Bill Conlin: All Feliz ever did for Phillies was show up for work every day

WHEN I'M KING of the world . . .

The Phillies will give Pedro Feliz a little more respect than being tossed onto the market like a Cash-for-Clunkers auto . . .

OK, I get it. General manager Ruben Amaro is probably making a shrewd business move by hoping there won't be a lot of clubs lining up to offer a big number - or even a low-medium number - to a 34-year-old player who just happened to play third base for a back-to-back National League pennant winner. Sign him on the cheap after the big spenders have tapped out on the high-ticket guys.

Maybe I'm soft on players who show up for work every day carrying a lunch pail, keep a low profile and drive in 82 runs batting in the No. 7 spot most of the time behind a home-run assembly line. Feliz is on the short list of really outstanding defensive third basemen. To match his strong and accurate arm at the position around here, you have to go back to some guy named Scott Rolen.

The vox populi have latched on to Adrian Beltre as the early-line favorite to be courted by Amaro & Co. in the coming free-agent spendathon. There is a strong Seattle connection in special adviser Pat Gillick, who was a front-office adviser when the Mariners signed Beltre as a free agent in 2004 after he slugged 48 homers, drove in 121 runs and batted .334 for the Dodgers. So, was it cavernous Safeco Field or something else that caused Adrian to hit like Yo, Adrian, a plummet to 19 homers, 87 RBI and a .255 average the year after the Mariners dropped a 5-year, $64 million contract in his lap? Last Aug. 12, Beltre was hit in a very personal place by a bad-hop grounder during a game and missed the rest of the month. Summing up, does going after a notable free-agent flop recovering from a flaw in his family jewels sound like the kind of sharp business decision the Phillies have been making? I don't think so.

Amaro more likely will pursue Mark DeRosa, 35 in February, as the centerpiece of an overhauled bench. Charlie Manuel is said to love the versatility and intensity of the former Penn quarterback. And Dave Montgomery probably would welcome a Quaker alum to counter all the Stanford men in his organization.

When I'm King of the World . . .

It will be illegal for Penn State and the Eagles to play possibly season-defining rivalry games the same weekend. Watching Ohio State's defensive front manhandle the Lions' overmatched o-line, I had a flashback to a great Michigan State team putting a fearsome whipping on Joe Paterno's 1966 team, his first as head coach. "We've got to start recruiting better athletes," was JoePa's grim conclusion. In 1967, he loaded his defense with guys who had played skill positions in high school - Dennis Onkotz became his first great linebacker - and went to the Gator Bowl . . . So Iowa loses, putting the Nits in control of their Big Ten destiny, first place there for the taking.

And when Riverboat Andy, who apparently forgot when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em, decided to fold 'em on fourth-and-short with no timeouts, that big Giants L was on the books, along with control of the NFC East . . . Oh, well, Penn State is no stranger to the Outback Bowl - or worse - and the Eagles have had plenty of practice cleaning out their lockers in early January . . . Meanwhile, Temple has the best Pennsy record East of the Alleghenies. How good does Al Golden's squad look after Navy shocked Notre Dame in South Bend after the Owls upset the Middies in Annapolis?

When I'm King of the World . . .

New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg either will get a sharper gag writer or stop trying to be funny while presiding over a rare Big Apple title celebration . . . Too bad Hizzoner didn't have Jimmy Rollins' crystal ball before Wall Street's bottom feeders skimmed trillions of dollars from the global economy.

After years of sandbagging the winter leagues, the Phillies have gone all-in, with 24 minor leaguers playing in the Arizona Fall League, Venezuela, Mexican Pacific League and Dominican Republic. That's the most I can remember. Notable prospects include Domonic Brown, Tuffy Gosewisch, Troy Hanzawa, Steve Susdorf, Michael Cisco, Edgar Garcia, Scott Mathieson and Michael Schwimer in the AFL; John Mayberry, Michael Taylor, Mike Cervenak, Neil Sellers and Sebastian Valle in the MPL; and Carlos Monasterios in the VWL. So who's tearing it up? Valle, a 19-year-old Mexican catcher, solid his first 2 years in the low minors, is batting .338 with seven homers and 19 RBI in 18 games for Mochis in the fast MPL. Cervenak, a 33-year-old journeyman third baseman, is hitting .370 with six homers for Culiacan in the MPL. If Monasterios' name is vaguely familiar, he was part of the low-level package the Phillies got from the Yankees for Bobby Abreu in 2006. The 23-year-old righthander is 5-0 with a 2.75 ERA for Maracaibo in Venezuela. Taylor is batting .308 for Obregon in the MPL. Mathieson, coming back from his second elbow operation, has 11 Ks in 9 2/3 innings for Scottsdale in the AFL. *

Send e-mail to bill1chair@aol.com.

For recent columns, go to

http://go.philly.com/conlin.