CLEARWATER, Fla. - Adam Eaton's first heckle of the 2008 season came in an intimate setting, with a crowd of fans lined up along a fenced staircase that overlooks a practice infield outside Bright House Field.

"Eaton, you're a bum," yelled the man, maybe 20 feet away from the target of his derision.

The heckler wanted to make sure he was understood.

"B . . . U . . . M," he continued. "Bum!"

And with that, the much-maligned righthander continued his warmup in a bullpen session.

"I did have my mental spell check on," Eaton said later. "I was hoping he'd put a 'B' on the end."

Say this much about Eaton: The constant criticism doesn't seem to be hurting his feelings. While other athletes in his situation have been known to turn surly, bitter and reclusive, the would-be No. 5 starter has kept his emotions level throughout his 1-plus year of struggles with the Phillies. Last year, the first of a 3-year, $24.5 million contract, Eaton went 10-10 with a 6.29 earned run average and was left off the playoff roster.

Eaton arrived at camp a month ago saying he felt more pressure to prove his worth to himself than to any third party, and yesterday his sentiments were similar.

"I don't care what they think, I need to go out there and show what I can do to myself," said Eaton, who is 0-2 with a 15.75 ERA this spring and has been sidelined for the past few days with a slightly herniated disc. "Obviously, I know what I'm capable of, and the Phillies know what I'm capable of or else they never would have entertained a deal that we signed."

Eaton threw 25 pitches yesterday and reported no soreness in his back, which has kept him out of Grapefruit League action since he allowed four earned runs in two innings of a 6-4 loss to the Devil Rays last Thursday. He is scheduled to pitch in a game against the Twins Saturday.

"Results are what they are, but if I throw the pitches where I want to and keep them on the plate where I want to, we'll be fine," Eaton said.

 

Lidge update

 

The best news concerning Phillies pitching continues to come from guys who aren't actually on the field yet. Righthander Kris Benson, attempting to pitch his way back from rotator-cuff surgery, will make his second appearance in a minor league game today.

Meanwhile, closer Brad Lidge threw another bullpen session yesterday and will face live hitters tomorrow and Sunday. If all goes well, he estimates that he'll make an appearance in a simulated game sometime next week before making his first Grapefruit League appearance. Yesterday, Lidge threw 25 to 30 pitches, showing excellent velocity and command. Pete Laforest, who caught the workout, said the righthander didn't appear to be favoring his right knee, which was surgically repaired Feb. 25.

"He's got good velocity, and it didn't look like he was compensating [for the knee]," Laforest said. "It's just amazing that it's been less than 3 weeks."

The biggest thing holding Lidge back is fielding; he is still working on building lateral strength in the knee.

"Based on how things feel and how the rehab is going, I would imagine definitely next week getting in games," Lidge said.

Lidge has consistently expressed belief that he will be healthy enough to pitch by Opening Day. The Phillies, however, don't want to rush him back, particularly with a series against the Mets looming in the second week of the season.

"They are going to probably try to hold me back, if anything, because missing a couple of days at the beginning of the season is a heck of a lot better than coming back too fast and going on the DL again," Lidge said. "But that being said, they're going to make sure I'm feeling good and that I can do everything and that it looks good coming out of my hand facing hitters . . . Really, we'll know if I'm ready based on throwing in games."

Lidge is still in the process of picking his intro music. While former Phillies closer Billy Wagner famously took the field to "Enter Sandman" by Metallica, Lidge is leaning more toward something from heavy metal band Drowning Pool.

 

Vote of confidence

 

Charlie Manuel went out of his way to give pitcher Kyle Kendrick a vote of confidence, saying the young righthander's struggles this spring will have no impact on his place in the rotation once the season starts. Batters are hitting .475 against Kendrick, who is 0-2 with a 16.43 ERA in three starts.

The 23-year-old, who went 10-4 with a 3.87 ERA in 20 starts last season after being called up from Double A Reading, will pitch in a minor league game tomorrow. The big-league game that day is against the Braves, whom Kendrick already has faced once and likely will face several times during the regular season.

"Kyle doesn't have to prove anything to me," Manuel said. "I'll tell you something. Kyle Kendrick last year was 10-4 and the way he pitched, it's going to take more than a bad spring for him to lose his job."

 

Hamels sidelined

 

The Phillies aren't sure when Cole Hamels will make his next start. The lefthander had been scheduled to pitch in a minor league game yesterday, but was scratched due to a bout with the flu. Manuel said he'll pitch again whenever he is healthy.

"We'll see [today] if he can throw on the side," Manuel said. "I don't know if he'll pitch for sure [today], we'll just have to wait and see . . . we'll see how bad it is."

 

Phillers

 

The Phillies waived righthander Lincoln Holdzkom, a Rule-5 selection from the Red Sox, making him a free agent. Per Rule-5 procedures, he was offered back to the Red Sox, who refused. The reliever had allowed one earned run in 3 1/3 innings pitched . . . Chris Coste distributed copies of his book, "The 33-Year-Old Rookie" to some people in the Phillies' clubhouse. The book, written entirely by Coste, tells of the 11 years he spent in the minor leagues before breaking into the big leagues with the Phillies in 2006. Is a movie deal on the horizon? "I'm holding out for Disney," Coste said . . . Jamie Moyer is scheduled to start today's game with Cincinnati at Sarasota, though that could change depending on Hamels' health. *