Playing hooky

Your favorite correspondent skipped the workout today to deal with some medical issues. Nothing major, and I won't bore you with any of the details, but if you see my beautiful mug in the background of any on-camera interviews in the next few days, I'll be wearing glasses because I can't wear my contacts for three or four weeks, allegedly (we'll see about that). Anyway, I'm told by my colleague Steve Dilbeck, who was kind enough to cover for me today, that there was no major news. It does appear that the Dodgers' Game 4 starter will depend largely on whether Hong-Chih Kuo is healthy enough to be on the roster for this series. If he is, he'll be the second lefty in the pen and Clayton Kershaw probably will be the fourth starter. If Kuo isn't a go, Kershaw will likely have to be the second lefty in the pen, so Greg Maddux would get the nod in Game 4. Lefty relievers are vital in this series because the Phillies have so many dangerous lefties in their lineup, beginning and ending with N.L. MVP candidate Ryan Howard, who had a monster September. ... By the way, the schedule for the entire series has been set. Basically, all the games except for Game 2 start at 8 Eastern. That means all three games at Dodger Stadium (3, 4 and 5) will start at 5 Los Angeles time, while three of the four games at Citizens Bank Park, including Games 6 and 7, will start at 8 p.m. Philly time. ... That's all I got for now. Like Elton John's Daniel, I'm traveling tonight on a plane. I'll be the guy on the redeye with the red eye.