"This wasn't the way things were supposed to go for Brad Lidge.

The Phillies closer, who has yet to throw a pitch this season, estimated on May 20 that he could be back as early as the end of June.

"I might be a little ahead [of schedule]," he said a few weeks ago. "We were saying before the end of June, and that's definitely possible. Maybe mid-June if everything goes right."

His elbow is saying otherwise now.

Lidge, on the disabled list since the end of spring training with a partially torn rotator cuff, has been in Clearwater, Fla., for extended spring training since May 22, trying to build up his arm strength.

But in the midst of throwing bullpen sessions, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said Lidge is experiencing right elbow soreness, and the team has decided to fly him to Philadelphia so he can see team physician Dr. Michael Ciccotti.

"Throwing long toss he was fine and then he got back on the mound and he felt the discomfort," Amaro said. "Rather than mess with it, we're going to have him [see] Dr. Ciccotti just to see if it's anything more serious than just regular soreness. If it's something more serious than just normal soreness, then it could be a setback."

Lidge told Amaro that what he's feeling in his elbow is similar to what has plagued him in several previous spring trainings, including in 2010 when he had a cortisone shot that forced him to start the season on the DL.

"He gets elbow discomfort like this pretty much every spring, which is kind of what he's in right now, that spring-training mode," Amaro said. "But we're going to see if it's anything more serious than just normal soreness."

On the bright side, Lidge's ailing shoulder, Amaro said, is progressing well."