Greg Dobbs

Position: Utility Height, weight: 6-1, 210 Age: 31 Birthdate: July 2, 1978 Hometown: Los Angeles College: Oklahoma Years pro: 5 How acquired: Selected off waivers by Phillies on Jan. 15, 2007. This year: In 97 games this year, Dobbs hit .247 with 20 RBI. He battled through a bad calf that has limited his playing time. Career: Dobbs hit .301 in 2008 and has evolved into a huge presence off the bench. The Phillies hope he can help off the bench in the postseason as he did a season ago. His versatility has made him invaluable to manager Charlie Manuel, who has used Dobbs in five different positions on the field.

Pat Gillick claimed Greg Dobbs off waivers from the Seattle Mariners on Jan. 16, 2007. Fan reaction? Tumbleweeds, mostly. Dobbs had played parts of three seasons with the Mariners, but nobody in Philadelphia really knew him. They certainly know him today, as he has been one of Gillick's finest acquisitions with the Phillies. Dobbs hit .272 with 10 home runs and 55 RBIs last season. He led the majors with 18 pinch-hit RBIs. He had several memorable hits, too, including a grand slam against the New York Mets on Sept.

Is it possible that the Phillies have crawled into the heads of the New York Mets? Maybe. But they would prefer to test that theory come October. "I think it's a testament to us," Greg Dobbs said yesterday after he hit a pinch-hit grand slam to spark a 10-6 victory over the Mets at Shea Stadium. "We put the pressure on them. We were able to . . . play our game and stay focused and come in with some intensity. I don't know if they could feel that or not, but in our dugout, it was a lot of fun. . . . I don't know if we're in their heads, but I think we've proven to them that we can play them tough.

Greg Dobbs stepped into the batter's box in the ninth inning last night without the tightness he had felt in his back since he tweaked it Monday at Nationals Park. He had adrenaline to thank for that. But with the discomfort numbed momentarily, he still had a job to do. He had to hit a ball off Washington closer Jon Rauch into the outfield to score the Phillies' first run since Sunday. Dobbs had been 0 for 3 against Rauch. But he hit a one-out bloop single to center field to score pinch-runner Eric Bruntlett from third base and give the Phillies a 1-0 victory over the Nationals, which made Cole Hamels feel just fine about the seven shutout innings he had thrown.

Although the Phillies are focused on improving their pitching staff during the winter meetings, they apparently have made time to finalize their bench. The team's official Web site said last night that the Phils had signed Ross Gload to a two-year contract. Gload, 33, is a career .283 hitter. He batted .261, with a .329 on-base percentage, in 230 at-bats last season with the Florida Marlins. He played right field, left field, first base, and even pitched a scoreless inning.

Former Phillies infielder Greg Dobbs has signed a minor league contract with the Florida Marlins. Dobbs also will be invited to big-league spring training. The Marlins are hoping prospect Matt Dominguez wins the third-base job, but could use Dobbs as a backup plan. Florida also is said to be considering Eric Chavez, according to the Palm Beach Post . Dobbs, 32, presumably could also contend for a spot as a lefthanded hitter off the bench. Dobbs started 28 games at third last year for the Phillies when Placido Polanco was out of the lineup.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - Taking his talents to South Beach has worked out quite well for Greg Dobbs. The former Phillie started at third base for the Florida Marlins in Monday's series opener. It was the ninth time in 10 games that Dobbs started at third for the Marlins. The increased playing time came with a hot bat: Dobbs was up to .359 with 23 hits in 27 games. For some perspective, Dobbs didn't have his 23d hit in 2010 until July 24. The 32-year-old Dobbs always said he just needed more playing time.

WASHINGTON - After Pedro Feliz loosened up in the batting cage Sunday before the Phillies' 12-10 win over the Braves, manager Charlie Manuel thought he was on the verge of being able to return to action. Two days later, the veteran third baseman was placed on the 15-day disabled list with what the team is calling lower back inflammation. Feliz made the trip to Washington, but his back had worsened since Sunday, and the team sent him back to Philadelphia to be examined by Dr. Michael Ciccotti.

Phillies vs. Diamondbacks, 7:05 Citizens Bank Park. TV: Comcast SportsNet. Radio: WPHT (1210-AM); WUBA (1480-AM) Spanish. Ticket info: 44,000 tickets have been sold, with standing-room-only tickets available. Diamondbacks LHP Doug Davis (3-4, 3.74) vs. Phillies RHP Kyle Kendrick (8-3, 4.39) Diamondbacks update: The D-backs entered yesterday just 22-34 since splitting a four-game series with the Phillies in May. They were hitting just .226 as a team during that span ... Davis is coming off his longest outing of the season, when he allowed three runs on seven hits in eight innings in a loss to the Padres ... Davis is 2-1 with a 2.92 ERA in six career starts for the Phillies.

