Mar. 18 -- Day 34: THE BOOK ON COSTE

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- So, Chris Coste's autobiography, "The 33-Year-Old Rookie," hits the bookstores today. Back in January, I spoke to Coste and Tim Bartlett, one of his editors at Random House, about how the book came to fruition. Coste said the final thrill will come today when he actually sees the book in Barnes & Noble. He has an autograph signing at a nearby store after today's game. (Reliever Clay Condrey, Coste's close friend, has volunteered to serve as his personal bodyguard for each of his personal appearances now that he's a published author.)

But yesterday was a big day for Coste, too. With catchers Jason Jaramillo and Pete Laforest headed to minor-league camp, Coste is all but guaranteed a job on the opening-day roster for the first time in his long and winding career. After yesterday's game, I spoke with Coste about his newfound job security. Interestingly, he attributes his roster standing to Carlos Ruiz's success last year.

"I appreciate Ruiz probably more than any guy in here because if he’s having success, he'll keep playing a lot," Coste said. "And then, the front office can look at the catchers and say, 'Why change anything?'"

Coste's prediction for Ruiz this season: .295, 19 home runs, 75 RBIs.

I think the Phillies would take that from their starting catcher. So would Coste, who harbors no illusions that he's Ruiz backup.

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Within the notebook, there's more on Kris Benson's setback, Brad Lidge's progress and Chad Durbin's latest challenge for the No. 5 starter job. Durbin pitched fairly well yesterday against the Indians -- 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R/ER, 2 BB, 1 K -- and interestingly, he has been scheduled to start again Saturday. Adam Eaton, meanwhile, will follow starter Kyle Kendrick into Friday's game against the Twins at Fort Myers. I wouldn't read too much into that just yet. I still think Eaton is the frontrunner to be the No. 5 starter, unless his last few spring-training outings are terrible.

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Another gorgeous morning here -- 70 degrees, going up to about 80. The Phillies' lineup for today's game against the Rays and pitcher Matt Garza at Bright House Field: SS Jimmy Rollins (.195), CF Shane Victorino (.268), 2B Chase Utley (.237), 1B Ryan Howard (.349), LF Pat Burrell (.243), RF Geoff Jenkins (.136), 3B Pedro Feliz (.238), C Chris Coste (.222), LHP Cole Hamels (0-1, 12.60).