Phillies, pitcher Mathieson part ways

Scott Mathieson always could light up a radar gun, but in his limited time in the big leagues with the Phillies he never could consistently retire hitters.

Now, the 6-foot-3 righthander will try his luck in Japan, where the Yomiuri Giants are apparently willing to give him a chance. To accommodate his move to Japan, the Phillies released Mathieson from their 40-man roster Tuesday.

The Giants are Japan's version of the New York Yankees, and Mathieson said during spring training in February that they had offered him a job to be their closer last winter.

"It was an interesting opportunity," Mathieson said at the time. "But I want to be a major-leaguer."

Maybe this will be his best avenue to get to the big leagues while also making more money than he would by spending another season at triple A.

The move left the Phillies' roster at 39, and the vacant spot should soon be filled because the Phillies figure to either re-sign or replace Jimmy Rollins. The shortstop situation will likely be general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.'s primary focus when he travels to the winter meetings next week in Dallas.

As for Mathieson, he pitched in 15 games for the Phillies from 2006 through last season and compiled a 1-4 record and 6.75 ERA. In four relief appearances last season, he pitched five scoreless innings but allowed 14 baserunners.

Mathieson, 27, spent most of the last two seasons at triple-A Lehigh Valley, going 5-8 with 31 saves and a 3.07 ERA. Despite throwing a fastball that often was clocked from 96 to 98 m.p.h., Mathieson never developed a quality second pitch and struggled with his command. He walked 50 batters in 821/3 innings last season.

The other knock that often surfaced on Mathieson's scouting reports was that his fastball did not have enough movement.

Had he remained on the Phillies roster, he would have been a long shot again to make the team out of spring training.

Phillies president David Montgomery eulogized his close friend and longtime colleague Jerry Clothier during a touching memorial service Tuesday at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Chestnut Hill.

Clothier, 66, who died Saturday, had spent 30 years with the organization and was best known as the team's vice president for business and finance.

Montgomery said that Clothier was known for his reflective decision-making and that he'd have been "pleased to know" that the Phillies president made "several revisions" before settling upon his final eulogy.

After marveling at Clothier's behind-the-scenes contributions to the Phillies and his ability to eat without ever gaining weight, a choked-up Montgomery also relayed Clothier's lifelong EGG philosophy, which stood for Enjoy, Give, and Grow.

According to the Allentown Morning Call, the Phillies have signed lefthander Pat Misch as a minor-league free agent. Misch, 30, was a seventh-round pick of the San Francisco Giants in 2003 and has a career record of 4-15 with a 4.80 ERA in 78 games.

He appeared in six games with the Mets last season and was 1-0 with a 10.29 ERA. In 22 starts with the Mets' triple-A affiliate in Buffalo he was 8-9 with a 4.00 ERA...A baseball source said the Phillies have re-signed Scott Podsednik as a minor-league free agent and invited him to spring training. Podsednik, a career .279 big-league hitter, played in 17 minor-league games for the Phillies last season.