I've always liked storms. Yesterday's especially. It made sense. We had nothing but college football and gunboat gray skies to bide our time until today. Yet the delay seemed appropriate. Brett Myers' performance Friday against the Mets was masterly. My buddy and I watched the thing slack-jawed, awed by what Myers was able to do. Eight innings of shutout baseball - and all from a guy who's had a very strange season indeed. Greg Dobbs' homer barely cleared the wall. Amazing stuff all around.

PAT GILLICK is not working for the Cubs and he's not with the Dodgers, either. There was a report that he went to the Dominican Republic last month to meet with Aramis Ramirez and to Cuba to scout Yeonnis Cespedes - which means, if you're any kind of student of the man, that he is still an important part of the Phillies' brain trust. So fret not over Dontrelle Willis, whose late-day tweet - "I'm fired up be with the fighting phillies and looking forward to this season" - confirmed his status as the newest Phillies free-agent signee, pending a physical scheduled for today.

Eight years ago, the news that Jim Thome was coming to the Phillies was greeted with the same hoopla as Cliff Lee's return last December. This time, it's a nice addition, but hardly a perception changer. When John Harbaugh was the special-teams coordinator with the Eagles, he often used the expression, "If you're not getting better, then you're getting worse. " It was Harbaugh's way of saying that you always have to strive to improve regardless of how good you already are. We suspect the affable and ultra-intense coach still uses that expression as the head man with the Baltimore Ravens, and we're quite sure he has no idea how intriguing those words are in relation to the Phillies' current situation.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - In the first three innings Friday night, Roy Oswalt allowed a triple, two doubles, and three singles and walked a batter. He was exactly a week removed from a mediocre outing against these same Florida Marlins, and the red flags that hinted at back trouble earlier in the season remained. "It felt like I was trying to throw the ball from second base," Oswalt said. "After the third inning, it felt like I was standing on top of the hitter. " When a team is 42 games over .500 on Sept.

BEFORE HEADING to the ballpark yesterday in New York, Greg Dobbs stopped at a hospital. The Florida Marlins third baseman visited 12-year-old Eli Shalomoff, who was hit in the face by a line drive during a game between Florida and the Mets on Monday. Dobbs said he went to Elmhurst Hospital and spent a little more than an hour with the boy and his family. He said the boy was doing OK after he was struck square in the face by Dobbs' foul liner in the opening game of a doubleheader at Citi Field.

J.C. Romero's immediate reaction was anger. Told he was being designated for assignment - baseballese for "Adios and thanks for the memories" - Romero admitted to a flash of temper before acceptance set in. "I'm going to be professional about it," Romero said. "That's who I am. " And he couldn't have been more professional. As reporters trickled into the clubhouse after Thursday's clinical, 3-0 Phillies win over the Florida Marlins, Romero was embracing Vance Worley, the young pitcher whose promotion necessitated the roster move.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - Taking his talents to South Beach has worked out quite well for Greg Dobbs. The former Phillie started at third base for the Florida Marlins in Monday's series opener. It was the ninth time in 10 games that Dobbs started at third for the Marlins. The increased playing time came with a hot bat: Dobbs was up to .359 with 23 hits in 27 games. For some perspective, Dobbs didn't have his 23d hit in 2010 until July 24. The 32-year-old Dobbs always said he just needed more playing time.

ATLANTA - John Mayberry Jr. has learned a different way to watch the game in front of him. He'll stretch every inning beginning with the fourth, take some hacks in the underground batting cage, then sit in the Phillies dugout and predict situations in which he may be called upon by bench coach Pete Mackanin to grab his helmet and bat. "The most important thing is to make sure you're anticipating all possible scenarios," Mayberry said....

ATLANTA - The change Charlie Manuel made to his batting order for last night's series opener against the Braves was a minor one, but it spoke volumes about the respect the manager has for Atlanta's bullpen. Rather than stacking lefthanded sluggers Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez back-to-back in the middle of the order, as he had in the Phillies' first four games against righthanded starters, Manuel put righty Ben Francisco between them at No. 5. The reason for the subtle change?

Combination lock: Shortstop Jimmy Rollins is the longest-tenured Phillie since making his major league debut in September 2000. Since then, his doubleplay partner has been Chase Utley the majority of the time. But did you know that Rollins has played next to 20 other second basemen for at least an inning during his Phillies career? The others, according to Baseball-Reference.com: Marlon Anderson, Kevin Jordan, David Newhan, Felipe Crespo, Tomas Perez, Nick Punto, David Bell, Placido Polanco, Matt Kata, Ramon Martinez, Abraham Nunez, Danny Sandoval, Joe Thurston, Greg Dobbs, Tad Iguchi, Eric Bruntlett, Miguel Cairo, Juan Castro, Cody Ransom and Wilson Valdez.