Photo courtesy St. Pete Beach Photo
Today? Perhaps tomorrow? On May 5 when Chase hasn’t had a Major League at-bat yet?
When?
Here’s what Chase Utley said during a press conference on February 23:
“[The knee] feels significantly better. The goal for me is to stay in one place and improve in small increments and not try to irritate it to the point where I have to slow down.”
“We talked about the transition going into spring training. The first few weeks are going to be a little slower than normal. You guys might not see me on the field on a daily basis, so don’t freak out if that happens. The whole goal is to move in a positive direction.”
Positive direction– got it.
That is why today’s update from Ruben Amaro further perplexes me about the supposedly healthyish Utley, who is most likely going to battle chronic patellar tendinitis and chondromalacia in his right knee for the rest of his career.
Amaro told beat reporters – most of whom passed along the GM's message about a player who, last year, had his “body soreness” turn into two months on the disabled list and a career-changing knee injury with little skepticism – that the Phillies have been “keeping [Utley] off his feet.”
No shit.
Philly.com’s Matt Gelb and Delco Times reporter Ryan Lawrence add some color to that most cryptic of statements.
Gelb: [Philly.com]
“Utley has also been elusive during workouts. He has taken regular batting practice with his teammates but rarely completed infield work. Amaro expects Utley, who is attempting to manage a chronically injured right knee, to play at some point this spring.”
Lawrence: [Delco Times]
“But it is notable that Utley's workload has seemed to decrease since camp started. He's rarely seen taking ground balls with the rest of the team during pregame batting practice.”
The fact that Utley is taking batting practice more than fielding practice isn’t surprising. His issue is irritated by flexing his knee, a movement that is less present when batting as opposed to fielding. So that makes sense. But why, then, has Chase Utley not had one at-bat during spring training? And why is there still no real timetable for his return?
Yes, Manuel, Amaro and Utley all said that Chase wouldn’t see much time at the beginning of spring training. Utley said not to “freak out.”
Got that, too.
But maybe we should freak out.
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