Amaro apologizes, Utley praises Howard

CLEARWATER, Fl. (WPVI) -- Ryan Howard was among the remaining Philadelphia Phillies veterans reporting to Spring Training on Monday.

General Manger Ruben Amaro recently had a heart to heart with Howard after saying this winter that the Phillies would be better off without him.

"I've talked to Ryan about it and I've apologized to him because, frankly, that was more of a private statement," Amaro said.

Howard was short and sweet in answering questions.

He tells 6abc he wants his play to do the talking.

Chase Utley expects the first baseman to bounce back after leading the majors in strikeouts last year.

"Ryan is a very good guy and a great baseball player. I can't count the number of times over the years that he has picked us all up, put us on his back, and took us to the finish line," Utley said.

For Utley and the Phils to have a better finish this year, guys believe they need to have a better locker room.

"I want to make sure my teammates are on the same page as me. The last few years, a lot of us haven't been on the same page," outfielder Dominic Brown said.

"We all can do a better job of being a little bit more vocal. There's times where you want to pat a guy on the butt, there's times when you want to yell at a guy, there's times where you just leave a guy alone," Utley said.

Utley says he still believes in this team and will be more vocal this year with the absence of Jimmy Rollins.