Mayberry has been hot, but no reason for Phils to sit Ibanez

THE PHILLIES needed a righthanded hitter. Everybody agreed it was true. So general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. backed up the truck to the minor league system one more time and, next thing anybody knew, Hunter Pence was putting on a red-pinstriped jersey and talking about the dizzying leap from the worst record in baseball with the Houston Astros to the best with his new teammates.

So here we are, less than 3 weeks later, and doggone if it doesn't look like the days when manager Charlie Manuel would grumble that teams would all but grab lefthanded pitchers off the nearest street corner to face them have been tucked safely into the past.

That's obviously a pretty important fix for a team that has its sights set on nothing less than another world championship. But nothing in baseball ever seems to run in a straight line except the basepaths. So as big an addition as Pence has been, another part of the solution has been standing in the wings for a while now.

Pence was on base four times and scored three runs in last night's 9-2 win over the Diamondbacks, a game lefthander Joe Saunders started for Arizona.

But it was John Mayberry Jr., batting behind him, who drove Pence in once and had three hits, scoring twice himself.

This being the era of instant communication, even before the last out was recorded, the tweets began chirping and the chat rooms buzzed with speculation that Mayberry could or should replace Raul Ibanez as the regular leftfielder for the rest of the season.

Three words: Not. Gonna. Happen.

Look, there has never been any question that Mayberry has physical tools. And since the early days of spring training, Manuel has talked him up, praised his improved approach at the plate, hinted that he could be a late-bloomer like Jayson Werth if he ever got the chance.

He has had an up-and-down season in the most literal sense. He has been up in the majors after being down at Triple A Lehigh Valley three times already. Since his most recent promotion on July 5, though, he's 22-for-71 with eight doubles, six homers and 20 RBI. That includes his dramatic, game-tying home run with two outs in the ninth against Rockies closer Huston Street at Coors Field on Aug. 1.