David Herndon

Even the off days are difficult ones for the Phillies right now. Instead of rest and relaxation, the Phillies had to do some roster juggling Thursday as they prepared for the start of Friday's three-game series against the San Diego Padres. Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said the team is "probably going to make some changes over the next few days," but he refused to comment on the Twitter revelation from recently demoted reliever Michael Schwimer that the team has promoted infielder Hector Luna and pitchers Jake Diekman and Raul Valdes from triple-A Lehigh Valley.

1. Brad Lidge             5. Nelson Figueroa 2. Jose Contreras       6. David Herndon 3. Ryan Madson          7. J.C. Romero 4. Danys Baez          8. Someone who is not on the                                roster yet.

Here is who plays where for the Phillies: ROTATION Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton CATCHER Carlos Ruiz, Brian Schneider FIRST BASE Ryan Howard, Ross Gload SECOND BASE Wilson Valdez, Michael Martinez, Pete Orr THIRD BASE Placido Polanco, Wilson Valdez, Michael Martinez, Pete Orr SHORTSTOP Jimmy Rollins, Wilson Valdez, Michael Martinez LEFT FIELD ...

And in the seventh inning, Juan Pierre walked. In terms of accomplishments, that was about it Sunday afternoon as the Cubs beat the Phillies, 5-1, at Citizens Bank Park to drop them to 10-12. Pierre's base on balls snapped a string of 19 consecutive batters retired by Chicago righthander Matt Garza, who allowed a single to Jimmy Rollins to lead off the game before mowing down the Phillies lineup inning after inning. Garza finished with seven scoreless innings, allowing two baserunners and striking out 10 on 103 pitches.

St. Louis was missing an all-star corner outfielder in Game 1 of the National League division series, but Charlie Manuel saw little change in his opposition even without Matt Holliday . "When I look down at their lineup . . . almost every guy in their order is hitting from .280 to .300, and they've got a tremendous offense," the Phillies manager said. That's because Tony La Russa was able to replace Holliday - who has tendinitis in his right middle finger - with Allen Craig , a 27-year-old late bloomer much like the Phillies' John Mayberry Jr. Craig, just like Mayberry, took full advantage of playing time during the regular season.

THE PHILLIES AND backup catcher Brian Schneider put the finishing touches on a 1-year, $800,000 contract yesterday, keeping the soon-to-be 35-year-old veteran in the fold for a third season. Schneider, a Lehigh Valley native, made 36 starts for the Phillies last season and the team went 28-8 (.777), including 27-3 (.900) in his first 30 starts. From May 7 through Sept. 6, the Phillies went 19-0 in Schneider's starts. Schneider hit just .176 with a .246 on-base percentage and .256 slugging percentage last season, but the Phillies still managed to win almost 80 percent of those games.

The Phillies have finalized their Opening Day roster following today's exhibition game against Pittsburgh with a series of transactions: Infielder Pete Orr had his contract selected. Infielder Delwyn Young and catcher Erik Kratz were reassigned to the minor leagues Infielders Chase Utley (right knee tendinitis) and Brian Bocock (left pisiform fracture), outfielder Domonic Brown (right hamate fracture) and righ-hander Brian Schlitter (right flexor pronator strain)

Creepy figurines Tuesday night was Roy Halladay bobblehead night at Citizens Bank Park, coincidentally corresponding with a Halladay start. Before the game, Shane Victorino, David Herndon, and Juan Castro proudly displayed Halladay bobbleheads in their lockers. All things considered, the Halladay bobble bears a decent enough resemblance to the real Halladay. The beard is there. But he looks to be cracking a bit of a smile, which rarely ever happens on the mound. There have been bobbleheads that looked far, far worse.

His teammates would have to wait one day for the celebratory cigars because Jimmy Rollins never came to Citizens Bank Park on Monday. Instead, he spent the night with his wife, Johari, and their newborn baby girl. Rollins, 33, became a father for the first time. In baseball terms, that meant a lineup shuffle for Charlie Manuel. He left the lineup on his desk for longer than usual, with hopes Rollins would appear. But the baby was born in the "wee hours" of the morning Monday, so Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said it was best for Rollins to rest.

