Phillies.com

Hot topic: Chris Roberson knows he's at that age when players either find their way onto the big-league club or find their way to another organization.

He's not sure which way he'll go.

Entering his third Spring Training with the Phillies, the 27-year-old outfielder received a taste of the big leagues in 2006, batting .195 in 41 at-bats, though most of his appearances came as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement.

Roberson, who had been putting together a third solid Minor League season in '06, is grateful for the big-league experience and hopes it will continue.

"[Being in the big leagues] didn't help me, because I didn't get to play, but I understood my role," he said. "It didn't hurt me either in the aspect that I learned a lot about big-league life and how things go."

Roberson was hitting .292 at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, with 14 doubles and 25 steals when he was summoned for a reserve role last season. With Double-A Reading in 2005, he hit .311 with 24 doubles, 15 homers and 34 steals and hoped Scranton would provide the next step.

The switch-hitter is competing with Karim Garcia, Greg Dobbs and Chris Coste, and he may be hurt by the fact that he has a Minor League option remaining.

"Once you get out of Triple-A, you don't want to go back," he said. "Once you got that taste of the big leagues, you want to stay there."

On the move: Lefty Eude Brito has yet to throw off a mound as he continues to recover from a Dec. 19 car accident. He's been playing long toss and aims to pitch some time this week. Though he hopes the setback won't hurt his chances of making the team, he'll need to pitch so he can be fairly evaluated.

Names in the game: Former outfielder Jerry Martin, who spent 11 seasons in the big leagues with five teams, is entering his fourth season as the Phillies' outfield/baserunning coordinator. He's been a coach in the Phillies organization since 1990.

They're No. 1: It might not seem too long ago that Chase Utley was selected in the first round of the 2000 First-Year Player Draft. He got to the Major Leagues for good in 2004, and is coming off a career season in 2006. Thanks to a long-term contract negotiated this winter, fans can look forward to seeing him in Philadelphia through 2013.

Class of '06: Kyle Drabek has been sent to the Minor League camp to continue his first Spring Training at the Carpenter Complex. He'll likely start the season at Class A Clearwater.

What they're saying: "He still has great tools and is a great athlete. Some guys are just slower to come. If we signed him as a 21-year-old college guy, I might be concerned. When we drafted him, we knew he might be a little bit of a slow-track guy. Everybody still thinks he can be an everyday center fielder in the big leagues." -- Mike Arbuckle, Phillies assistant general manager of scouting and player development, on former first-round pick Greg Golson