Michael Stutes

Antonio Bastardo looked lost. This wasn't the ninth inning. This wasn't the mound where he had left his 0.99 ERA, pinpoint fastball and filthy slider. He was wearing the No. 58, but this wasn't the same Antonio Bastardo who was basically automatic - saving five games, allowing one run in 91/3 innings, giving up zero hits in eight of nine appearances, and striking out 11 while Ryan Madson was on the disabled list. That Bastardo had convinced everyone there was going to be a closer controversy when Madson returned to claim his ninth inning.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - There is this perception, a conclusion really, that Michael Stutes and Antonio Bastardo wore out last season. Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee believes it, so does manager Charlie Manuel. The grind of a big-league pennant race got to the two young relievers, or so it goes, which may be one reason the Phillies have a slew of bullpen arms around this spring with major league resumès. Jose Contreras is throwing again and Dontrelle Willis looks pretty good, too. Chad Qualls, a veteran, durable, seventh-inning guy, is new, and journeymen lefties like Jeremy Horst and Pat Misch are here as well.

Charlie Manuel is rich. He's a baseball manager with two closers, plus another one who is about to join the active roster. Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe that's an advantage. Or maybe that's like Flyers coach Peter Laviolette having three goalies during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Manuel said the other day in Chicago that he felt confident putting Antonio Bastardo or Ryan Madson into the game "in any situation. " Like, say, the ninth inning of Game 7 of the National League Championship Series?

WASHINGTON - The thing about bullpens, see, is that even the best ones tend to be a work in progress. Managers and pitching coaches have a plan. Then some guys get overworked. Other guys couldn't get into the game if they bought a ticket. Throw in some rain and pretty soon that neat, little chart looks a lot like the lineup card at the end of a 16-inning game, all tattered and dog-eared and messy with names written in here and crossed out there. Just look at how much has changed since the Phillies arrived at the Carpenter Complex in Clearwater for the first time this spring.

SOMEONE ASKED during an online chat on Monday whether Pat Gillick was still involved in the Phillies' decision making process. And I thought, "Oh yeah, whatever happened to that guy?" Gillick is still listed as a Phillies advisor, but the days of Ruben Amaro Jr. referencing him at major press conferences — like the one announcing the 6-year, $144 million contract extension for Cole Hamels — has passed. During extended question-and-answer sessions after the formal one from the podium that day, not once did any of the principals involved reference the former Phillies general manager.

This time a year ago, the names Vance Worley and Michael Stutes were barely on the Phillies' radar. Even by the end of spring training, Worley had long been ticketed for triple-A Lehigh Valley while Stutes was teased with a trip north to Citizens Bank Park merely for two exhibition games before he, too, was an IronPig. Then they combined for 1932/3 major-league innings in 2011, quickly gaining the trust of manager Charlie Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee. Vance became Vanimal and Michael became Mike.

NEW YORK - So there you were yesterday afternoon, seven-run lead, Juan Perez handed the ball to start the eighth inning. Juan Perez, author of the nine-pitch, three-strikeout inning against the Braves 10 days ago, the latest unexpected bullpen gift for Charlie Manuel's Phillies, in a position so advantageous you almost felt empathy for your former rivals and their fans. Pass the remote, check out the women's soccer match, watch the British Open recap. This one was so, so over.

PHOENIX - Suzy Stutes started crying. Chris Stutes started seeing visions from the past. And Mitch Moses? Well, Mitch Moses started driving. Less than 24 hours later, a tight circle of Michael Stutes' friends and family gathered in front of the will-call window at Chase Field and basked in a moment they had dreamed of their entire lives. "You wait and wait and wait for this call," Suzy Stutes said while grasping that night's program in her hand, "and when it finally comes, you can't believe you got it. " The Call came on Easter evening in a tidy suburb on the outskirts of Portland.

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?

BILL CONLINDN writers make Phillies a unanimous pick BILL CONLIN PEOPLE WHO consider the Roy Halladay vs. Kyle Lohse Game 1 matchup an overlay should think again. The former Phils sinkerballer is the only member of Tony La Russa's starting rotation who has allowed fewer hits than innings pitched and is a solid 14-8. That said, Lohse pitches to contact, which is something the Phillies began to make again during their closing spurt to 102 victories. And he opposes a 19-game-winning horse who no-hit the Reds in Game 1 of the NLDS last October.