Reds' Phillips makes happy return to Jacobs Field

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Brandon Phillips hadn't smiled this much at Jacobs Field since the day he was brought up to the big leagues by the Cleveland Indians back in 2002.
"All of this for me?" Phillips said as he met a throng of reporters gathered in the visitors' dugout two hours before his Cincinnati Reds opened a three-game interleague series Friday night against his former team.
"I'm happy to be back, but sad that it's on the other side," the Reds' second baseman said. "But then I'm happy to be on the other side and getting a second chance."
Phillips has made the most of his playing time since being dealt by Cleveland on April 7. He came to town a candidate for a spot on the NL All-Star team, hitting .314 with seven homers, 43 RBIs and 14 stolen bases in 64 games.
The Indians envisioned Phillips as an All-Star when they acquired him as a minor leaguer from the Montreal Expos on June 27, 2002, for right-hander Bartolo Colon. Outfielder Grady Sizemore and left-hander Cliff Lee, now mainstays in Cleveland, also were in that trade, but there was no question the Indians considered Phillips the key.
Moved from his natural position of shortstop and handed Cleveland's starting second base job in 2003, Phillips flopped miserably, batting only .208 with 77 strikeouts. He was sent to Triple-A Buffalo, where he sulked throughout the second half of 2003 and most of 2004.
"Not everyone can start off like [Albert] Pujols in their first year," Phillips said. "It's about learning. I did rookie things and they signed [Ronnie] Belliard, so I went to the back burner."
Phillips played only 12 games in Cleveland the next two years, hitting .129 (4-for-31). With Belliard established at second and young Jhonny Peralta developing at shortstop, the only role left for Phillips was as a utility infielder. He lost a spring training competition for that job to veteran Ramon Vazquez.
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