Chase Utley Returns to Phillies Lineup, Fulfills Prophecy

The Philadelphia Phillies this season, have been, how do you say this—not good. They’re currently 36-41, good for a .468 winning percentage and 9 full games behind the upstart and division leading Washington Nationals. Things haven’t been going well. There have been ace pitchers not pitching like ace pitchers, there have been a ton of injuries, there have been ace pitchers pitching like ace pitchers but the team still not winning anyway (irony). And then there’s that bullpen, and the way the manager manages it. And all the losing. There has even been a rumbling or two that the Phillies may even decide to become sellers at the trade deadline. They have a pitcher and an outfielder near the ends of contracts that might be worth dealing in order to restock an ailing farm system, previously gutted for star player after star player. This is not what the plan was to begin the season.

Chase Utley has been watching all of this unfold. He’s been sitting on the bench, or in the gym rehabbing his ailing knee(s), or more recently out playing minor league baseball in an attempt to rejoin the Major League team. Last night he did indeed return, and he did all these good things on the baseball field. He hit a home run in the first inning, his first at-bat of the 2012 season. They say it went to deep right field. I don’t even need to watch a video in order to visualize that one. I bet his swing was all short and quick and surprising in it’s force. I bet the home crowd was all happy and made a lot of noise. Utley added to his home run by going 3-5 on the night, adding two singles, one of the gritty and hustly infield variety that hopefully shows his legs and knees are all working properly. After a late rally, the Phillies still managed to lose (see previous note about bullpen), but for Chase Utley: Savior, the night couldn’t have gone much better. I mean, I guess he could have hit a home run in every single at-bat, but let’s not be ridiculous (Pot; Kettle; Black).

So what can we expect from Utley for the rest of the season? Psh, I don’t know. If I did, I certainly wouldn’t be sitting here. I’d be in Vegas, baby, making all the high roller bets and relaxing in a rooftop hot tub, soaking it up with my soulmate. No, I’m kidding, we can give it an educated guess I suppose. The last two seasons, in limited time, Utley has still manged to put up very strong numbers. In 2010, he put up 5.4 fWAR (130 wRC+) in only 115 games, which is pretty incredible. He followed suit in 2011, managing 3.9 WAR (116 wRC+) in 103 contests. When healthy and on the field, Utley seems to have little trouble performing at an elite level. These days, he’s a few years older, and the knees remain a constant wild card, but if we’re to allow him the rest of the season (perhaps a bit optimistic, but hey, I’m feeling generous this evening), there’s nothing to say he can’t add 2-3 wins to the Phillies from here on out. In a tight division, that might make all the difference. The return of Roy Halladay, perhaps a few minor bullpen moves, and getting something (anything) out of the soon-to-be rehabbing Ryan Howard, would go a long way towards aiding Utley and the Phillies on their road back. Tack on some likely regression from Washington’s currently otherworldly pitching staff, not to mention the added Wild Card spot, and hope just might be justified in Philadelphia. Or at least understandable. Let’s change it from “justified” to “understandable.” That’s better.

Kyle writes baseball nonsense at The Trance of Waiting. You can follow him on Twitter @AgainstKyle.