May 1 -- WOLF VS. EATON

Of all the stories I've heard over the past three years from Pat Gillick, one of most entertaining involves a trip he made to Los Angeles during the winter of '06 in an effort to re-sign Randy Wolf. Gillick was sitting in Wolf's living room, feeling pretty confident that he'd be able to lure the lefty back to Philly, when Wolf's girlfriend, a Philly-area native, mentioned she was having her cats flown to LA.

Right then, Gillick knew Wolf wasn't coming back.

Within a few weeks, Wolf signed a one-year, $7.5 million contract with his hometown Dodgers, and the Phillies wasted little time replacing him. Gillick promptly signed Adam Eaton to a three-year, $24.5 million deal. The baseball gods have a sense for these things, and tonight, in the rubber match of a three-game series at The Bank, Wolf will start for the Padres against Eaton.

May the best pitcher win.

Were it not for the latest developments in Ankle-Gate starring Jimmy Rollins, the Phillies notebook in your 50-center today would've been chock full of Wolf's comments about facing his former team for the first time since he left. Wolf, one of the most intelligent and thoughtful players I've covered, had plenty of good things to say. Unfortunately, we only had space for about four paragraphs.

Wolf had another chance to come back to the Phillies last winter, but he opted to go to San Diego. Hard to blame him. Wolf needs to revive his career after three injury-plagued seasons, and where better to do that than pitcher-friendly Petco Park? Certainly, The Bank isn't conducive to pitchers. Wolf addressed that and other topics in a 15-minute conversation with reporters Tuesday. Here are the nuts and bolts of that session:

Q: What's it going to be like pitching here against the Phillies?
A: It's exciting. It's weird. A lot of those guys over there I've played with and I'm friends with them. So, of course, whenever you're competing against guys that you're friends with, it makes for an interesting experience. But I'm excited. Obviously, with their lineup it's a tough task. You've got to be on your game.

Q: Have you heard from the Wolf Pack?
A: Actually, I got an e-mail the other day basically just wishing me well.

Q: Are they coming to root you on?
A: I don't know. That would be weird. I don't know how that would go over.

Q: Have you talked to Mike Lieberthal? Thoughts on him retiring as a Phillie?
A: Yeah. He's golfing. I remember he told me that he is definitely not a professional athlete anymore. I think it's great. He put in a lot of time here, and he was a staple of this organization for a long time. Obviously, I think he should retire as a Phillie. I think that's who he associated himself with. That's what he feels, and I think that's good for him.

Q: You had a chance to come back the past two years. Why not?
A: There was a lot of factors involved. Last year when I saw the Dodgers, obviously I wanted to play for them. That was the main thing. It really was. And then this past year, it was tough. It was a really tough decision. There were three or four teams that I had to choose. There were a lot of factors that went into me signing with San Diego, and there was no negative things against Philly. I think it was the pros I felt for me to be in San Diego was the reason I chose San Diego. That's pretty much it. Everybody in the Phillies' organization always treated me great. When Pat came on board, I thought he was great. He was nothing but fair and honest with me. Same thing with Ruben [Amaro Jr.]. With Charlie [Manuel] and [Rich] Dubee, I love all those guys.

Q: Gillick said you didn't want to pitch at Citizens Bank Park. Was that a factor?
A: That was a factor, yeah. There were a lot of factors. I'm not saying that was the top one or anything like that. There were a lot of things that went into the decision. Pitching in San Diego did have a lot to do with it.

Q: How's the shoulder/elbow?
A: Great. Back to Colonel Steve Austin good. Last year was really frustrating. I was happy it wasn't anything major. Doctors are always really skeptical. I remember after the surgery, the doctors were pumped up. They were like, 'You're going to be fine.' Usually they're like, 'You do this, you're going to be out for a while.' That was something that was really encouraging. Rehab went great, felt great in spring training, and then this year, so far my arm strength has been better than it ever is in April. It's exciting.

Q: What was it like for you to see Phils reach the playoffs from afar?
A: It was amazing. At that point, [the Dodgers] were out of it. We kind of fell off in the second half. It was a great with all the teams that were involved, especially Colorado and Arizona and obviously the Phillies coming in, and the way the Mets played at the end of the year, and the Phillies took advantage of that. I was really happy for those guys. Being here for a while, I understand what the city's gone through and not having a divisional winner for a long time. For those guys to come back and play how they did, I know that was real exciting for them and the city as well. I know they wanted to do better after that, but that's a big step to get to that point.

Q: Wasn't it bittersweet, though?
A: I think we both felt that, but I think Lieby felt it a lot. When we played here, that's all we wanted. Of course, the year that we're gone, they get in there. It's kind of bittersweet. I'm happy for them, but there's an element of jealousy involved. But again, those guys deserved it. They played great.