Pat Burrell

'FOR THOSE to whom much has been given," Saint Luke tells us in the New Testament, "much is expected. " While the apostle might not be on the Phillies' roster, he certainly can feel Pat Burrell's pain. The highly-rated slugger, currently flirting with a .200 batting average and one of the most prolonged slumps this city has ever seen, is quickly becoming the victim of the kind of great expectations that have ruined the careers of many potential superstars. Just ask Bobby Murcer or Bill Robinson, outfielders who played with the New York Yankees in the late 1960s and were expected to fill the void left by Mickey Mantle's retirement.

ARLINGTON, Texas - After Game 3 of the World Series, the possibility of being benched was posed to Pat Burrell. The San Francisco Giants leftfielder had struck out four times and admitted what poor timing it was for a slump. So he'd understand any move his manager, Bruce Bochy, decided to make. "I'd be disappointed, of course," Burrell said. "Could I blame him? Probably not. " Bochy slept on it and came to Rangers Ballpark on Sunday morning with his choice: It was time to bench Burrell, for at least one day. "He's a big reason why we're here," Bochy said, "but he also understands and he admits that his timing is off a little bit. " That might be an understatement.

CHARLIE MANUEL knew the end was near for Pat Burrell after a conversation last fall, when the former Phillies slugger indicated just how much pain his foot was causing him. "He had a bad arch and trouble with his heel," Manuel said. "I think it got to a place where he actually couldn't play defense or run anymore. I think that was a big reason. He still wanted to play and he still loves to play. " Yesterday, multiple news organizations reported that Burrell has decided to retire after 12 seasons in the majors, nine of them with the Phillies.

Pat the Bat: No. 1 at last Due to nationwide anxiety over such things as the referee-challenged U.S. tie with Slovenia in the World Cup, or a European golfer winning the U.S. Open, High&Inside somehow missed the major event of the last week. While we were distracted, our old friend Pat Burrell became the leading home run hitter from the state of Arkansas. Luckily, sharp-eyed reader Bob Bogart read that the former Phillie had swatted a pair of homers in his first week with San Francisco and immediately did the math.

One of the most eagerly awaited moments in Phillies history will occur tonight when Pat Burrell, the franchise's most ballyhooed prospect ever, digs his spikes into the batter's box at Enron Field. Burrell, the No. 1 pick in the 1998 draft, was called up from triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre yesterday. He was scheduled to arrive in Houston late last night and will debut in the Phillies lineup tonight against the Houston Astros and righthander Octavio Dotel. Burrell will start at first base, and manager Terry Francona expects to bat him sixth.

Elvis' master has left the building. Pat Burrell's 11-year tenure as a member of the Phillies organization officially ended yesterday when the free-agent slugger signed a two-year, $16 million contract with the Tampa Bay Rays, the team he helped beat in the World Series in October. Burrell, 32, will be the Rays' designated hitter. He leaves the Phillies ranked third on the franchise's all-time list with 251 home runs. Only Mike Schmidt, with 548, and Del Ennis, with 259, hit more as Phillies.

A couple of times last season, Phillies leftfielder Pat Burrell found himself on the telephone with Mark McGwire. The first time they spoke, Burrell barely uttered a word. "This is going to be the best year of your life," the former slugger told Burrell. "You're not going to believe all you're going to learn about yourself. You'll be better because of this. " McGwire hit .201 with 22 home runs and 75 RBIs in 1991, but rebounded in 1992 to hit .268 with 42 homers and 104 RBIs.

If anybody couldn't wait to leave Veterans Stadium yesterday, it had to be Pat Burrell. He had his reasons. He had just completed a dismal season in which he hit .209 with 21 home runs and 64 RBIs. In 522 at-bats, Burrell walked 72 times and struck out 142 times. Compare that with last season, when Burrell hit .282 with 37 homers and 116 RBIs, 89 walks and 153 strikeouts in 586 at-bats. Burrell, who signed a six-year, $50 million contract in the off-season, had been benched several times throughout the year, including during several meaningful games in the final weeks of the season.

ARLINGTON, Texas - Pat Burrell was soaked in champagne Monday night, but he had little to do with making the corks pop. Except for winning the World Series, really, he had a season to forget. In fact, as Burrell waited his turn to touch the Commissioner's Trophy for the second time in 3 years, he had a hard time remembering the beginning of his climb from baseball's trash heap. He beamed, exultant, a champion again, and he was asked to compare his feelings: June 1, digging in against Kevin Pucetas in Las Vegas, vs. his feeling exactly 5 months later, celebrating here on the field at Rangers Ballpark in Texas.

