Phillies Notes: Revere looking to regain 'power swing'
It's odd to hear a man who has never hit a big-league home run talking about regaining his power stroke, but that's the subject centerfielder Ben Revere raised Saturday afternoon after finding out his name was not in the starting lineup for the fourth straight game.
It's odd to hear a man who has never hit a big-league home run talking about regaining his power stroke, but that's the subject centerfielder Ben Revere raised Saturday afternoon after finding out his name was not in the starting lineup for the fourth straight game.
"Right now I've been working with [hitting instructor Steve Henderson] on getting my stroke back, my power swing back," Revere said before the Phillies' 10-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
In Revere's case, he is talking about finding the swing he had in his first two seasons of professional baseball, when he had 10 triples each year in the Gulf Coast League and the Midwest League after the Minnesota Twins took him with the 28th overall pick in 2007.
"We've kind of been talking and going back to my old films from the minor leagues with the Twins and trying to find that power stroke back," Revere said. "I know back then I was a 10-triple guy. It was gap to gap with everything, and they want me to get back to that, and I do, too. That's the stuff I'm working on."
In the meantime, he has been relegated to duty as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement while John Mayberry Jr. gets the starting assignments in center field. Mayberry made his fourth straight start in center field after going 6 for 12 in his previous three.
"We definitely haven't given up on Ben," manager Charlie Manuel said. "He might be in there tomorrow."
Manuel said that after watching Mayberry go 0 for 4 with four strikeouts Saturday.
Extra bases
Carlos Zambrano, signed last week to a minor-league contract, pitched in an extended spring training game for the Phillies Saturday morning at the Carpenter Complex in Clearwater, Fla. He allowed one hit, struck out five, and threw 44 pitches in two innings. . . . Lefthander John Lannan, meanwhile, threw his first bullpen session since going on the disabled list with a strained tendon in his left knee. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said the session went well, and another is scheduled for Monday in Clearwater. The Phillies hope Lannan can begin throwing batting practice by the end of the month. . . . Former Phillies manager Dallas Green will sign his book, The Mouth that Roared, from noon to 1 p.m. Sunday on the main concourse behind Section 111 at Citizens Bank Park.