In a few hours, that rascally, famous February rodent Punxsutawney Phil will emerge from his hole and let us know what he thinks about Mother Nature's plan for what's left of the official winter season.

With spring training on the horizon -- the first workout is two weeks from Thursday -- Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. entered a conference room at the Crowne Plaza in Cherry Hill, NJ and gave his own forecast.

The 2010 Phillies are better than Version09.

Amaro spoke to reporters before the Phillies were honored as the "Team of the Year" at the 106th edition of the Philadelphia Sportswriters Association's annual banquet. Here's a little of what the GM of the city's top team said (for more, check out the Daily Times Tuesday -- on the newsstand and at delcotimes.com).

"I will tell you think," Amaro said. "I think our rotation is better, I think our overall club on the field is better. We have more experience, we have more All-Star players playing every day. I think our bench is better. Whether we stay healthy and we play good baseball, that’s kind of up to the players at this stage of the game and up to the baseball gods. I think overall our club, I believe our club is better going into spring training than it was last year."

The Phillies are about to hold their third press conference in the last five days to announce a three-year contract with one of their core players.

Less than a week after hammering out similar deals with Joe Blanton and Shane Victorino, the Phils reached the finish line on a three-year, $8.85 million deal with catcher Carlos "Chooch" Ruiz.

The contract, which includes a club option for a fourth season, buys out the remaining three arbitration years Ruiz had.

The 31-year-old Ruiz hit .255 last season with a career-high nine home runs and 43 RBI in 107 games. Behind the plate, he threw out 15 of 76 potential basestealers (19.7%). Ruiz batted a team-best .341 during the 2009 playoffs.

Ruiz made $475,000 in 2009.

According to a report by CSNPhilly.com, the Phillies and Carlos Ruiz have reached a three-year, $9 million deal that is pending a physical.

The deal would be the third and final multi-year contract the Phils have hammered out with arbitration-eligible players in the last four days.

The contract won't be confirmed by the team until Ruiz takes a physical, which may not be until later this week. Ruiz hit .255 with nine home runs and 43 RBIs in 2009.

He's caught every inning of every playoff game in the last three seasons.

The Phils apparently weren't done with the deals after back to back press conferences with Joe Blanton and Shane Victorino.

Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com is reporting the Phils have signed veteran Jose Contreras to a one-year contract, pending a physical.

Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. kept his comments minimal, which isn't any different than most deals the team makes that are pending a physical.


"I can't really make any comment," Amaro said. "We've talked with the agent, but there's nothing to confirm."

If the deal does become official, it's likely that Contreras could enter spring training in much of the same fashion that Chan Ho Park was in a year ago. Contreras could compete for the fifth spot in the rotation or add bullpen depth.

Amaro admitted the team is looking to address both areas.

Contreras was 5-13 with a 5.42 ERA last year for the Chicago White Sox before getting traded to the Colorado Rockies in late August. Contreras, 38, was 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA in seven games, including two starts. He pitched twice in the playoffs, giving up one run in two innings, while earning a hold.

Less than an hour after Joe Blanton's press conference was finished, a deal with one of the other two arbitration-eligible players appeared imminent. A team official said something could happen Friday.

According to two web sites, CSNPhilly.com and MLB.com, that something appears to be a contract extension for Shane Victorino.

According to both reports, the 29-year-old Victorino will finalize a three-year contract extension Friday. The deal would buy out the center fielder's last two year's of arbitration and one year for free agency.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed in either report.

When the two sides exchanged requested salaries for the arbitration process Tuesday, Victorino submitted $5.8 million and the Phils countered with $4.75 million. Victorino is scheduled to attend Jimmy Rollins’ wedding in the Grand Cayman Islands Saturday.

All the talk about how much Joe Blanton was requesting in arbitration and how much the Phillies were countering with is now pretty meaningless.

The Phils announced today that the two sides, almost $3 million apart in initial arbitration figures, have come to an agreement on a three-year, $24 million contract. Blanton will meet the media to talk about the deal later this afternoon.

The 29-year-old Blanton could have filed for free agency after the upcoming season.

Two days ago, on the day arbitration eligible players and teams submit salary requests, Blanton asked for $10.25 million while the Phils countered with $7.5 million.

Blanton was 12-8 with a 4.05 ERA in 31 regular season starts in 2009. He made $5.475 million last year.

Brad Lidge underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Wednesday. The procedure, performed by team physician Dr. Michael Ciccotti at the Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, puts the closer’s availability for Opening Day in jeopardy.

“The surgery went well and Brad is expected to begin his throwing program in 10 days,” head team athletic trainer Scott Sheridan said in a press release. “We’re not sure if he’ll be ready by Opening Day, but we don’t expect that he’ll be too far behind. This surgery was not directly related to any previous surgeries.”

“Any time a guy has an operation it’s a concern,” general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. told the Daily Times. “But on a scale of 1-to-10, we see this as a 3. We’re not concerned enough to have it be a dramatic issue.”

More in Friday's Daily Times (and, of course, also on delcotimes.com).