How will Chase Utley’s injury affect the Phillies in 2011?
The unsurprising happened on Thursday: Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. confirmed that second baseman Chase Utley will begin the season on the disabled list.
The thought of beginning the year without Utley is something the Phillies have been bracing for all spring. He hasn’t seen the field once yet in exhibition and with Opening Day only a week away, him starting the year on the DL was the most likely outcome.
Replacing Utley in the lineup is an impossible task. The Phillies recently signed Luis Castillo (formerly of the Mets), but he went 0-for-4 in his Philadelphia debut and may not even make the team if he continues to hit around .250 this spring. Of course, the other candidates to take Utley’s spot don’t look any better. Wilson Valdez is hitting just .239 is a 32-year-old journeyman who has only played in 247 major league games since making his first appearance in ‘04, while Josh Barfield has showed his versatility this spring but he’s still behind Valdez on the depth chart.
As of right now, the Phillies aren’t saying when Utley will return because quite frankly, they probably don’t even know. If he winds up missing the rest of the season, the loss of him and Jayson Werth (Nationals) gives the rest of Philly’s offense a small margin for error. Given that Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino are coming off poor seasons and Placido Polanco and Rual Ibanez are in the twilights of their careers, this is going to be a huge year for Ryan Howard (who must carry the offense).
So what happens to the Phillies’ chances of winning the World Series? Thanks to their loaded pitching staff, they’re still the clear favorites in the NL. But the Braves are a big threat in the division and there’s a certain championship team out West that treated Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt like mortals in the postseason last year.
Of course, the Giants won the World Series last year with pitching and the Phillies have more offense than San Fran did – even without Utley. But the Giants’ hitters also got extremely hot at the right time and this is a Philadelphia club that has been known to come out of the gates slow before picking it up in the second half. Considering they might not have Utley all season, they better kick it into gear right away. Without Utley roaming second base in Philadelphia, the playing field certainly evens out more in the National League.
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Hey, Valdez is hitting .380 buddy. So get some facts and then write the story. Thanks
Relax, Bosh. I looked at an older stat line. My mistake. You’re intelligent, I’m not smart. You’re witty, I can’t tie my shoes without falling over. You’re good looking, I’m not attractive.
I corrected it. Do me a favor though Chiefton, go with something other than the “get some facts” line. It’s tired and writers everywhere will thank you. I’d much prefer you go with, “Hey ass-face, Valdez is hitting .380 – not .239.” Or even better, “Kind sir, you must have looked at an old stat line because Valdez is hitting .380 this spring. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and I’m sure you’ll update this soon.”
No? Not going with that second one are you? Ass-face it is…
Does a 32 year-old journeyman’s bloated spring training average really matter? Jeez…ok, he’s hitting .380. BFD…he also has a .240 career average, never hit .260 in any season, can barely get to .300 OBP, and has 5 career HR’s. There’s some facts for Bosh to chew on while pondering a replacement for Utley.
The key to this offense now becomes Jimmy Rollins. He’s in a contract year so you know he’ll be going all out after seeing the money Jeter just signed for. The question is, can he stay healthy, which has been a chore for him two of the last 3 seasons. Either way, losing Utley now puts a ton of pressure on that pitching staff. Halladay is Halladay, Oswalt is on the downside, and I think we saw some chinks in Lee’s armor last October. I like the Braves better offensively because their production is spread out, not concentrated to one or two hitters. And the Braves pitching is not as far behind the Phillies’ as a lot of people might think.
Thanks, Eugene! Well said, T-Bone.
Oh good, this gives me the perfect opportunity to promote my Comment Section Translator:
‘Get your facts straight’ = I’m deeply insecure, and the fact that you don’t think exactly the same way I do is giving me a panic attack. As a means of getting even, I’m going to nitpick this one little thing you said even though, in the end, it proves nothing.
Note to snarky commenters: nothing will make a blogger dismiss you faster than the words ‘Get your facts straight.’ It’s the biggest cliche in the book. Don’t use it, even when you’re absolutely sure you’re right.
By the way, ESPN interviewed ten MLB insiders and asked them to pick the over/under on every team in terms of Vegas’ line on the number of games they’d win. EVERY SINGLE PERSON picked the under on the Phillies.