TONIGHT, Pat Burrell will throw out the first pitch in San Francisco. On May 19, he will sign a 1-day minor league contract so he can retire a Phillie. For years, Burrell's influence on the organization will be felt. Around Burrell, the Phillies constructed a ballclub that won the last five National League East titles; a club that won the World Series in 2008 and went to another Series in 2009, after Burrell left for Tampa Bay. He was not the best player on any of his Phillies teams.

It's no joke: The Phillies are opening on April 1 this year. It will be the third time the season starts on April Fools' Day, and since that history is mostly recent, it's actually pretty good. Plus, because it's April 1, you certainly can prank the ones you love. First some history, then some foolishness to try at home: April 1, 2011, Phillies' home opener vs. Astros It was the baseball gods playing a prank. It had to be. The Phillies came into 2011 with great promise: The team, two years removed from a World Series win, shockingly reacquired Cliff Lee as a free agent in the offseason.

The Phillies are due for a pleasant surprise, and Domonic Brown is the perfect candidate. For a few years now, all the surprises have been negative: Chase Utley's months of inaction because of knee trouble, Ryan Howard's Achilles popping, Carlos Ruiz's suspension, Roy Halladay's sudden nosedive. So why not something good for a change? It would be very Philadelphia to retort that 2008 happened too recently for the Phillies to be due anything but continued penance. Championships come once a century around here, franchise-changing players maybe once a generation.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Maybe everyone is looking at this Darin Ruf outfield experiment all wrong. The lifelong first baseman is trying to play left field to improve his chances of making the major-league roster. Ruf has looked a bit rough out there, no doubt about it. He misplayed a routine base hit into a three-base gift on Thursday. On Friday, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel penciled him into the lineup as a designated hitter, just to get Ruf some at-bats without the distraction of playing the field.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - It was the seventh inning of a Grapefruit League game, which meant the household names had been excused from the dugout to shower and change and check out of work early. In the Phillies' clubhouse, Jimmy Rollins sat near his locker chatting with Delmon Young, both of them keeping an eye on a television hanging on the wall of the clubhouse. With one out in the inning, Domonic Brown connected with a fastball and caused the conversation to stop. "Whoa," Young and Rollins howled in unison as the 25-year-old outfielder's bomb cleared the batter's eye in centerfield.

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.

You would have to go all the way back to November 1997, when Gregg Jefferies was entering the final season of a 4-year, $20 million contract, to find an offseason when the Phillies had as much uncertainty in their outfield. The Phils made a somewhat small, under-the-radar move that would add an anchor to an outfield for the next nine seasons. At Ed Wade's urging, they traded shortstop Kevin Stocker to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for Bobby Abreu, who had been drafted away from Houston in the expansion draft on the same day. Coincidentally, the Phils' current outfield situation is the result of the end of another Houston-to-Philadelphia deal: the team bid adieu to former Astro Hunter Pence, who was under contract for 2013, when they shipped him and Shane Victorino out west before the trade deadline this summer.

THE BALL came off the bat of Juan Samuel, who was standing just beyond second base in shallow centerfield at Citizens Bank Park on Monday afternoon. Darin Ruf - who brings to mind a young John Kruk, the Kruk in the burgundy Phillies uniform, not the cherry-red one - camped under it and made a routine catch. Then he let loose a throw that sailed over Samuel's head and into second base. On his first day as a big-leaguer, Ruf didn't play during the Phillies' 3-1 victory over the Miami Marlins.

THE HUNTER PENCE bobblehead figurine will be given out on Aug. 21. The Cole Hamels action figurine is a Sept. 23 giveaway. The Jimmy Rollins' Back-to-School Cooler Bag giveaway is Aug. 26. As the Phillies slip deeper into the last-place muck, the question is not whether all or any will survive their tenure as Phillies until then, but rather, should they? Rollins probably will, since the offseason deal he signed now looks more like a reward for past service than a bet on current and future worth.

NEW YORK - As Freddy Galvis stood in front of his locker at Busch Stadium last Friday night and talked about the relay throw that helped save a 5-3 win over the Cardinals, he did so while munching on a slice of pound cake. In all likelihood, he isn't the first player to celebrate a victory with a baked good. For all we know, he finished the cake, went back to the players' cafeteria, and chased a shot of Jameson with a beer. But what we saw was a 22-year-old who looked like he had just been dropped off at the local arcade after an American Legion game.

Cat Burrell (right) — yes he's named for recently retired Phillies slugger Pat Burrell — is a handsome 4-year-old tabby. His $35 adoption fee includes neutering, vaccinations and a free month of pet insurance. Visit the Pennsylvania SPCA at 350 E. Erie Ave. Or visit the PSPCA's website at www.pspca.org to learn more about how to adopt Cat Burrell or other animals and to download an application.