Rich Dubee

FIFTH STARTER. Fifth of five. That was supposed to be Jonathan Pettibone's job while John Lannan found himself on the disabled list. It is a job with low expectations and, simultaneously, with real meaning - especially for a team like the Phillies, a team that has had so much trouble generating consistent offense and that has been underwater in the standings for weeks. Pettibone arrived unheralded. No one knew what to expect, not really. When he pitched well in his first game, the Phillies were not even ready to acknowledge immediately that he would get a second start.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - In some parallel universe, there lives a successful insurance salesman named Roy Halladay. Nice guy, good family man, almost made it as a big-league baseball player. In that version of reality, Halladay is sent to single-A ball by the Toronto Blue Jays, but his wife never happens upon Harvey Dorfman's book. Halladay never meets the no-nonsense sports psychologist. There are no Cy Young Awards, no perfect game, no Hall of Fame career. Dorfman, who died Monday at 75, had that big an impact on Halladay's career.

BRADENTON, Fla. - When Michael Dubee was announced over the loudspeaker at McKechnie Field as the new Pittsburgh pitcher, Pete Orr was in the on-deck circle. He turned to ask for a scouting report from the best source possible: the pitcher's father. "Oh, I told him what he had," Rich Dubee said. The Phillies pitching coach said he was "pretty relaxed" and wanted to see his son pitch well Friday in a Grapefruit League game. But in other circumstances, that desire would change.

Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay denounced critical comments about Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee made by former Phillies reliever and current MLB Network analyst Mitch Williams. In a Friday radio interview on WIP-FM (94.1), Williams said the Phillies need a new pitching coach. "It is not personal," Williams said. "I think these pitchers have to hear something new. " The Phillies have struggled not only in pitching but all facets of the game. They entered Friday 26th in the major leagues with a 4.42 ERA. Halladay, one of the pitchers that Williams suggested hasn't been helped by Dubee, talked to reporters before Friday's game at Citizens Bank Park against the Miami Marlins.

ATLANTA - As Rich Dubee preached his optimism Thursday afternoon about Roy Halladay, the pitcher ran. Halladay donned a red beanie and black sweatpants. He paced the warning track at Turner Field in the 40-degree weather while a steady mist fell. Halladay was the only player on the field at 4 p.m. "I'm starting to see some results," Dubee said. "You think I'm going to take the ball away from this guy?" No one is saying the Phillies pitching coach should do that. Dubee reiterated his encouragement for Halladay despite a baffling, 95-pitch outing in which the erstwhile ace recorded 10 outs.

Most days during the regular season, Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee likes to squeeze in a workout. During the first two weeks of spring training, though, Dubee doesn't need one. He gets plenty of exercise walking between four fields, throwing batting practice, giving instruction, and overseeing pretty much everything that goes on at Camp Clearwater. "Dubee carries a heavy load," manager Charlie Manuel said yesterday. Every team has one - a well-organized, get-things-done taskmaster who coordinates things at camp.

Jonathan Papelbon is in the century club. According to baseball-almanac.com, there is video evidence of his fastball being clocked at 100 m.p.h. during an April 22, 2008 game at Fenway Park. It's a cool accomplishment because there are so few people on this planet who can generate that kind of arm speed. But velocity is like good looks. Eventually, unless you're a super freak like Nolan Ryan, the speed of a pitcher's fastball is going to decline. Papelbon, in his second season with the Phillies, decided last year to take that matter into his own hands in an effort to prolong his career.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The view from the bullpen was Mick Billmeyer's primary domain during his first nine seasons as a big-league coach with the Phillies. Out there, he was mostly anonymous except for the 15 minutes of unwanted fame he received in May 2010, when the Colorado Rockies complained to the commissioner's office that he was using binoculars to steal signals while the Phillies were hitting at Coors Field. "That got a little too much play," Billmeyer said recently before a Phillies Grapefruit League game at Bright House Field.

The cameras first surrounded Erik Kratz, who said he was "disappointed" when he arrived Monday at Citizens Bank Park and did not see his name in the lineup. Then the pack shuffled to the other side of the Phillies clubhouse to question Humberto Quintero. All the while, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Cole Hamels stared as the two catchers were interviewed. Halladay, immersed in preparation for his start, raised his head from his notes and sneered. The players may have viewed it as a media concoction, but the melodrama Monday was set in motion by Halladay's words five days earlier.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said he has not spoken to pitcher Roy Oswalt, who remains in Mississippi with his family after tornadoes ripped through the area. But the righthander is expected to rejoin the team Thursday after taking a week to tend to the damage. Pitching coach Rich Dubee said he expects to see Oswalt on Thursday. "That's what I hear," he said. Dubee was unsure whether Oswalt had been throwing or doing any workouts at home. He will throw a bullpen session Thursday.

