Good things happen when you mention Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka.

Phillies beat writer Todd Zolecki tweets that the Phillies will activate second baseman Chase Utley (knee) from the disabled list before Monday’s game against the Reds.

Here’s the tweet:

Orr optioned. Utley activated tomorrow. Blanton on DL tomorrow. Worley will be activated.

Utley batted .281 with one home run in 36 plate appearances for High-A Clearwater during his minor league rehab stint. More importantly than the numbers was the fact that his knee has felt good.

It’s an understatement that the Phillies need this guy back in their lineup. They’re 23rd in runs scored, 22nd in on base percentage and 18th in batting average. In their last nine games, they’ve averaged less than two runs per outing (17 total). Over 107 at bats this season, Wilson Valdez is hitting just .231 with nine RBI and has an OBP of .259 filling in for Utley at second base. Simply put, that’s not going to get it done.

Utley may not come off the disabled list scorching, but as long as he stays healthy he’ll get his swing back. He’s going to need 50-plus at bats against major league pitching to kind of figure things out, but he’s the consummate professional. This is the shot in the arm that the Phillies’ offense has needed.

It’s the start of a new year and you know what that means: Expectations are running high for every club not named the Pirates and Royals. (Or Astros, Cubs, Mariners, Diamondbacks, Nationals or Indians for that matter.)

But what postseason contenders are most likely to fall short of expectations in 2011? I’ve highlighted five below.

Philadelphia Phillies
When a team is hyped for an entire offseason, it almost becomes cliché to say that they’ll fall short of expectations. But in the case of the Phillies, there’s some major concern here. It’s impossible to replace Chase Utley’s production in the lineup and this is an aging roster. Yes, the Halladay/Lee/Oswalt/Hamels/Blanton combination will keep most opposing batters up at night and yes, the Phillies will probably win the NL East. But the Braves aren’t too far behind talent-wise and Philadelphia has become a club that starts off slow only to pick it up in the second half. If Atlanta comes out of the gates hot and the Phillies suffer some early-season hiccups without Utley, the Braves might be able to build a decent lead that they can ride throughout the season. Barring injury to Halladay or Lee, I can’t imagine a scenario in which the Phillies don’t make the playoffs this year. But without Utley, the playing field has definitely been leveled in the National League.

San Francisco Giants
This is an easy one. It’s been 10-straight years since the last time any team was able to repeat as World Series champions. And while the G-Men aren’t considered the favorites to win this year’s Fall Classic (that would be the Phillies or Red Sox), many pundits believe that, at the very least, they’ll win the NL West again. A World Series hangover is the Giants’ biggest concern, because this club is better now than it was a year ago. They’ll get a full year out of Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner, the energetic Andres Torres will serve as the leadoff hitter from Day 1 (instead of the highly unproductive Aaron Rowand), Pablo Sandoval looks like he’s ready for a big bounce back campaign, top prospect Brandon Belt might start the year with the big league club after dominating this spring, and Mark DeRosa, Mike Fontenot and Pat Burrell strengthen the bench. But it’s a different game for the Giants now. They’re going to be the hunted instead of the hunters, at least in the NL West. Can this fun-loving team recapture the same magic it had in September and October last year? Or will all of those extra innings that Bumgarner, Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez endured in the postseason last year eventually catch up with this team?

New York Yankees
Many pundits aren’t predicting the Yankees to win the World Series this year but they’re still the freaking Yankees. Their pitching has been the topic of conversation all spring but everyone still expects the Bombers to battle the Red Sox in the AL East. That said, their lineup is aging and yes, their pitching is a major concern. CC Sabathia is a stud, but A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova will make or break this club. They’re going to score plenty of runs and their bullpen is solid but the Yankees don’t have much in terms of starting pitching depth. God forbid the offense struggles or someone like Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira or A-Rod gets hurt because this team could be in major trouble.

