Spring Training

To make room on the 40-man roster for Jimmy Rollins, the Phillies waived infielder Carlos Rivero. He was claimed by the Washington Nationals on Wednesday. Rivero, 23, was acquired off waivers by the Phillies last winter. He hit .270 with 16 home runs, mostly at double-A Reading, with a brief stint at triple-A Lehigh Valley coming at the end of the season. He was a shortstop in the Cleveland organization before the Phillies moved him to third base. He made 27 errors at third in 2011.

The Phillies have signed infielders Anthony Hewitt, Pablo Ozuna and Jorge Velandia and lefthanded pitcher Jacob Woods to minor-league contracts and invited them to spring training. Hewitt, 19, was the Phillies' first-round selection in last year's draft. In 33 games with the rookie-level Gulf Coast Phillies in 2008, Hewitt batted .197 with seven doubles, one home run and nine RBI. Ozuna split the 2008 season between the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers, hitting a combined .260 with one home run and nine RBIs in 68 games.

Baseball's spring training officially opens today. " These words drifted out of my car radio on the 16th of February. Like the initial effects of a fine wine, they entered my body, were absorbed by my brain, and eventually touched my spirit. My mundane concerns became lighter, I was less self absorbed, and I could feel myself connect with something better and greater than myself. The life cycle had begun again. I have been a lifelong Phillies fan and have daydreamed about going to spring training.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - It has long been scientific fact that nothing in the universe travels faster than the speed of light. Not even Superman. In a total vacuum, light travels at 299,792,458 meters per second, the equivalent of seven trips around the earth. That's a "One Mississippi. " However, the index finger of Phillies GM Ruben Amaro is believed to have surpassed the speed of light Saturday just about the time woozy catcher Carlos Ruiz was led off the field at San Juan's Hiram Bithhorn Stadium with a neck injury suffered during Panama's 7-0 WBC loss to Puerto Rico.

It's that time of year again, and the boys of summer have taken over Florida. The players are checking out their swings and pitches, working out their quads and deltoids, moving out of their off-season slack-and-slump into high gear. The sportswriters have stocked up on #15 sun screen and have headed down south, too. Soon it will be time for the stadiums to hire hot dog hawkers and beer vendors and Cooperstown will rouse itself from hibernation to prepare for its annual onslaught of visitors.

And now Week in Review asks the question we know ranks first and foremost on all of your minds: What has the shortened spring training wrought? Our answer, after a highly scientific study involving the use of complex mathematical instruments such as a $1.79 solar calculator: Not much. The Week in Review staff has diligently analyzed the first 10 days of this season (or roughly two times around every team's starting rotation). Then we compared our findings with the first 10 days of last season.

THE CITY OF Clearwater is expected to approve, at a City Council meeting tonight, a $2.9 million renovation to the Phillies' spring training complex. The upgrade would include a 20,000-square foot training center at the Carpenter Complex, with six air-conditioned batting cages, a weightroom, office space and a video room, and new batting cages at Bright House Field, according to the St. Petersburg Times. The plan calls for the Phillies to repay roughly $900,000 over the remaining 12 years of its contract with the city by giving 60 cents on each spring training ticket.

Charlie Manuel was hoping Cole Hamels would use his final spring training appearance to give tangible evidence that the lefthander was prepared to put his forgettable 2009 season behind him. The Phillies' manager will have to wait until the games begin to count. Hamels came up short in his quest to find a bit of a groove for his scheduled start against Washington next week. The Pittsburgh Pirates got to him for three runs and eight hits over three innings in an exhibition game Friday night at Citizens Bank Park.

Infield prospect Jason Donald and veteran second baseman Marcus Giles are among nine players the Phillies invited to spring training yesterday. Donald, 24, hit .307 with 14 home runs and 54 runs batted in at Double A Reading and was a member of the U.S. Olympic team that won a bronze medal in Beijing. He also starred in the Arizona Fall League, where he was named to the Top Prospect Team. An All-Star in 2003, Giles, 30, agreed to a minor league contract Tuesday after sitting out last season.

Although most of the Phillies' starting positions are already set with the exception of rightfield, there are still several things that fans can look out for as Grapefruit League games begin this weekend in Clearwater, Fla. "I would try to get the spring-training roster right away," said Tom McCarthy, who returns as the Phillies' play-by-play television announcer. "There are going to be a lot of numbers and players that you may not know. " There will certainly be some new faces around Bright House Field, and with the departure of free-agent rightfielder Jayson Werth, there will be a heated position battle among outfielders Ben Francisco, John Mayberry Jr. and Domonic Brown.