--RHP Brad Lidge was placed on the disabled list retroactive to March 21, still trying to complete his recovery from Feb. 25 arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. He will miss Opening Day, but he'll be eligible to be activated April 5 before a game against the Cincinnati Reds.

One day after assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said the Phillies remained hopeful that Lidge would open the season on time, the team changed course, believing that Lidge needed more time to train his arm before protecting a slim lead in a high-pressure ninth inning.

"It's not what I wanted," said Lidge, visibly disappointed by the verdict after a powwow with GM Pat Gillick, Amaro, assistant GM Mike Arbuckle, manager Charlie Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee. "I was trying to get ready as fast as possible. Unfortunately, in the end, my arm strength is a bit behind. I was trying to cram four weeks of spring training into a little over a week. It makes more sense to make sure I'm 100 percent ready when I start, instead of 90 percent. It's better for our team, and it's better for me."

In his absence, Manuel said 40-year-old RHP Tom Gordon, an All-Star closer in 2006, will be the Phillies' primary closer.

Lidge, acquired in a Nov. 7 trade with Houston, had right knee surgery Oct. 1, but he aggravated the injury while throwing batting practice Feb. 23. Two days later, he had part of the meniscus (cartilage) removed from his knee. Since the surgery, he has pitched only 1 1/3 innings in two minor league intrasquad games. After his last appearance, a 16-pitch outing Sunday at the Carpenter Complex, he emerged frustrated with his control (he threw only eight strikes) and his fastball velocity, which reached only about 90-92 mph rather than the usual 93-95 mph.

--1B Ryan Howard was batting .311 with a team-leading five home runs and 12 RBIs entering Thursday's Grapefruit League finale. He's been stinging the ball to right and left field. Even his outs have been hit hard.

"He's hitting the ball to left field again," Phillies hitting coach Milt Thompson said. "Once he does that, it's easy. That's his strength."

In 2006, Howard showed freakish opposite-field power, routinely swatting homers over left field fences. Thompson said he has seen only one hitter, Mike Piazza, who could wait on the ball long enough to smash it the other way with such force. But Howard admittedly reported to camp overweight last season after a few too many offseason awards banquets. Then, after straining his left quadriceps, he tried to compensate by accelerating his swing to beat defenses that were over-shifted to the right side of the field. When the Phillies placed him on the disabled list May 10, he was batting .204.

Even when he returned, he never fully returned. Howard still finished with 47 home runs and 136 RBIs, but his batting average fell to .268 from .313 in 2006. And he struck out 199 times, setting a single-season major league record. Howard has described his swing as "still a work in progress." But Thompson smiled broadly when he was asked to grade Howard's spring. Three of Howard's five homers have been hit to left field. Thompson said that's a sign that he is waiting on the ball and seeing it longer rather than speeding up his swing.

--RHP Brett Myers yielded two hits, two walks and struck out three in five scoreless innings Wednesday against the Yankees in his final tune-up before Opening Day. And after the Phillies' 4-0 victory, he weighed in on the state of the Phillies rotation. "It's probably the best in the National League," said Myers, who finished the spring with a 1.64 ERA. "That's what I think. But that's just my opinion, and nobody's going to care about my opinion."

--RHP Drew Carpenter, a second-round pick in 2006 from Long Beach State, will open the season with Class AA Reading. But as he mowed down the Yankees on Wednesday, farm director Steve Noworyta and minor league pitching coordinator Gorman Heimueller watched with glee down the left field line. Carpenter, 22, tossed four scoreless innings. He got Alex Rodriguez to ground into a double play in the sixth, struck out Jason Giambi and Jorge Posada in the seventh and worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the ninth. "We're like two proud parents," said Noworyta, who likened the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Carpenter to former White Sox pitcher La Marr Hoyt, a 24-game and Cy Young Award-winner in 1983. So, with the Phillies strapped for pitching, when might Carpenter reach the majors? Manager Charlie Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee said they'll discuss Carpenter in meetings with management, but realistically, there's no chance he'll make the team before throwing a pitch at Class AA. If he starts strong at Reading, though, he could be summoned in mid-season, just like another unheralded right-hander, Kyle Kendrick, in 2007. And Carpenter knows how much the Phillies need pitching. "I'm aware of that, big-time," he said. "I'm trying to be the next Kendrick. This was a good challenge for me to see what I can do and what I'm made of. Now, I know what I'm made of. I'd love to get up there as fast as I can. It's been a dream since I was little."

--LHP Mike Zagurski's surgically repaired right hamstring had begun feeling better, but a devastating left elbow injury may sideline him for at least 12 months. Zagurski, 25, said he likely will need Tommy John surgery to fix a damaged ulnar collateral ligament. He was injured Sunday during his first spring appearance in a minor league intrasquad game, and an MRI exam revealed a tear. He can either try to rehab the elbow or have the surgery. "If I rehab and it works, great. If I rehab and it doesn't work, I'm three more months behind," Zagurski said. "If it's torn, it's torn. If I was sitting in A-ball, I might say, 'Do I want to go through this?' But now, I was (in the majors) once (last season). There's no reason I can't get back there again."

--RHP Kris Benson has gone through six weeks of throwing sessions and treatments for his surgically repaired right shoulder. So, he couldn't see any reason to terminate his minor league contract with the Phillies, even though the deadline for him to exercise his opt-out clause passed Tuesday with him still awaiting the Phillies' decision to add him to the 40-man roster. And while that appeared unlikely, it is equally unlikely that Benson will decide to leave the organization. Benson's agent, Gregg Clifton, and Phillies assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr. were working to reconfigure his contract. "I don't see any reason why I would need to go elsewhere," Benson said. "I have a good rapport with the training staff. I've got a good relationship with the pitching coach and manager. And they have another starting pitcher they can count on down the road. It's a win-win situation. I'm just seeing what they have to say. I'm just wanting to be part of their plans." Benson, 33, signed a minor league contract worth $100,000 last month. He hoped to be added to the 40-man roster by Tuesday, a move that would trigger a $500,000 salary that could rise to $5.1 million with incentives. But biceps tendinitis has sidelined him since March 13, wiping out his leverage.

BY THE NUMBERS
8 -- Players on the Phillies' roster who have been named to play in an All-Star Game (Tom Gordon, Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard, Geoff Jenkins, Brad Lidge, Jamie Moyer, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley).

QUOTE TO NOTE
"He doesn't have to shut people out. He knows that. As long as he stays there and battles and really shows his aggressiveness and competes, that's the big thing." -- Phillies manager Charlie Manuel on often-criticized No. 5 starter Adam Eaton.

Copyright (C) 2008 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.