Milwaukee Brewers
I’m predicting the Brewers to win the NL Central this year but I’m well aware that this team could come up short in the end. Zack Greinke’s recent rib injury is cause for concern and if he winds up having an injury-plagued year then Milwaukee might fall to the middle of the pack once again. This club acquired Greinke from Kansas City and signed Shaun Marcum so that Yovani Gallardo had help. For as good as the offense is, the Brewers will only go as far as their pitching. They not only need Greinke to be healthy, but they need him to pitch well. I still favor the Brew Crew in the Central but the Reds basically return the same roster that won the division last year and now they’ll have a full year of flamethrower Aroldis Chapman. They will not go quietly into the good night.

Oakland A’s
This is another team that I like to win their division but I’m also well aware that plenty of things have to break their way. Although their easiest month is slated for September, their most difficult stretch comes in August when they only have one home stand. I love Oakland’s young pitching, but Brett Anderson’s elbow issues better be behind him or else the A’s might not have enough to contend. Also, will the additions of Josh Willingham, David DeJesus and Hideki Matsui be enough to improve an awful offense? I see a lot of the 2010 Giants in this club, but the A’s will have to have a little luck on their side this year if they’re going to make the postseason (not unlike the 2010 Giants, who won the NL West thanks in large part to the Padres’ late-season collapse).

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.

Given Chase Utley’s knee injury, don’t rule out the possibility that the Phillies could make a move for the disgruntled Michael Young, whom the Rangers are still trying to trade.

According to Yahoo Sports! Tim Brown, the Rangers are trying their best to move Young and are “willing to eat about half” of the $48 million that still remains on the infielder’s contract. Brown tweets that Texas is still asking for top-end prospects, but nobody is biting.

Meanwhile, the Phillies have a huge concern on their hands with Utley. There’s a chance that the second baseman will be sidelined for a lengthy period of time, maybe even the season. Seeing as how Jimmy Rollins hasn’t been the picture of perfect health himself over the last couple of years, scooping up a six-time All-Star and a career .300-hitter like Young wouldn’t be a bad move. If the Rangers were willing to eat half of his contract then hey, even better.

In the end, it doesn’t look like Texas will get what it wants for Young and if his situation is going to be a distraction throughout the year, then there’s no sense hanging onto him. I think it was wise of Nolan Ryan and Co. to be patient this spring and let the situation develop. But we’re about a week and a half away from Opening Day and it might be time to press teams in order to see what they’d be willing to give up. Calling someone like the Phillies who could be entering panic mode would be a good start.

Man, Chase Utley has become a yearly case study for fantasy owners, hasn’t he?

Two years ago Utley was coming off offseason hip surgery and owners were afraid to draft him, even at a thin second base position. Last year, he was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained thumb at the end of June and for the first time in five years he failed to score at least 90 runs.

Now there are reports that the patellar tendonitis that he’s been battling in his knee may be worse than the Phillies initially thought. He recently received a cortisone injection and even GM Ruben Amaro said the knee hasn’t responded as the club hoped it would. The second baseman took batting practice over the weekend, but there’s no timetable for his participation in spring games and therefore, fantasy owners are left with yet another Chase Utley conundrum.

Assuming you were planning on targeting him before the knee injury became an even bigger concern, do you still draft him in the second round (which is what his ADP is in a 12-team league)? Do you pass on him altogether and target the next best options in Dustin Pedroia, Dan Uggla or Ian Kinsler? Do you hope he falls and then scoop him up later when he represents more value?

Hopefully the situation will become clearer the closer we get to Opening Day. If it’s revealed that Utley will miss the first two months of the season, then obviously you’ll have to alter your draft strategy (as in, don’t take him in the second round and be the butt of your buddies’ jokes for the next five years). But if there’s still a cloud of uncertainty surrounding his health, you could wait to see if he falls into the third or even fourth round and then take him when his value far exceeds his draft position. (After all, we’re talking about a guy that when healthy, will produce a stat line around .285-100-25-90-15 at a thin position.)

The key is to pay close attention to the spring training reports so that you can better assess his worth on draft day. You don’t want to invest a second round pick in a player that will either a) miss a significant amount of time and thus leave you with Omar Infante for half a season or b) battle a troublesome knee all year and make you wish you had Omar Infante.

But passing on Utley altogether just because there are some concerns about his knee wouldn’t be wise. Maybe in a week or two you can hit the panic button, but for now play it cool and you could wind up drafting a key player much lower than he was originally supposed to go.

