Michael Stutes

PHILLIES Chase Utley , Roy Halladay , Hunter Pence , John Mayberry Jr. and Michael Stutes just recorded an anti-bullying video for the "It Gets Better" campaign. The national project was developed in response to anti-gay bullying in schools that's been tied to a rash of recent LGBT teen suicides. After seeing a similar video by members of the New York Giants, the Phillies decided to get involved, according to spokeswoman Bonnie Clark . "We thought it was a worthwhile cause," she said.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Michael Stutes sat in the corner of the Phillies clubhouse where all of the extra leather chairs, once used by players, were lined up in two rows. His suit jacket hung in an empty locker, and he fiddled with his phone as the rest of the Phillies dressed for their charter flight back to Philadelphia. Two days earlier, Stutes learned he would be making the trip with the team. So instead of searching for an apartment in Allentown, he is going to Citizens Bank Park with an uncertain outcome.

WHEN I WAS hired at this place, way back in 1992, the sports editor painted me a rosy picture. I could write features for a while, cover baseball for a while, and when the columnist nearing retirement age got there, why I could slip right into that spot if I showed the right stuff. I wound up earning the position, which is the way you want get a job anyway. Last month, I got a call from the local sportstalk station, WIP, which said it had lost its pooh-bah, or at least it thought it had, and would I like to try the gig. I said sure, what the hey, but after a few weeks someone asked (begged?

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.

CHICAGO - The ball floated in the thick air toward the Phillies bullpen tucked in the small foul territory that is Wrigley Field. Brian Schneider was crouching there Tuesday night, catching Ryan Madson, and had the best view of it. The backup catcher looked up, waved his right arm to will the ball fair in the ninth inning. When Michael Martinez's game-winning hit plopped on the outfield grass, Schneider's hand turned into a fist pump. "Right away," Schneider said, "I knew.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Dressed in street clothes, Michael Stutes packed his belongings into a red Phillies duffel bag and walked out the back door of the clubhouse Friday. It was early in the morning and with the roster trimmed even further, the usual clamor of the room was silenced. The 24-year-old righthander passed a table in the middle of the room where Cliff Lee sat alone eating breakfast. Their eyes met, and Lee nodded his head; words not necessary. Across the room, Vance Worley gathered his things together and said his goodbyes.

THE TRADING deadline came and went while reliever David Herndon was completing his warmup tosses in the eighth, called upon with two outs and a runner on first against the Pirates. While there had been some low-grade scuttlebutt floating around that general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. just might have one more surprise in his bag of tricks, the pitching replacement was the most momentous thing that happened. Amaro already had achieved his primary objective by getting Hunter Pence from the Astros on Friday night, the kind of righthanded bat his $175 million roster sorely lacked.

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Charlie Manuel described Michael Stutes as still being a long shot to make the team after the righthanded reliever survived the Phillies' first cuts Friday. Maybe those odds became a little less long Sunday when Stutes delivered three scoreless innings in his first start since his 2009 season at double-A Reading. Facing a lineup that included Justin Morneau and Jim Thome, Stutes did not allow a hit and faced only nine batters as the Phillies registered a 6-3 Grapefruit League win over a split-squad Minnesota Twins team at Hammond Stadium.

ST. LOUIS - Take a baseball team that has been producing runs on most nights with the regularity that an average soccer team scores goals. Have the starting pitcher be making his first big-league appearance in 3 weeks and, for the fun of it, have him admit ahead of time that it might take a couple of games to get back to where he needs to be. In the other dugout, put the team that leads the league in runs scored and whose starter has the third-lowest...