A Day for Reflection

Yesterday's Phillies game against the Reds was lacking intrigue. We were one day removed from the story of the fifth-starter race when Carlos Carrasco and JA Happ impressed in their two innings of work. Everybody was looking forward to today, when the Phillies play host to the Rays.

Aside from the not-quite-a-rematch of the 2008 World Series thing going for it today's big story will surely be Pat Burrell's first game against his long time teammates. Pat Burrell will play today for the Rays, giving the Phillies fans who live or made the voyage to Clearwater a chance to show their appreciation for him.

It will be a warm up for what should happen at Citizens Bank Park in the On Deck Series before the season starts but it will be nice for everybody.

Perhaps more importantly though will be the performance of Kyle Kendrick, who will start for the Phillies today. Kendrick was removed from the starting rotation last season and was a question mark entering 2009 camp.

There has been a lot of good feedback on Kendrick coming from pitching coach Rich Dubee but today will be Kendrick's first opportunity to show why he should be the fifth starter.

Some consider Kendrick the favorite to win the fifth spot, with JA Happ a logical second choice. Carrasco and Happ set the bar for Kendrick two days ago so it will be important for Kendrick to get off to a good start at the start of the game.

Other pitchers scheduled to pitch today include Drew Naylor, Clay Condrey, Scott Eyre and Brad Lidge.

Jayson Werth will see his first action of the spring as well, batting in the fifth spot behind Ryan Howard. Fans had been wondering if there was anything wrong with Werth but manager Charlie Manuel claimed that he just wasn't ready to play yet.

Manuel held him out because he felt Werth, while not injured, just wasn't up to speed yet. If Werth picks up a couple base hits today fans and Manuel will rest a little easier.

The offense has been straggling along in the first three games, but without Werth and Chase Utley in the lineup nobody should be too concerned. Howard has yet to record a hit (but has a few strike outs).

Greg Dobbs has been solid so far and will play DH today after playing first and third base in the previous games. Howard will play first base today.

First pitch is 1:05 PM and the game will be televised on Comcast Sportsnet (Philadelphia) as well as the MLB Network. Check your local listings. Audio will once again be carried on MLB.com.

Don't forget, you can join in on the live blog at my site as well! Live blog kicks off at 12:30 for the pregame show. Be prepared to share your thoughts on the race for the fifth starter, your thoughts on the Adam Eaton release and of course, your favorite Pat Burrell memories.