Jonathan Papelbon is in the century club. According to baseball-almanac.com, there is video evidence of his fastball being clocked at 100 m.p.h. during an April 22, 2008 game at Fenway Park. It's a cool accomplishment because there are so few people on this planet who can generate that kind of arm speed. But velocity is like good looks. Eventually, unless you're a super freak like Nolan Ryan, the speed of a pitcher's fastball is going to decline. Papelbon, in his second season with the Phillies, decided last year to take that matter into his own hands in an effort to prolong his career.

FIFTH STARTER. Fifth of five. That was supposed to be Jonathan Pettibone's job while John Lannan found himself on the disabled list. It is a job with low expectations and, simultaneously, with real meaning - especially for a team like the Phillies, a team that has had so much trouble generating consistent offense and that has been underwater in the standings for weeks. Pettibone arrived unheralded. No one knew what to expect, not really. When he pitched well in his first game, the Phillies were not even ready to acknowledge immediately that he would get a second start.

SAN FRANCISCO - If the Phillies had information Tuesday regarding Roy Halladay's health, they were not sharing it with the world. A cloud of uncertainty remained over their rotation and the star righthander's future. Halladay saw a doctor Tuesday, this much is sure. But the Phillies did not release any further updates. It was unknown exactly when during the day Halladay saw Neal ElAttrache, the Dodgers' team physician, in Los Angeles, and what tests were performed. An MRI examination was expected.

It's a pretty easy choice. You can be mad at Andrew Bynum or you can be mad at Roy Halladay. You can't be mad at both. Bynum spent the final year of his contract unable to play a single minute of basketball. There was bowling at one end of his wasted season and flamenco dancing at the other, but Bynum made sure the Sixers knew of every twinge of discomfort in his 25-year-old knees. Halladay is spending the final year of his contract trying desperately to play baseball. There is no off-the-field nonsense, only a man working as hard as he can to find a way to earn his money.

Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay denounced critical comments about Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee made by former Phillies reliever and current MLB Network analyst Mitch Williams. In a Friday radio interview on WIP-FM (94.1), Williams said the Phillies need a new pitching coach. "It is not personal," Williams said. "I think these pitchers have to hear something new. " The Phillies have struggled not only in pitching but all facets of the game. They entered Friday 26th in the major leagues with a 4.42 ERA. Halladay, one of the pitchers that Williams suggested hasn't been helped by Dubee, talked to reporters before Friday's game at Citizens Bank Park against the Miami Marlins.

NEW YORK - After blowing leads late in each of the last two games, the Phillies arrived at Citi Field with another bullpen problem: The availability of their setup man was unknown. Mike Adams, who pitched in three of the previous four games, was held out of action Thursday when the Phillies watched a 3-1 lead after seven innings turn into a 6-4 loss to the Pirates. Both manager Charlie Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee were unsure whether they'd have Adams at their disposal against the New York Mets last night.

IT'S THE pitchers, stupid. If the glares from across the opposite side of the room could talk, that's likely what they would have said. On Monday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, before the Phillies lost another game because of another lackluster pitching performance, a herd of 20-some reporters surrounded catcher Erik Kratz at his locker after the lineup was posted. Kratz, who had started five of the first six games, was not in the lineup to catch Roy Halladay. As the questions for Kratz somehow continued for nearly 10 minutes, a trio of starting pitchers looked on and obviously knew what was up. The easy-to-write story was that the Phils pitchers and catchers weren't in sync, and thus, a change behind the plate in the form of Humberto Quintero.

Bruce Springsteen blared on the sound system at the end of the sixth inning Monday night at Citizens Bank Park. I had a friend who was a big baseball player . . . He could throw that speedball by you, make you look like a fool, boy . . . Glory days, well, they'll pass you by . . . Roy Halladay wasn't around to hear it. His latest ominous outing had ended after three consecutive batters reached base in the top of the fifth inning....

The cameras first surrounded Erik Kratz, who said he was "disappointed" when he arrived Monday at Citizens Bank Park and did not see his name in the lineup. Then the pack shuffled to the other side of the Phillies clubhouse to question Humberto Quintero. All the while, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Cole Hamels stared as the two catchers were interviewed. Halladay, immersed in preparation for his start, raised his head from his notes and sneered. The players may have viewed it as a media concoction, but the melodrama Monday was set in motion by Halladay's words five days earlier.

Things are not quite the same as they used to be around here. That point was driven home during the first series of the season when the young Atlanta Braves took two out of three games from the Phillies, showing off their power in the process. Meanwhile, in Washington, the young Nationals opened the season with three straight wins while allowing only one run to the wretched Miami Marlins. The Phillies had a lot of success for a long time, but they may be finally paying the price.