Even the off days are difficult ones for the Phillies right now. Instead of rest and relaxation, the Phillies had to do some roster juggling Thursday as they prepared for the start of Friday's three-game series against the San Diego Padres. Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said the team is "probably going to make some changes over the next few days," but he refused to comment on the Twitter revelation from recently demoted reliever Michael Schwimer that the team has promoted infielder Hector Luna and pitchers Jake Diekman and Raul Valdes from triple-A Lehigh Valley.

EVEN THE OFF days are difficult ones for the Phillies right now. Instead of rest and relaxation, the Phillies had to do some roster juggling Thursday as they prepared for the start of Friday's three-game series against the San Diego Padres. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said the team is "probably going to make some changes over the next few days," but he refused to comment on the Twitter revelation from recently demoted reliever Michael Schwimer that the team has promoted infielder Hector Luna and pitchers Jake Diekman and Raul Valdes from Triple A Lehigh Valley.

And in the seventh inning, Juan Pierre walked. In terms of accomplishments, that was about it Sunday afternoon as the Cubs beat the Phillies, 5-1, at Citizens Bank Park to drop them to 10-12. Pierre's base on balls snapped a string of 19 consecutive batters retired by Chicago righthander Matt Garza, who allowed a single to Jimmy Rollins to lead off the game before mowing down the Phillies lineup inning after inning. Garza finished with seven scoreless innings, allowing two baserunners and striking out 10 on 103 pitches.

PITTSBURGH - The Pirates had stormed the field for the second time in less than 24 hours, so the Phillies dressed in a quiet visitors clubhouse on Sunday at PNC Park. Dinner was ham, egg noodles, and some vegetables. Life was relatively normal after a 5-4 loss dropped the Phillies below .500 for the first time in 1,080 days. Michael Stutes lamented his bad luck. Jim Thome iced his back. David Herndon grabbed his ukulele for the plane ride home. Then there was Shane Victorino, seated at his locker, putting on his suit.

PITTSBURGH - The Pirates had stormed the field for the second time in less than 24 hours, so the Phillies dressed in a quiet visitors clubhouse on Sunday at PNC Park. Dinner was ham, egg noodles, and some vegetables. Life was relatively normal after a 5-4 loss dropped the Phillies below .500 for the first time in 1,080 days. Michael Stutes lamented his bad luck. Jim Thome iced his back. David Herndon grabbed his ukulele for the plane ride home. Then there was Shane Victorino, seated at his locker, putting on his suit.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Phillies will wait because they can. The decisions that remain will hardly make or break a season with the highest of expectations, but that is the only drama remaining in a nightmarish spring. Forming a 25-man roster after six weeks of meaningless baseball is proving to be more difficult than imagined, especially with $210 million worth of infield relegated to the disabled list. Then, the broken foot of the utility infielder came, followed by enough elbow and shoulder soreness to cast doubt upon a bullpen plan.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - There is concern about Mike Stutes' balky shoulder, but even more about a muddled Phillies bullpen picture less than one week until the 2012 season starts. Stutes was scratched from his scheduled appearance Friday because of right shoulder stiffness. He had been dealing with it for at least a week and originally thought it was normal spring training tightness. But it persisted. "I finally had to say something," Stutes said. Stutes, 25, was considered a lock for a bullpen job even with a shaky spring.

DALLAS - The Phillies might not have to worry about Albert Pujols playing in the NL East, but they do have to wonder whether his departure from the Cardinals will complicate their negotiations with free-agent Jimmy Rollins. Pujols spurned the Cards to sign a reported 10-year, $254 million deal with the Angels, leaving St. Louis with a huge offensive void to fill, and, presumably, plenty of money at their disposal to fill it. Whether Rollins factors into their plans remains to be seen.

DALLAS - The Phillies came to Texas with the stated goal of re-signing their longtime shortstop to a contract on their terms. For much of the winter meetings, they were content to be idle because Jimmy Rollins is their priority and, with an advantage in negotiations, waiting is just fine. They may leave Thursday without a deal, but all indications were that one will eventually be struck. The Milwaukee Brewers, the Phillies' top competition for his services, were told not to bother continuing talks with Rollins, a baseball source said.