Dec. 23 -- CATCHING UP

Finally back from a great week in Europe. If you're ever thinking about visiting Munich, Prague or Zurich, I highly recommend all three. Went over there with my college roommate, and we ate plenty of this, drank plenty of this and found ourselves gawking at beautiful buildings like this. Overall, an amazing experience.

Now that I'm home, though, there's lots of catching up to do. So, on a meaningless Sunday for the Eagles, I wanted to run down a few Phillies-related items that slipped through the cracks.

* In my Sunday baseball notes last week, I included a few comments from a scout for an AL team who wasn't exactly wowed by Phillies pitching prospects Joe Savery and Josh Outman. He thinks they'll both pitch in the majors. Maybe not until 2009, though, which jives with what the Phillies have been saying.

* Today's edition of the Sunday notes makes the claim that Geoff Jenkins may be a more-than-adequate replacement for Aaron Rowand. Agree? Disagree?

* Savery and Outman lead a group of 19 players who aren't on the Phillies' 40-man roster that have been invited to major-league spring training. The others are: pitchers Carlos Carrasco, Ron Chiavacci, Vic Darensbourg, Gary Knotts and Brian Mazone, catchers Tuffy Gosewisch, Tim Gradoville, Paul Hoover and Lou Marson, first baseman Mike Cervenek, shortstop Jason Donald, third baseman Brennan King, utility infielder Casey Smith and Andy Tracy and outfielders Greg Golson, Valentino Pascucci and Brandon Watson. Keep an eye on Watson. Last season, he set an International League (triple-A) record by hitting in 43 straight games.

* The Phillies will face new triple-A affiliate Lehigh Valley in an exhibition at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown at 2:05 p.m. on March 30, one day before opening the season against Washington at the Bank. For ticket information, call the IronPigs' ticket department at 610-435-3001 or go to www.ironpigsbaseball.com.

* Kyle Kendrick and Chris Coste will be guests at the Williamsport Crosscutters' annual hot stove dinner Jan. 17 at the Genetti Hotel. Call 570-326-3389 for tickets.

As usual, this figures to be a quiet week in baseball. So, in addition to wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, I'll throw out these questions for y'all to bat around: How much attention have you paid to the Mitchell Report, and have the details of the investigation changed the way you look at baseball?