When Pat Burrell struggles, manager Charlie Manuel sits him, his $13 million salary be damned.

Adam Eaton, the intended free-agent upgrade to the starting rotation, is struggling.

It sounds as if he'll sit, too, despite the 3-year, $24.5 million deal he signed and the $7.35 million he'll make this season, most of any healthy Phillies pitcher.

"That doesn't bother me," Manuel said.

No official decision has been made, but Manuel expected to discuss Eaton's immediate future with pitching coach Rich Dubee either last night or today. Eaton's turn to start is Friday in Pittsburgh, but he might be replaced by rookie J.D. Durbin at least once, if not twice, before the Phillies face the Mets at the end of the month.

"I take 'em out," Manuel said of how he handles slumping players. "Set 'em down. Give 'em 2, 3 days off, give 'em time to think about it. Relax. Then put 'em back in there."

Manuel stressed that Eaton has had success against the Mets, whom he has beaten twice in two starts and is 5-0 with a 1.89 earned run average in five career starts. Skipping Eaton twice would pit him against the Mets in Philadelphia on Aug. 28.

Of course, that would mean that Eaton would miss pitching against the Dodgers on Aug. 23, against whom he is 10-3 with a 2.37 ERA in 19 starts, but then, Durbin beat the Dodgers on July 17.

Eaton has a 9.74 ERA in six starts against the Pirates. So, come Friday, he might have a lot of time to think about his 6.36 ERA, worst among major league starters, and his one quality start in his last 10 outings - zero in his last seven.

Sitting Eaton might help. Manuel did not commit to pitching Eaton out of the bullpen; he seemed more inclined to just sit him, period.

"We're definitely, totally concerned about Adam," Manuel said. The question: "How do we get Adam going? What's the best way?"

Maybe the best way to get him going is to give him a paid vacation.

Utley on schedule

In 2 weeks, he hopes to be throwing and swinging in games.

Utley still won't be allowed to grip a bat for at least another 5 days, when he next sees Dr. Randy Culp, who, on Monday, cleared Utley to wear a cut-down version of the splint he has worn since Nationals pitcher John Lannan hit him with a pitch. Utley now can do strengthening exercises, as well as range-of-motion exercises.

"It looks good. They re-X-rayed it. They said it's healing outstanding. They put me in this device, so I can start throwing," Utley said. "They still want me to hold off on gripping a bat a little bit longer just to have it heal a little bit more."

Utley figures it will take about a week of swinging to give him a chance to recapture the MVP form that had him hitting .336 with 82 RBI.

"I'm assuming if it doesn't hurt too bad, then it won't affect much," Utley said. "Obviously, it might be a little awkward the first day or two, because I haven't swung a bat in a while. It might be a little awkward at first, but as long as it doesn't hurt, it should be OK."

Victorino update

It was his third at-bat. He was 1-for-3 with an RBI as the designated hitter.

The Phillies hoped Victorino would return by Friday for the series in Pittsburgh. That assuredly won't happen.

As for any other timetable, "Now, we don't know," Gillick said.

In his second full season, Victorino, 26, is hitting .284 with 32 stolen bases in 35 attempts. He strained his calf in Chicago on July 30.

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