Amaro

Raul Ibanez, out with a groin strain, worked out with Reading yesterday afternoon in preparation for a planned rehabilitation game with the Phillies' double-A team tonight. Ibanez ran in the outfield, played catch, ran the bases, and took batting practice in an indoor cage. He will work out today, and if he feels good, will play tonight. Ibanez will require three or four rehab games, or about 10 at-bats, meaning that while a Friday return is unlikely, the leftfielder could return shortly thereafter, barring setbacks.

The Phillies' bullpen is overworked and the next scheduled break is nine days away. Hmmm . . . Could a non-pitcher be pressed into hurling service? "I'd prefer to avoid that," manager Terry Francona said. "But at the same time, you don't want to run guys out there so much that you risk getting them hurt. I don't know. Maybe if there's a blowout and a glaring need . . . " In 1989, the team with the glaring need was the Milwaukee Brewers and the first baseman-outfielder who filled it was Francona.

Ruben Amaro hit a grand slam and Cary Williams drove in three runs on three hits to lead the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons to an 8-2 victory over the Pawtucket Red Sox last night in an International League game. Amaro hit his first minor-league home run of the season for the Red Barons, who scored five runs in the eighth inning to break open the game with the Red Sox. Tim Mauser won his seventh game for Scranton, and Williams hit his seventh home run of the season. HAGERSTOWN 9, READING 5 READING - Hagerstown first baseman Brent Miller hit two doubles and drove in three runs as the Suns defeated the Phillies in an Eastern League game.

A year ago, Ruben Amaro was trotting around Carpenter Complex with spikes on his feet and a glove in his hand. Now he wears loafers and carries a cellular phone. Amaro, 34, retired as a player after last season and became the Phillies' assistant general manager. One of his primary jobs this time of year is negotiating contracts with former teammates. It's not always fun. Amaro got a taste of just how unpleasant the money side of baseball can be several weeks ago, when he sat in on preparations for the salary arbitration case of utility man Kevin Jordan.

Ruben Amaro decided he needed to have a chat with the manager the other day. So he knocked on Terry Francona's door. "I kind of asked him to hang in there with me," Amaro said yesterday afternoon. "I told him I would try to do something good to help the team win one of these days. " That day came yesterday. With one out and Mike Lieberthal on second in the top of the 10th, Amaro doubled into the gap in left-center against Mets reliever Dennis Cook, driving in what proved to be the winning run in the Phillies' 7-6 win at Shea Stadium.

Until last night, the only time Ruben Amaro was ever called out of the Veterans Stadium dugout was when somebody needed pine tar. But there Amaro was in the sixth inning, standing on the top step, tipping the same bright red Phillies cap his father had worn, acknowledging the call of the 16,328 fans who stood and screamed his name. Just when it looked as if this Phillies season was destined to die too young, Amaro emerged to rescue his home-town team. Meet Philadelphia's newest hero - Batboy.

Does the name Moonlight Graham mean anything to Ruben Amaro Jr? Yes, unfortunately. "It's so funny that you mention him," Amaro said. "I saw that movie, 'Field of Dreams,' just a short time before I got called up. "When I came back, I swear that was the first thing I thought about. I was thinking, 'God forbid. Something should happen. I don't go back up. I'll be Moonlight Graham.' " Actually, Amaro, 26, a product of Penn Charter and Stanford, went Graham one worse.

The first time the Phillies won a World Series, Ruben Amaro Jr. spent the week afterward cleaning up the team's Veterans Stadium clubhouse. The second championship came last week, 28 years later, and even though the former batboy has climbed the team's corporate ladder, Amaro still has some straightening-up to do. Officially named the Phils' GM at a Philadelphia news conference yesterday morning, Amaro was expected to arrive at the posh,...

After the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, Ruben Amaro Jr. said that, for the first time since the World Series, he was not looking for anything in particular. The Phillies' general manager had bolstered his rotation and bench by acquiring Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco from Cleveland, and finally felt secure with the roster. With the waiver trade deadline approaching - players must be in the system by 11:59 p.m. on Monday to be eligible for the postseason - Amaro feels essentially the same way. "We continue to look at the waiver wire and see if there is a way to tweak here and there," he said yesterday.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's Ruben Amaro hit a home run in the ninth inning to tie the game, but the Pawtucket Red Sox scored the winning run in the 11th to defeat the Red Barons, 2-1, in the International League last night. The Red Barons held the PawSox to two hits but went down to their 18th loss in their last 22 games. READING 13, BINGHAMTON 1 READING - Craig Holman pitched 7 1/3 innings of no-hit ball as the Phillies routed the Mets in the Eastern League. Holman (6-8)