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.

Merry training camp season, everyone. It’s been a long offseason, but football is finally gearing up again and to celebrate I’m rolling out a new series on TSR entitled “2010 NFL Question Marks,” where I discuss one or two of the biggest concerns that teams have heading into the new season. Granted, some teams have more issues than others, but I’ll primarily be focusing on the biggest problem areas. Today I’ll be discussing the issues the Chargers could have up front on defense.

Thanks to GM A.J. Smith’s ongoing battle with the disgruntled Vincent Jackson, one could argue that receiver will be the Chargers’ biggest weakness heading into the new season. But even without Jackson, quarterback Philip Rivers will have plenty of targets to throw to in tight end Antonio Gates, wideout Malcom Floyd and up-and-comer Legedu Naanee.

With that in mind, the Bolts’ biggest issue still lies on the defensive side of the ball.

In 2009, the Chargers ranked 20th in the league against the run, allowing 117.6 yards per game. After Smith failed to address the defensive line this offseason, run defense could once again be the team’s Achilles heel.

Luis Castillo is still considered the team’s best defensive lineman, but he finished last year with career-lows in sacks (one) and tackles (25). He also underwent offseason shoulder surgery and has missed 15 starts over the past four seasons.

At the other end spot is Jacques Cesaire, who only remains the starter because the team has nobody better behind him. He was fine as a third defensive end behind Castillo and Igor Olashansky (now with the Cowboys), but struggles as an every down starter. He doesn’t have great size, he lacks power and he wears down throughout the course of games, which are three attributes that no 3-4 defensive end (or any defensive end for that matter) should have.

After the team released Jamal Williams in March, Antonio Garay is expected to start at nose tackle for the Chargers this season. Truth be told, the team would probably rather have rookie Cam Thomas start, but defensive tackles rarely make an impact until their third year and Thomas is incredibly raw. For now, the 30-year-old journeyman Garay will do, but he won’t make anyone forget about Williams anytime soon.

If Castillo can stay healthy and get back to the player that he was when he first entered the league, then the Chargers might be able to get by with what they have. But considering he doesn’t have a lot of talent around him and can’t seem to stay healthy, the Bolts could be in trouble.

For a team that is expected to win the AFC West and go deep into the players, defensive line is a major hole for the Bolts.

1. Juan Pierre, Los Angeles Dodgers (429)—I had to do a double take. Juan Pierre, still playing? Why yes, he’s only 30 years old, and he had 40 stolen bases for the Dodgers last season. He could easily reach 500 by late next season, putting him in the career company of Luis Aparicio and Paul Molitor, among others.

2. Omar Vizquel, Texas Rangers (385)—He’s 42 and a backup now, but how about Omar’s ’99 season in Cleveland when he hit .333 with 42 steals? The fact that Omar finished 16th in the MVP voting that season says more about the steroid era than it does about his season. Today he’d probably finish in the top 5 with those numbers.

3. Johnny Damon, New York Yankees (363)—It’s hard to believe Johnny Damon has been in the league since 1995, but he has, and he’s been a pesky leadoff hitter the entire time, averaging an impressive 30 steals per season.

4. Luis Castillo, New York Mets (342)—He’s not the speedster he once was, but Castillo stole a modest 17 bases last year while not at 100%, and he’s still only 33 years young.

5. Bobby Abreu, Los Angeles Angels (318)—Bobby has that rare combination of speed, power and the ability to hit for average. It’s amazing he was on the free agent market this past winter for as long as he was.

6. Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners (315)—The amazing thing about Ichiro is that he’s only entering his ninth season in the American major leagues. Once he returns from the DL from a stomach ulcer, he’s going to keep adding to this total, probably for several years.

7. Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Rays (302)—One of the game’s most exciting young players, and he’s only 27 years old.

8. Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies (295)—Rollins is another guy who does it all, including hit for power and play the field like a wizard. A legitimate MVP candidate year after year, and a big reason the Phils won it all in 2008.

9 (tie). Mike Cameron, Milwaukee Brewers (291)—If Cameron had a higher career batting average than his .250 mark, he’d no doubt have more steals by now as well. But .291 is still pretty impressive for any player.

9 (tie). Jose Reyes, New York Mets (291)—One of the cornerstones of the Mets’ franchise and a guy that has contended for the stolen base title every season of his career. Reyes is only 26 years old, and AVERAGING 62 steals per season. That’s just mind-boggling.

