J.D. Durbin had three hits.

In their last three victories, the Phillies have scored 38 runs.

If they could only keep that up, they wouldn't have to worry about their pitching staff.

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The Phillies needed just one more hit to tie a franchise record 27 hits, which they set in a 26-7 victory over the New York Mets on June 11, 1985. They also needed one more hit for the Dodgers to tie a franchise record with 27 hits allowed, which last happened June 8, 1940, at Cincinnati.

Update/Correction: Mike's Baseball Rants let us know that 27 hits isn't the franchise record. The franchise record is 36. The Phillies confirmed. Some of the records in the Phillies media guide go back only to 1900. But they will correct that and recognize 36 as the Phillies' record for hits in a game in the future.

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The hitting is nice, but it should not be lost that Dubin pitched well. He allowed six hits and one run in six innings to earn his first big-league win.

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It's beginning to feel a little more like baseball in the Lehigh Valley. The triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs begin to play in April.

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Here's something you don't see every day. A petition asking Phillies fans to think positively.

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Celebrity Sighting at Dodger Stadium: Not nearly as strong as Monday's sighting of Eliza Dushku. In fact, it's not even in the same hemisphere, solar system or galaxy as far as I'm concerned. But Bucks County's Justin Guarini sang the National Anthem. And, I have to admit, he did a nice job.