Mar. 23 -- KENDRICK: "I'LL BE BACK"

BY SCOTT LAUBER

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- The rain has ceased. The game has started. And Kyle Kendrick spoke to us a few minutes ago. Some highlights:

On his reaction to the news: "At first, I was upset. But I know what I need to do. I need to go down there and work on my secondary pitches. And I'll be back. I didn't show my off-speed stuff early enough. It was a little erratic at times. It needs to get better. I need to get better. I'll go down there with a clear mind and get better, and I'll be back. It was hard to swallow at first, but I know if I go down there and do what I need to do, it's going to help."

On going to triple-A instead of to the Phillies' bullpen: "I think they see me, and I see myself, as a starter for my career. I'm not going to be a bullpen guy. So, if there's no room here, obviously, I'll go to triple-A. I'll go down there and work on those pitches and come back."

On winning 21 games in the majors over the past two seasons with essentially one pitch: "When I came up, I was a one-pitch pitcher. The slider was OK. But I was mainly a one-pitch pitcher. I think the league figured that out. I've tried to develop my changeup. It took a little longer than what I liked, what they liked. So, I'll work on those pitches. In the minors, it's more about development instead of numbers. One thing I need to do is go down there and not pitch how I've been pitching with just my sinker. I need to go down there and develop my changeup, develop my curve, develop my slider, and not just trying to get back here. If I go down there and throw my changeup and it gets hit for a home run, I need to throw it again, not worry about my numbers. I need to worry about what I need to do."

On whether a trip to the minors can do for him what it did for Brett Myers last year: "Definitely. I've heard stories about guys going down and coming back up. Guys take a step backward. Look at Jamie's [Moyer] career. I know what I need to do. That's the good thing."

On whether he thought this might be coming: "I'm not going to lie. I knew they [J.A. Happ and Chan Ho Park] were pitching good, and I had a couple games where I didn't pitch good. I knew what I needed to do, and I didn't do well, obviously. Those guys pitched good. But I know what it's going to take to get me back here. I thought about my options, what could happen. All the options kind of crossed my mind."

More later.