Source: Baseball Reference

Which is why it’s incredibly sad that yesterday, the last regular season game at Shea clinched nothing more than a ticket home for the players and coaching staff. As I texted my buddy Dave and his kids during the game (they were there in person to experience the heartbreak), I watched the game and had some awful memories come flooding back—the collapse of this year equaling the collapse of last season. I also felt the familiar disappointment that was a little more pronounced in the 2006 NLCS, as Yadier Molina clubbed a two-run homer the inning after Endy Chavez made one of the most spectacular plays you’ll ever see. Chavez did it again yesterday, and then the Marlins hit two home runs in the following inning off of a Mets bullpen that was overmatched pretty much all of 2008, but more so since Billy Wagner went down with a season-ending elbow injury.

But, well, we can’t change fate. And while the Brewers and Phillies play in the 2008 postseason, and Shea Stadium gets ready to be torn down for good, I’d like to share a few memories that stand out in my mind, whether I was there or not….

1. My first game, July 26, 1971…it took me a bit of research for this because I was only 7 years old at the time. I know it was summer night game against the Cardinals, and Bob Gibson not only dominated my Mets but hit a triple off Ray Sadecki. I can still see Gibson flying around the bases. I also remember how green the grass looked and how great peanuts and hot dogs could taste at ballparks. And how cool it was that you could throw your peanut shells under your seat. And names like Bud Harrelson, Tommie Agee and Cleon Jones.

2. My first playoff game, October 11, 1986…this is a day I’ll never forget. There was an October chill in the air and a buzz in Shea that lasted the entire game. Darryl Strawberry hit a 3-run shot off of Houston’s Bob Knepper that tied it, and then little Lenny Dykstra hit a 2-run line drive homer off Dave Smith in the bottom of the 9th that won it. As if in slow motion, I thought the ball was going to reach the wall for a double, but when it cleared the fence my buddies and I man-hugged and high-fived for half an hour. Remember that high fives were both acceptable and cool back then.

3. Watching Game 6 of the ’86 series, October 25, 1986 at Harry-O’s bar in Mineola, NY with my buddies Tom and Dave. Amazingly, as we all sulked in our beer, Tom kept positive with the Mets trailing the Red Sox by two runs with two outs and down to their last strike. Tom said, “Come on, just a base hit.” What followed were three hits, a wild pitch and some divine intervention as Mookie Wilson’s grounder rolled through Bill Buckner’s legs. So low, then so high. And if you experienced it like I did, you’re getting goose bumps as you read this. If you were there, I can’t even imagine what it felt like. My dad handed me the newspaper the following morning, and the headline was something like “Mets win with Miracle in 10th!”

4. The last game I saw at Shea, May 25, 2002—It was also the first time my wife Jen had been to Shea, and it was while we were dating. The Mets lost to the Marlins (sound familiar?) 6-5 with Kevin Olsen beating them. There were guys like Mike Lowell and Cliff Floyd and Luis Castillo in the Marlins’ lineup and guys like Mo Vaughn and Timo Perez and Robbie Alomar in the Mets’ lineup. Man, how times change. That was also the day I bought Jen a rally monkey, Mo Mo (named after Mo Vaughn). She still says it was the best $20 I ever spent on her.

5. That painful Game 7 of the NLCS in 2006, October 19, 2006. Jen and I went to the Smoky Mountains for a three-day weekend, and while the Mets were playing in a critical Game 7, I was not allowed to sulk for too long if they lost, nor did I want to sulk in the great Smoky Mountains! It rained really hard during our four-hour drive, and even harder once we arrived at our log cabin. Then the unthinkable happened. Right after Chavez’ spectacular catch that I thought was a positive omen, the power went out, and we had to sit in our car and listen to the game on the radio. Making my nerves rattle more was the fear of a black bear rapping on the driver’s side window. I remember hearing Shea fall silent as Molina hit that home run. Then the power came back on, and I got to see Carlos Beltran look at a called third strike against (grrrr) Adam Wainwright to end the game.

There’s plenty more…..the beer man who would shout “Hey load ‘em up!”……my buddies and I, all recent college graduates, taunting umpire Joe West one night when he was manning first base…..going to Shea almost every time Dwight Gooden pitched in 1984, and watching him blow hitters away with the nastiest fastball-curve combo I’ve ever seen…..experiencing early heartbreak when the Mets lost Game 7 to Oakland in 1973….and experiencing it again when the Mets lost to the Dodgers in the 1988 NLCS….and again when they lost to the Yankees in 2000…..having my older brothers take me to games when I was a kid…..watching games on TV with my dad on Sundays.

It’s the end of an era, but memories like this, good and bad, make the ushering in of Citi Field in 2009 that much easier. Let’s hope the magic, mystique and memories continue on, and let’s hope the new era of the Mets brings with it a few more championships.