Travis Blackley, selected by the Phillies in the Rule 5 draft this winter and then sent out on waiver earlier this week, cleared and is back with Philadelphia.

The San Francisco Giants, his former team, declined the opportunity to take the left-hander back.

He was out-righted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley by the Phillies today. Blackley will report to the IronPigs and should provide the team with more pitching inventory this summer.

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I'm so excited to be able to deliver the latest news on the story of the spring -- the status of rehabbing pitcher Kris Benson, who signed a minor-league deal with an out clause last month.

The original date of the out clause (Tuesday) came and went. Now there's word from Phillies officials that Benson has been re-assigned to minor league camp.

Rejoice, Phillies fans!

(I really hope we're all picking up on the sarcasm in the three paragraphs above).

Here's the deal: Benson's agent, Gregg Clifton, and Phillies management, namely ultra-secretive assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., have been hammering out additions to the original, incentive-laden deal in the last 48 hours.

The new deadline, reportedly, is May 15. If Benson is physically ready for the big leagues and isn't on the 40-man roster by then, he can, once again, have the choice to opt out.

But, ladies and gentleman, this isn't likely to happen. The whole Benson-might-opt-out thing is pretty much a non-news story.

He wants to be here; the team wants him here.

Benson just said the other day that when he signed, the team said they we're okay if he could just help them in July, August, September and October.

So there's no rush. When he's healthy, he wants to pitch for the Phillies - a team he feels can help him get his first career playoff opportunity with; when he's healthy, the team wants Benson on their staff.

Now it's just a matter of waiting for Benson to get healthy. He said Wednesday that his right arm - which was diagnosed with biceps tendinitis - felt better.

He's scheduled to work out with weights until this weekend, rather than throwing, to build the strength in his arm back up. The guess here is he'll be back having a catch by early next week, in a bullpen in another 10 days to two weeks and possibly throwing in a live-batting practice and/or minor league game in mid- to late-April at the earliest.

When is the earliest he can get to Philadelphia? Apparently by the new deadline date, mid-May. We'll continue to follow his progress... for the time being, the Phillies are hoping Kyle Kendrick and Adam Eaton can keep the back of the rotation afloat until Benson is deemed ready.

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The Archive Files

The Phillies Opening Day starter makes a bold statement - we're the rotation to beat!

Meanwhile, promising prospect Andrew Carpenter helped his stock rise within the organization with four brilliant innings of work against the Bronx Bombers.

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And now for a completely random observation from Joker Merchant Stadium in Lakeland, where the Phillies are wrapping up their Florida stay against the Tigers:

The public address announcer here sounds EXACTLY like Joel, the P.A. guy on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Hopefully there is one other person out there that reads this blog and has heard this guy at Joker.

"CAAARLOSSSS GEEEEEEEEEEYEN."

It's spot on.

By the way, Joker Merchant is a beaut. This is the nicest visiting park I've seen in my 29 spring training games.

If you make a Phils spring training trip in the future, be sure to get down to "The Joker."