All 2011 Fantasy Articles | 2011 Position Rankings

We try to give our readers a basic strategy when it comes to our rankings and our strategy for second base is rather simple: Nab one of the top seven guys in the first 1-5 rounds or good luck sifting through the garbage later.

Can you acquire value in guys like Ben Zobrist, Aaron Hill, Brian Roberts and Gordan Beckham later in your draft? Of course, but why not invest one of your first five picks in a top-7 player and not worry about trying to address a thin position later?

If it’s your strategy to fill your 2B spot in Rounds 11-12, then great: We don’t begrudge anyone else’s strategy. But we prefer to nab one of the top 7 players in the early rounds and call it a day. Below are the top 7 in 2011.

Robinson Cano, Yankees
Cano was one of fantasy baseball’s most reliable offensive players in 2010 and it appears as though his down year in ’08 is in the rearview mirror. He finished among the top 3 at his position in batting average, home runs, RBIs and runs scored and is easily the No. 1 fantasy second baseman heading into 2011. Expect numbers similar to last season: .319 BA/103 R/29 HR/109 RBI/3 SB.

Chase Utley, Phillies
Considering he’s already banged up, Utley may scare some owners away on draft day. But he’ll still go in the second round so if you want him, don’t wait. Utley’s best days are probably behind him but he’s still a top-five option at a thin position, so don’t talk yourself out of taking him just because he’s been banged up this spring. (He did rebound nicely after coming back last year, so you don’t want to be the fool that passed on him because of his present injuries only to watch him mash later.)

Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox
Pedroia is now completely healthy after having foot surgery last season and while he might not steal a ton of bases early in the year as he gets back into game shape, he should finish with double-digit swipes when it’s all said and done. You can probably expect 100-plus runs, 15-18 dingers and a .300 average out of the BoSox second baseman in 2011.

Dan Uggla, Braves
There’s a lot to love about Uggla’s new digs this season. As a Marlin, he hit .354 in 45 games over his career at Turner Field and while that’s a small sample size, it’s hard not to get excited about his fantasy value this season. His average may drop considerably, but he’s still a consistent source of power and he should drive in 100-plus runs for his new team. Expect him to go in the fourth round of a 12-team league.

Ian Kinsler, Rangers
Ankle and groin problems limited Kinsler to 400 at bats last season but he’s still a top-5 player at his position. He’ll hit around .285 again this season but if he stays healthy, you can expect an increase in his home run, run, RBI and stolen base production. When he plays, he’s a 20/20 threat every year and considering most owners only base their projections off of previous year’s stats, Kinsler may slip into the fifth round and would be a steal at that point (relatively speaking).

Brandon Phillips, Reds
Phillips is the only second baseman to have racked up double-digit home runs and steals in each of the past five seasons, averaging 21 dingers and 24 swipes per year during that span. He’s as consistent as they come and when you draft him, you know exactly what you’re getting. Expect numbers comparable to 2010: .275 BA/100 R/ 18 HR/59 RBI/ 16 SB.

Rickie Weeks, Brewers
Whether his 2010 season was all about luck or a product of staying healthy (uh, or both), there’s no doubt Weeks is a pretty good 2B option when he plays. You can probably expect a drop in production this year but he’ll still hit 25-plus home runs, cross the plate 100-plus times and give you double-digit steals. Not bad for a player at a thin position who you can pick up in the fourth or fifth.

He’s the rest of our second basemen rankings:

1. Robinson Cano, Yankees
2. Chase Utley, Phillies
3. Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox
4. Dan Uggla, Braves
5. Ian Kinsler, Rangers
6. Brandon Phillips, Reds
7. Rickie Weeks, Brewers
8. Ben Zobrist, Rays
9. Brian Roberts, Orioles
10. Aaron Hill, Blue Jays
11. Martin Prado, Braves
12. Howie Kendrick, Angels
13. Kelly Johnson, Diamondbacks
14. Gordon Beckham, White Sox
15. Neil Walker, Pirates
16. Chone Figgins, Mariners
17. Danny Espinosa, Nationals
18. Mike Aviles, Royals
19. Juan Uribe, Dodgers
20. Omar Infante, Marlins