Mar. 11 -- KENDRICK ROCKED, UTLEY, FELIZ & MORE

BY SCOTT LAUBER

First, a programming note: I'll be back in Clearwater on Saturday and I'm staying through the final Grapefruit League pitch on April 2, so the ramblings here at Philled In will resume their usual frequency. Meanwhile, these updates come from colleague Chuck Gormley, our man on the scene this week:

Kyle Kendrick's bid to be the No. 5 starter took a hit today when he got rocked by the Braves. He allowed eight runs on 10 hits and two home runs. Pitching coach Rich Dubee said he doesn't see much progress with Kendrick's changeup, and as y'all know, developing the changeup to offset his signature sinker is the key to Kendrick's success. If he isn't effective throwing that breaking pitch, the four-man race for the fifth-starter spot will come down to J.A. Happ and Chan Ho Park.

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Chase Utley (hip surgery Nov. 24) still needs to do some sliding drills and is looking toward next week (probably Tuesday or Wednesday) for game action.

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Pedro Feliz (back surgery Nov. 20) played his first simulated game today and went 1-for-2. He won't play tomorrow because it's a 90-minute bus ride to Port Charlotte. Also in the intrasquad: Brad Lidge (forearm tightness) allowed a solo homer and struck out one in one inning; Chad Durbin (hamstring) allowed two hits and one run in one inning; Chris Coste (hamstring) went 1-for-2 with a home run; Brett Myers (just getting his work in) struck out seven and allowed two hits in five scoreless innings; Park (also getting his work in) allowed one run on two hits and struck out three in three innings.

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With the Phillies taking yesterday off, infielder Marcus Giles visited Ryan Howard's tattoo artist and got a pair of tattoos, one honoring a childhood friend who was killed by a DUI driver in December, and another for his infant daughter who died more than six years ago after she was born prematurely. On his right arm, Giles had inscribed a cross with the words "Big" Ed Costa, along with Costa's birth date and the day he passed away, Dec. 2, 2008. Giles, 30, was with Costa 10 minutes before Costa was struck from behind while riding his bicycle in Alpine, Calif.

"He wanted to get a little exercise and he was riding around our neighborhood," Giles said. "His wife was coming home from the grocery store and drove around the accident scene. She didn't know it was her husband lying on the ground."

The man accused of driving the pickup truck that struck Costa, Travis Webber, 44, allegedly sped away and was arrested two days later after he entered a diner across the street from a vigil being held for Costa. Costa, a self employed construction worker, is survived by his wife and two sons, ages 10 and 2.

Giles' other tattoo, placed under his left arm, lists the exact GPS coordinates of where his daughter, Lundyn May, is buried. Lundyn May was born two months premature and died 16 days later. Giles already has a tattoo of Lundyn May's footprints on his left wrist. He and his wife, Tracy, have three other daughters, Arringtun, 5, Sawyur, 3, and Tatum, 2.

"She was a little over one pound," he said. "She tried, she fought."