Juan Pierre

CLEARWATER, Fla. - It takes place on a half field in the early-morning hours before the Phillies' spring-training workouts officially begin at the Carpenter Complex. A small group of Phillies hitters, led by the master of the craft, Juan Pierre, practice the art of bunting. This, too, is part of the hitting mandate general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. laid down during the offseason. Most of the Phillies' front office watched the bunting session Monday, but Amaro was the lone witness Tuesday.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - It was late September 2003, and the Phillies were playing Juan Pierre's Florida Marlins at whatever that football stadium in South Florida was called at the time. The Phillies trailed the Marlins by one game in the National League wild-card race when they arrived. After the Marlins won the second game of the series to all but assure themselves of a spot in the playoffs, Pierre glanced into the visitors' dugout and was amused by what he saw. "I forget exactly how we won, but Larry Bowa threw his scorecard, and all these other papers just started flying all over the dugout," Pierre said, a huge smile crossing his face.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Looking at Juan Pierre, you wouldn't think that he is a 34-year-old veteran on the downslope of his career. Heck, you wouldn't think that he is able to see the latest Tarantino movie without a fake ID. But after signing a minor league contract with the Phillies this offseason, the baby-faced outfielder is fighting to prove that he still deserves a roster spot on a championship-caliber team. And Charlie Manuel is hoping that Pierre has enough of his old self left to provide a skill that has been in short supply at Citizens Bank Park over the last four seasons: speed off the bench.

The Phillies amicably avoided arbitration with one outfielder Friday and signed another who could bring speed to the bench. Hunter Pence agreed to a one-year, $10.4 million contract for 2012, settling at the midpoint between salary figures the two sides submitted for a potential arbitration hearing. And Juan Pierre, a 12-year veteran, signed a minor-league contract with the Phillies for a chance to make the team in spring training. Pence's signing was guaranteed; the question was whether the Phillies would buy out his final two years of arbitration or just go year-to-year.

The Phillies amicably avoided arbitration with one outfielder Friday and signed another who could bring speed to the bench. Hunter Pence agreed to a one-year, $10.4 million contract for 2012, settling at the midpoint between salary figures the two sides submitted for a potential arbitration hearing. And Juan Pierre, a 12-year veteran, signed a minor-league contract with the Phillies for a chance to make the team in spring training. Pence's signing was guaranteed; the question was whether the Phillies would buy out his final two years of arbitration or just go year-to-year.

It was the biggest moment of the season. All over Philadelphia, in the stands at Citizens Bank Park, in both dugouts, people tensed as Jonathan Broxton, an out away from tying the series with the Phillies, fired a fastball to Jimmy Rollins. In the Dodgers' clubhouse, the tension was . . . absent. "Actually, I was here, taking a shower," Manny Ramirez said. He did not witness Rollins' two-run double that won Game 4 of the National League Championship Series and gave the Phillies a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven competition.

The score was tied, the bases were full and so was the count, and the crowd in Dodger Stadium was on its feet. "Just take it all in, have fun with it," Dodgers rightfielder Andre Ethier said. "Sometimes, you try to block it out too much. You just have to take it in, and want to be the guy in that situation. " J.A. Happ's next pitch was low for ball four. So it was that Ethier, the Dodgers' walk-off homer artist, made his biggest contribution of the season simply by walking, driving in the go-ahead run in the Dodgers' wild 2-1 comeback over the Phillies in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series.

THE PLAY: In what should have been yet another routine doubleplay, Chase Utley throws wide of first baseman Ryan Howard for the second straight game. The ball caroms off the visitor's dugout to score pinch-runner Juan Pierre and tie the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning. THE SETUP: With runners at first and second, Dodgers catcher Russell Martin swings on a 3-2 count and rips a grounder down the third-base line that Pedro Feliz snags and relays to Utley, forcing Ronnie Belliard out at second.

Randy Johnson isn't going to have new company in the 300-win club anytime soon, but 46-year-old Jamie Moyer gave chase last night. Moyer - who had won his 250th game Sunday - cruised through most of his seven innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers, giving up two runs on only four hits. But it all came undone with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth last night when the Dodgers' Andre Ethier lined a shot into right field off closer Brad Lidge for a 4-3 victory over the Phillies.