Chase Utley's Knee Isn't Improving, and Yes, You Should Be Concerned
Patellar tendinitis… Patellar F%#$in' Tendinitis!
You've obviously heard the quip "no news is good news" before…
…well, that doesn't apply here.
CSN Philly's Jim Salisbury is reporting that Chase Utley's patellar tendinitis hasn't improved since the second baseman began taking it easy last week, according to Phillies GM Ruben Amaro. In fact, here's exactly what Amaro said, or didn't say for that matter:
“He’s the same,” Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said Thursday in his first update on Utley’s condition since the weekend.
Better? Worse?
“The same,” Amaro said.
No dissipation of the tendinitis?
“Same,” Amaro said. “Status quo.”
Is that bad news?
“It’s not good news or bad news,” Amaro said. “It’s the same news.”
Super. Just enough material to give the Phillies fan that warm, queasy feeling inside. You can choose, possibly, to find solace in Charlie Manuel's comments on the situation, which put a more positive spin on Utley's pesky patella.
“He’s getting better,” Manuel said. “It’s just a matter of time till we’ll be able to turn him loose more. It’s taking some time but we want to get his condition healed and have him 100 percent when we turn him loose.”
You're more than welcome to play the "who do you believe?" game with this whole thing, but I tend to side with what Rube is telling us. And if you're seeing things from my point of view, the time has come to be concerned.
Utley is still able to take batting practice and do some light fielding drills, but aside from those activities, he's been resting. And resting should result in some type of improvement or healing to the tendinitis… but it's the same. It's the status quo.
We saw Jimmy Rollins go down early last year with the injury bug and Wilson Valdez was there to pick up the pieces. Now we're left to wonder if Valdez will be needed again during the regular season, this time as an insurance policy as second base.
Concern seemed to be a little overblown last week, but with each passing day and no improvement to report (at least in the words of the GM), no news is bad news.