Jan 24 2009
Utley expects to be ready by Opening Day
According to All-Star second baseman Chase Utley, his rehab from hip surgery is on schedule and he expects to be in the starting line-up when the Philadelphia Phillies host the Atlanta Braves in the first game of the 2009 season on April 5th. Utley went under the knife on November 24th, but claims to be about two or three weeks away from being able to swing a bat. As a result of the surgery, Chase has stayed in Philly and has been rehabbing five days a week at Citizens Bank Park with the Phillies training staff. In the last month, he has added more strength conditioning to his rehab and is also running on an underwater treadmill. However, Utley says that he should be able to start running on land in the next few weeks. Utley will take his rehab to Clearwater, Florida in early February when the Phillies begin Spring Training.
As long as there are no set backs, Chase will be in the line-up when the Phils begin the defense of their World Series title. However, if he is unable to go, I’d expect Eric Bruntlett to see the bulk of the time at second base in his absence. The only way that the man who scored the game-winning run in Game 5 of the World Series won’t start for an injured Utley would be if he suffers an injury or if the Phigtins get an out-of-this-world spring performance by either highly-touted prospect Jason Donald or Marcus Giles, the former second baseman for the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres. Ultimately, I’m not sure how much of a chance Giles actually has to make the team since he was dreadful in 2007 and didn’t play at all in 2008. It also doesn’t seem like the Phils are in any rush to let Donald begin racking up service time, so there’s a pretty good chance that he’ll start the year in the minors even though he flat out raked last season in the minors, during the Olympics, and in the Arizona Fall League. Donald looks like he could be a nice contributor to this organization in the near future or be a big trade chip come July 31st.
In other Phillies news, the battle for the final spot in the pitching rotation is a four-man race between Kyle Kendrick, J.A. Happ, Chan Ho Park, and Carlos Carrasco. I would guess that the spot is Kendrick’s to lose. I think that J.C. Romero’s suspension may hurt Happ’s chances a bit since they may want to use him as another lefty in the bullpen for the first two months. I also think that Park or Carrasco would have to pitch like Cy Young to win the #5 spot. Carrasco would probably be the long shot out of the group since the Phillies seem like they want him to get some more seasoning in AAA.
Since Adam Eaton was a downright disgrace after being sent to the minors (somehow he actually pitched worse), GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said that he will not be competing for the final rotation spot. Who does Ruben think he’s kidding? There’s no way that Eaton will be a part of this organization at any level in two months, let lone be in the running for a roster spot. Eaton’s excuse for his 0-5 record with a 7.02 ERA in seven starts in single-A Lakewood, double-A Reading and triple-A Lehigh Valley was that the Phillies didn’t tell him that he needed to pitch well and try to win games in the minors. Are you serious? What did he think he was supposed to do down there? Additionally, during the NLDS, Eaton refused to go to Florida with the other pitchers not on the post-season roster to stay sharp in case someone got injured. Instead, he opted to just go home and collect his insanely overpaid salary. What a team player. Since Eaton has been the definition of a bust, it’s only a matter of time before the Phillies release him and just eat his salary. It’s really a shame that all MLB contracts are guaranteed since there’s no way that Eaton deserves $8.5 million this year and a $500,000 buyout of his 2010 club option. With as much money as Eaton has stolen from the Phillies in his two years with the club, he should be thrown in jail for grand larceny.
Finally, there’s one more name to add in the Phillies’ search for a right-handed bat on the bench: Ty Wigginton. I don’t know if he’ll want to be a reserve, but he’s probably one of the better options that the Phils have right now. Last season in 111 games with Houston, Wigginton hit .285 with 23 HR, 58 RBI, and 50 runs. He can also play first base, second base, third base, left field, and right field. In addition to needing a possible fill-in for Utley, third baseman Pedro Feliz also underwent surgery on his injured back in November, so that’s another reason why the Phillies are considering a bunch of guys that are essentially “super utility” players. Hopefully the Phightins will be able to land a solid bench guy that will be productive when Uncle Charlie calls him into the line of duty. At least it’s good to know that Amaro is trying to bring some quality guys into the organization. Oh yeah, only 20 days until Spring Training.
Go Phillies.
