Brown tells the real story about his winter

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Front office members told their version.

Then Dom Brown told the truth.

The Phillies' most highly touted prospect was just 2-for-29 (.069) in the Dominican Winter League when he pulled himself off the team and headed to Florida to devote himself to straightening out his swing.

"I went down there and played pretty poorly, so that gave me a little bit of motivation coming into the offseason," the left-hander said Tuesday after working out at the Carpenter Complex, the Phillies' spring training facility. "I'm not a guy at all to make excuses. I just went down there and played bad."

Several in the organization, including assistant general manager Scott Proefrock and manager Charlie Manuel, said that since it was Brown's first stint in the big leagues, he wasn't used to that long of a season. Factor in the playoffs, and his body was fatigued, they said.

"He didn't have a lot of time off before he was scheduled to go down there," Proefrock said last month. "I think it was just something he wasn't used to. But, he'd better get used to it."

Brown is well aware of that, and it's one of the reasons he has not only been working on his swing, but also eating right, doing extra cardio and lifting more. He said he put on about 10 pounds of muscle.

But the bigger story is the adjustments he's made to his swing.

Hitting coach Greg Gross, who also worked with Brown at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, said it's really nothing new. He wants Brown to go back to the way he held and swung the bat in the minor leagues and in the first few games after being called up last July.

In his first 10 games in the majors last season, Brown hit .257 (9-for-35) with 10 RBIs, a home run and two doubles. He struck out 11 times.

In his final 25 games a year ago, he slipped to a .148 mark (4-for-27) with just three RBIs, a home run, one double and 13 strikeouts.

"[When he started coming off the bench] we noticed that he got really upright, straight up and down," Gross said. "His hands were a whole lot higher than they had been previously. What we did was go back through tapes and when he came down here for the mini-camp in January, showed him just his setup last spring, during the year and where he was at the end of the year.

"It was a definite change."

Even Brown knew it. In fact, he was so aware that he worked on his stance and swing in front of a mirror.

"I wanted to come in and work on my swing because I know I had a lot of kinks there that weren't there before," he said. "It really wasn't a tough time for me at all. I knew what I had to do and I knew I needed time to do it. I came in and got right to work."

Gross said Brown told him he already feels comfortable going back to his old ways.

But, really, only time will tell. He could see live pitching next week if Phillies pitchers face their own hitters as expected.

And how well he's hitting could determine whether or not he finds himself on the 25-man roster or playing Triple-A ball with the IronPigs.

"He had a real long cut to the ball," Manuel said. "This is definitely going to shorter his cut. He's a low-ball hitter when he's up [with his hands]. Good pitching can beat that. I think this is going to put him in a better hitting position."

A NEW BACKUP CENTER FIELDER

Jayson Werth was the team's backup center fielder last year, but with his departure, the team needs somebody to fill in for Shane Victorino if he gets hurt or needs a day off.

Manuel's top candidate might surprise you: Wilson Valdez.

"He's got a really good stride," Manuel said. "I think he could play there. Valdez has definitely proven that if we put him in the game, we lose nothing defensively."

IN OTHER NEWS

•Position players must report on Friday for physicals. Their first official workout is Saturday.

•Antonio Bastardo, who has been held back a bit because of elbow soreness, did not throw his bullpen session on Tuesday as general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. expected. Pitching coach Rich Dubee said he's scheduled to throw on Thursday.

•The Phillies claimed reliever Brian Schlitter off waivers from the Yankees. The right-hander had a rough go of it with the Cubs last season. He posted a 12.38 ERA (11 earned runs in eight innings pitched). But in 154 minor league games (190 IP) he has a 3.32 ERA. He was originally drafted by the Phillies in the 16th round of the 2007 draft but was traded to Chicago in the Scott Eyre deal. To make room for him on the 40-man roster, the club designated Andrew Carpenter for assignment.

amanda.housenick@mcall.com

Twitter @inthephilshouse