Feb. 24 -- GROWING PAINS FOR SHERIDAN

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- So, if you had to pick one person who is most vital to the Phillies' success this season, who would it be?

Ryan Howard?

Chase Utley?

Jimmy Rollins?

Cole Hamels?

Brad Lidge?

All fine choices. Personally, I'm going with Scott Sheridan. That's right, I'm picking the athletic trainer. Sheridan, a Delaware native and Laurel High grad, is the man who, quite literally, will hold everything together for the Phillies. Sheridan had a rocky first season as head trainer in 2007, dealing with 18 players making 21 stops on the disabled list and countless others with bumps and bruises that never were publicized. The Phillies had, in the words of GM Pat Gillick, "an abnormal number of injuries" last year, and when the season ended, Gillick and assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr. sat down with Sheridan to explore the reasons why.

In the newspaper business, we have something called "enterprise features," in-depth stories that go beyond the usual personality profiles and game stories that ordinarily fill our pages. It's my goal to write an enterprise feature each Sunday during spring training, and in today's $1.50-center, you'll find the highlights of a wide-ranging, half-hour interview with Sheridan, who told us about his two-pronged plan to minimize injuries in 2008.

1. He set up an offseason treatment plan for several players, sending sore-shouldered pitchers Adam Eaton to a physical therapist in Seattle and reliever Tom Gordon to a rehab specialist in Orlando. He also made appointments for center fielder Shane Victorino to see a trainer in Las Vegas who helped strengthen his strained calf.

2. Sheridan revamped the conditioning program, implementing new stretching and exercise routines.

Will it work? Time will tell. But you can bank on this: For the Phillies to repeat as NL East champs, they'll need to stay away from the disabled list.

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Of course, as soon as we started talking about injuries, Brad Lidge aggravated his surgically repaired right knee yesterday. The Phillies bumped up today's workout by about an hour to facilitate a team-wide golf tournament this afternoon. After the workout, I expect to have an update on Lidge's condition, so stay tuned ...

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Perhaps the biggest conclusion to draw from Ryan Howard's landmark arbitration ruling is that the Phillies' window for winning the World Series is narrower than they thought. Rollins certainly feels the urgency.

Enjoy your Sunday.