John Mayberry

In recent weeks, Anne Bryan, 24, celebrated a dramatic Phillies victory with her father, cooked a birthday dinner for her brother, and went for a drive along the Schuylkill with her mother. On Sunday, those relatives eulogized Bryan at an emotional memorial service in Center City, just days after she was killed in the building collapse at the corner of 22d and Market Streets. Bryan, of Lower Merion, daughter of city treasurer Nancy Winkler, was recalled as kind, talented, and passionate, with a variety of interests and a bright future ahead.

SARASOTA, Fla. - For the first time, John Mayberry Jr. had his chance. Only Jimmy Rollins batted more times (699) for the Phillies last season than Mayberry (479). Mayberry started 107 games as a fixture in the lineup for a .500 team. When asked earlier this spring to describe Mayberry's season, Charlie Manuel needed six words. "I learned what I've always learned," the manager said. Mayberry started abysmally, was energized at the trade deadline, and sputtered to a finish.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The best verbal pitches for John Mayberry Jr.'s succeeding as an everyday player in the majors won't come from the 6-foot-6 outfielder. He was a political science major at Stanford University and does some of the heaviest reading of any Phillies player. But he's typically succinct and modest. So Mayberry will let Shane Victorino, his outfield mate, do most of the talking. "He's pretty close to what I would consider a five-tool athlete," Victorino said.

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 ...

Relief pitcher Alex Concepcion hit three batters then gave up a sacrifice fly to Brian Bocock as the Lehigh Valley IronPigs outlasted the Gwinnett Braves, 8-7, in 15 innings. John Mayberry Jr. was 4 for 6 with a double, a homer, and three RBIs for Lehigh Valley.

MILWAUKEE - The Phillies have had trouble finding effective bats off the bench all season, but they can at least claim their pinch-hitters are clutch when needed. Ross Gload's game-winning, pinch-hit single Wednesday made him the third Phillies pinch-hitter this season to contribute a walk-off hit. John Mayberry Jr. did it on opening day, and Ben Francisco did it June 24. The last time the Phillies had three walk-off hits by pinch-hitters in one season? That would be 1984, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

ATLANTA - Before Saturday's game, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, John Mayberry Jr., Ben Francisco, and Jason Heyward posed for photographs. The five African American players from both teams were wearing Negro League uniforms from the Philadelphia Stars and Atlanta Black Crackers. The baggy uniforms required everyone to cuff their pants high. On Sunday, both teams will wear throwbacks from 1974. Manuel is hoping for better luck. "They're terrible," Manuel jokingly said of Saturday's threads.

NEW YORK — As you watched Chase Utley change the game with one swing of the bat on Wednesday afternoon, you wondered for the 100th time how the Phillies managed to enter the season so woefully unprepared to compensate for the offense that they would miss in the event of an injury to their three-hole hitter's balky knees. Think about the number of losses that would have been wins had Charlie Manuel's lineup possessed one more hitter with the ability to do what Utley did in the seventh inning, when he blasted a pitch from Chris Young into the rightfield seats for a two-run home run that tied the game and gave Carlos Ruiz the opportunity to give the Phillies the lead in the following at-bat.

ALLENTOWN - The Lehigh Valley IronPigs rode three home runs Thursday night to a 4-1 victory over the Rochester Red Wings in the International League. Cody Ransom's two-run shot in the second inning provided all the runs starter Nate Bump would need. Scott Mathieson pitched two shutout innings for the save. Dewayne Wise and John Mayberry both hit solo homers in the fourth. Trenton 4, Portland 2 PORTLAND, Maine - Damon Sublett stroked a two-run homer in the top of the 11th to give the Thunder the Eastern League win. Eric Wordekemper struck out the side in the bottom of the inning to get the save.

Chase Utley's rehab assignment appearance for Triple A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday is sold out. The remaining standing-room only tickets were purchased by midday Monday. The IronPigs host the Rochester Red Wings at 7:05 at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown. Utley, sidelined all season with knee issues, could be back in the Phillies lineup Wednesday, according to CSNPhilly.com. In nine rehab games with Class A Clearwater, beginning June 12, Utley was 5-for-32 (.156) with one home run and five RBI. He played consecutive games at second base for the first time Friday and Saturday.

