Yesterday, Dobbs and the Phillies agreed to a contract that will pay the utility infielder $2.5 million over 2 years, buying out his first 2 years of arbitration and giving one of the unheralded stars of the 2008 championship team some financial stability.

"It's a good feeling," Dobbs said yesterday from his Newport Beach, Calif., home. "It's a comforting feeling. You now have a little bit of stability. There aren't very many unknowns. Now you just prepare and play like you know you can play and like you have played in the past."

For the record, Dobbs doesn't expect his role to be much different from what it was last year, when he led all major leaguer pinch-hitters with 22 hits and was second with 16 RBI.

Veteran third baseman Pedro Feliz is expected to recover from back surgery in time to start the 2009 season, and newly signed veteran Raul Ibanez should eliminate the need for a lefthanded hitting leftfielder.

But Dobbs was an integral part of last season's world champions, and he is excited that his efforts were rewarded with a multiyear deal.

"There is a special camaraderie within this group," Dobbs said.

While there were bigger names among the eight Phillies eligible for arbitration - namely, first baseman Ryan Howard and lefthander Cole Hamels - Dobbs' role is an important one on the team.

"Over the past two seasons, Greg has been one of the best pinch-hitters in the game and has also contributed significantly as a third baseman," assistant general manager Scott Proefrock said in a statement released by the team.

Dobbs and the rest of the Phillies are scheduled to hold their first full-squad workout in Clearwater, Fla., on Feb. 17.

"I was pretty flattered when the Phillies came to me with a 2-year deal," Dobbs said, "just because of my role with the team."

Now the Phillies will turn their attention toward settling with their other seven arbitration-eligible players: Howard, Hamels, centerfielder Shane Victorino, rightfielder Jayson Werth, and righthanders Joe Blanton, Ryan Madson and Chad Durbin.

Ergopharm raidedThe J.C. Romero saga took an interesting turn yesterday as DEA agents raided the maker of the supplement that allegedly caused Romero's positive drug test, according to Yahoo Sports and Baseball Prospectus.

According to Yahoo, federal agents executed a warrant at Ergopharm, the Champaign, Ill.-based company that manufacturs 6-OXO. Sources told the Daily News last week that traces of the banned drug androstenedione were discovered during a random drug test of Romero conducted by Major League Baseball during the regular season. Romero lost an appeal, which resulted in his being suspended for the first 50 games of the 2009 season.

Corporate Eyes, a public relations firm representing Romero, did not respond to a request for an interview. *