Randolph, 34, had a 1.23 earned run average with 21 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings at Triple A Round Rock. He also had 11 walks. Then again, wasn't lack of command the knock on Romero when the Phillies signed him after he was released by the Red Sox last season?

Randolph was assigned to Triple A Lehigh Valley. In his first two appearances for the IronPigs he pitched three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and walking just one batter.

"Everyone's like, 'Steve, your mechanics are fine.' I can go in the bullpen and throw boom, boom, boom. And then all of a sudden in the game and you try to do a little extra and the ball might move a little extra and be off the plate," Randolph said at Coca-Cola Field before Tuesday night's game against Norfolk.

"Everybody talks about it and stresses about it. I'm to the point now where, you know what, I'm just going to continue to pitch and get people out and hopefully that takes care of the rest. I can't sit here and worry about command, command, command every time I go out there or all of a sudden I'll start walking people.

"So I just go out, try to get outs, put up zeroes and try to work my way back to the big leagues."

He could have some competition when and if the Phillies decide to make that call, though. If the big club decides to tap its top farm team for a lefthanded reliever (instead of, say, going to Double A Reading for Fabio Castro or Josh Outman), it could choose Randolph, Steve Kline or R.J. Swindle. Each offers something a little different.

Kline has the most experience. He's 35 years old with more than 10 years in the majors. After being released by the Giants late in spring training, he signed a minor league contract with the Phillies. It was a homecoming of sorts; he graduated from Lewisburg High and lives in Winfield during the offseason.

Going into last night's game he had a 5.40 earned run average, but that was somewhat skewed by an outing against Columbus in which he gave up five runs without retiring a batter. Without that game his ERA would be 2.03.

Lefthanders were also hitting .357 against him, but IronPigs manager Dave Huppert shrugged that off as well.

"He's back at Triple A," Huppert pointed out. "In the big leagues they hang in there, keep their shoulders in a little better. Here they kind of fly out. He's used to throwing in, power in, and these guys are flying open and hitting that fastball [instead of getting jammed]. He's thrown the ball pretty well. He's got the slider, a pretty good sinker still. He's still got some depth to his slider."

Then there's Swindle, 24, who doesn't do anything to impress people . . . except get batters out with the help of a funky delivery and pinpoint control. His fastball rarely tops 80 miles an hour. And his out pitch is a slow curve that was recently clocked at an amazing 54 miles an hour.

"That surprised me because a lot of times it won't even register on the gun," Huppert said with a laugh.

Signed last season as a minor league free agent, Swindle started this season at Reading, where he had an 0.54 ERA. In his first three outings for the Pigs, he didn't allow a run and gave up one hit while striking out seven in 3 2/3 innings.

Randolph has the best arm of the trio and hopes this fresh start will be his ticket back to chartered flights and 4-star hotels.

"Once you control your body, you control the ball," he said. "It's also fun sometimes having to go out and work to impress people who don't know and make a good first impression. And throwing strikes is the best way you can do that. So that's what I plan on doing, keeping the strikeouts up and the walks down." *