In recent weeks, Anne Bryan, 24, celebrated a dramatic Phillies victory with her father, cooked a birthday dinner for her brother, and went for a drive along the Schuylkill with her mother. On Sunday, those relatives eulogized Bryan at an emotional memorial service in Center City, just days after she was killed in the building collapse at the corner of 22d and Market Streets. Bryan, of Lower Merion, daughter of city treasurer Nancy Winkler, was recalled as kind, talented, and passionate, with a variety of interests and a bright future ahead.

DUNEDIN, Fla. - The highest-paid outfielder on the Phillies roster has not enjoyed a particularly auspicious spring. He started all of 26 games during an injury-ridden 2012. There were hopes that other players would step up, but because of ineffectiveness or injury they didn't pan out. When everything settles, Laynce Nix could be introduced as a starting outfielder for the Phillies opener Monday at Atlanta's Turner Field. "We'll see what happens," Nix said. "I'm sure Charlie has his lineups made.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - First, Darin Ruf hit a walkoff home run that gave the Phillies a victory over the Braves. Next, he spent 15 minutes signing autographs for fans along the third-base line. Then he answered reporters' questions for 10 minutes. And after all that, Ruf was summoned to Charlie Manuel's office, where the manager and GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told him he was being sent down to minor league camp. It was a fitting end to what had been a whirlwind spring training for the Phillies' improbable prospect.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - For guys like Roy Halladay, Mike Stutes and Phillippe Aumont, the next week is as much of a stretch run as a baseball player can experience in March. For Domonic Brown, the heavy lifting is done. We can say all of this with a fair amount of certainty after spending Thursday afternoon taking the temperature inside the coaches' offices at Bright House Field. Manager Charlie Manuel still isn't ready to proclaim Brown an everyday corner outfielder, but that's pretty much what he did when he hung up the lineup for that night's game in Fort Myers against the Red Sox. Fort Myers is the longest bus trip of the spring, and most players would rather not make it, and this trip is particularly bad because the game is at night, which means the team bus probably won't be getting back to Clearwater until after midnight.

SARASOTA, Fla. - For the first time, John Mayberry Jr. had his chance. Only Jimmy Rollins batted more times (699) for the Phillies last season than Mayberry (479). Mayberry started 107 games as a fixture in the lineup for a .500 team. When asked earlier this spring to describe Mayberry's season, Charlie Manuel needed six words. "I learned what I've always learned," the manager said. Mayberry started abysmally, was energized at the trade deadline, and sputtered to a finish.

TAMPA, Fla. - Roy Halladay threw a grand total of four wild pitches in the last two seasons. So when he threw a pitch in the first inning of Friday's game in Tampa and it found the backstop, it was . . . odd. "It shows he's human and he lets one fly every now and then," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "One gets away from him. He's all right. " After drawing "filthy" reviews from Torii Hunter and the Detroit Tigers 5 days earlier, Halladay wasn't sharp in his second start of the spring, vs. the New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - We interrupt the considerable amount of optimism wafting out of Bright House Field with a reminder that the Phillies still have several glaring issues that involve far more than a veteran's ability to stay healthy for the majority of the season. At the top of that list is an issue that was impossible to avoid on Monday afternoon. Against Tigers lefthander Drew Smyly, Charlie Manuel ran out a lineup with seven righthanded hitters, including all four of the players who entered spring training with a legitimate chance at creating some semblance of balance in the Opening Day lineup.

LAKELAND, Fla. - No player competing for a job in spring training is going to win it in the first weekend of games. But they also aren't going to lose it, either. After two Grapefruit League games - and the intrasquad game, too - Domonic Brown has gotten the attention of his manager. Brown is 4-for-6 with a double and a home run in three games this spring. He hit a game-tying, solo home run off Detroit's Al Alburquerque in the Phillies' 5-5 tie with the Tigers on Sunday. After the game, manager Charlie Manuel was asked about the 10 outfielders he has in camp and how he plans to get them all on the field in the next month.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Monday was Day 6 of spring training when, for the first time, hitters faced pitchers in live batting practice sessions. The exercise sounds a lot cooler on paper than in practice. Many of the hitters did not swing the bat, instead using the session to stand in the box and get acclimated to recognizing and timing pitches. The younger guys tend to be less patient. Throughout the spring, we'll take a stab at projecting what the 25-man Opening Day roster will look like.