Chase Utley has healthy attitude that knee trouble is behind him
Chase Utley doesn't own a Twitter handle and opened up a Facebook account only at the urging of his agent.
While he's easily one of the leaders in the Phillies clubhouse, he's not the rah-rah guy who motivates through the media. In short: Utley isn't one to waste words and when he speaks, people listen.
In December, while Phillies manager Charlie Manuel was getting ready for holiday season, his cellphone buzzed, and when he saw who was on the other end, he came to attention. It was a text from Utley.
"It said, 'If you'll be a good boy, you might get a healthy second baseman. Santa might bring you a hell of a second baseman,' " Manuel recalled on Friday. "Chase usually doesn't say much. That told me quite a bit."
Utley is ready to make good on his word.
Utley, who has been in camp all week, took batting practice and infield work with fellow veteran infielders Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins and Michael Young on Friday, the day before the first official full-squad workout at the Carpenter Complex. After dealing with chronic knee pain in each of the last two springs, Utley also expects on being in the lineup when the Grapefruit League exhibition season begins in a week, on Feb. 23, against the Houston Astros at Bright House Field.
"I plan to, yes," Utley said of his availability.
Utley hasn't played in a spring-training game since 2010.
After also missing the first 7 weeks of the 2011 season while battling knee pain, Utley missed even more time in 2012. Utley, now 34, get into a major league game for the first time last season until June 27.
Utley homered in his first at-bat that night and went on to play in 83 of the final 86 games. He started in 81 games.
But the damage had already been done. Less than a week after Utley's return, the Phillies were 12 games out of first place, 10 games under .500 and in last place in the National League East.
The Phils, of course, were also without Ryan Howard for the first 3 months of the season and had also lost Roy Halladay to injury in late May. If the Phillies hope to bounce back from an 81-81 season to compete in the NL East this season, Manuel said, they'd need at least 140 games each from Utley and Howard. |
