Chase Utley knocked out with concussion

Saturday Update: Utley indeed had a "mild" concussion and has been cleared to resume physical activity.  He is likely to play sometime next week when the Phillies come back to Philadelphia.

Like all concussions, it could turn out to be nothing or it could be very serious: Chase Utley was removed from Wednesday night's game against the Braves after getting hit in the head by a pitch.  The early word is that Utley suffered a "mild" concussion (as if there really are mild concussions), and will miss the next few games.  He will not travel to Milwaukee with the rest of the team and will instead stay in Philadelphia for further testing.

When you are coasting to the best record in baseball, minor injuries in the beginning of September aren't a big deal.  When the injury is a concussion, though, it's always a concern.  Given the streaky nature of the Phillies offense, they need to have all bats on hand come October.  Let's hope Utley sits out for a few days, clears the cobwebs and comes back rested and ready for another deep playoff run.

Chase Utley's inside the park home run

In case you missed it, here is Chase Utley's inside the park home run from Tuesday night:

Hmm, that play at the plate sure looked close....

Phillies offense explodes in Utley's return

Chase Utley is so good, he can go 0 for 5 and still spark the Phillies offense.

Utley's return lit a fire under the Phillies offense, just not in the way we all expected. Behind a 7 run second inning that saw them bat around, the Phillies exploded for double-digit runs as they drubbed the Reds, 10-3, in Utley's return to the lineup. It was the most runs the Phillies have scored since April 29th against the Mets.

While one would think that Utley sparked the offensive outburst, the Phils did all of their damage without Utley, who made solid contact a few times but failed to find a hole. Every Phillie starter, including pitcher Cole Hamels, managed a hit in the game, with five of them picking up at least two hits. Maybe the players were just as excited about Utley's return as the fans?

Call it the Chase Utley effect or simply call it a coincidence, it sure was nice to see the Phillies offense awaken after being dormant for most of the season. While Utley didn't directly have an impact in the scoring tonight, his return makes the lineup that much stronger from top to bottom. If he can play at even 75% of his ability for the rest of the season, he will be a massive upgrade over Wilson Valdez and Pete Orr. If this is the spark that lights the Phillies offense through the rest of the summer, the rest of the NL should probably just give up now.
(AP PHOTO)

Chase Utley is back in Philadelphia

He's baaaaaack! According to the Phillies beat writers, after an entire offseason of rehab and a few weeks of games in Clearwater, Chase Utley has returned to the Phillies. Utley isn't in the lineup today and won't be used until tomorrow, where you can expect him somewhere near the top of the lineup, if not in his usual #3 spot.

Utley's return is a welcome sight for a lineup that continues to struggle to score. With Domonic Brown already here, Utley almost here and Jose Contreras expected back soon, things are finally starting to come together for the Phillies. That they've still managed to have the best record in the NL without all of these pieces is truly remarkable.

Chase Utley begins rehab assignment tonight

The cure (hopefully) for the Phillies offensives woes is (hopefully) going to be back soon. According to every Phillies beat writer, Chase Utley, who had been in extended spring training for the last few days, will begin his rehab assignment today, joining the Class-A Clearwater Threshers for their game tonight.

It's a big step for Utley, mostly because it starts the clock for a return to the major leagues. Rehab assignments can only last for 20 games, so, barring a setback, Utley should be back with the Phillies by the end of the month. Some beat writers are even targeting May 18th when the Phillies return from their road trip.

Utley's return won't fix everything that is wrong with the Phillies inconsistent offense but it can only make things better. Even Utley at 70% will be a huge improvement over Wilson Valdez or Pete Orr. The best team in baseball will get even better with the return of Utley, and that's something to get excited about.

3 Phillies in the Top 10 MLB jersey sales

The Phillies are well-represented in the MLB Top 10 jersey sales list:

1. Derek Jeter
2. Joe Mauer
3. Roy Halladay
4. Chase Utley
5. Cliff Lee
6. Albert Pujols
7. Josh Hamilton
8. Dustin Pedroia
9. Alex Rodriguez
10. Tim Lincecum

The Phillies as a team finished 4th in licensed product sales in 2010. With all the Cliff Lee love going around Philly, don't be surprised to see him move up this list.

Phillies sign fomer Met Luis Castillo to minor league deal

With Chase Utley still ailing, the Phillies have made a move for some insurance, signing former Met second baseman Luis Castillo to a minor league contract, according to Jim Salisbury of CSN. While Castillo is so washed up that the Mets released him even though they owe him 6 million dollars, the Phillies are hoping he could be a possible fill-in until Utley is ready to play.

Castillo will never be confused with a good hitter, and, at age 35, is well past his prime, but he is above average in the field and is certainly an upgrade over the Phillies other backup second base options. Castillo has lost a step or two due to some foot issues but he still has a bit of speed and can get on base at a decent clip. He will likely be competing with Josh Barfield for a spot on the Opening Day roster.

With Castillo only signing a minor league deal, this signing really comes with no risk. Should Castillo have one last good year left in him, the Phillies will look like geniuses; should he fizzle out and not make an impact this year, the Phillies won't be paying him much, anyway. If you can get over the fact that Castillo was a Met for four seasons, you'll see a player that could be a minor contributor at virtually no cost to the Phillies.

What are the chances? Chondromalacia strikes another Philly sports athlete!

Apparently, there is a case of chondromalacia going around Philadelphia.

According to PR man Michael Preston, despite his efforts to help the Sixers erase a big 4th quarter deficit against the Utah Jazz, Andre Iguodala has a knee injury that could sideline him for a few days. That injury? None other than the same injury that is currently sidelining Chase Utley, chondromalacia, which is also known as runner's knee. Yep, two of the biggest stars in Philly are both sidelined with the same injury that most of us had never heard of until a week ago.

Hopefully Iguodala has a quicker recovery than Utley or the Sixers are going to be making an even faster than expected first round playoff exit.

Don't count on Chase Utley for Opening Day

As we creep closer and closer to Opening Day, it's becoming pretty clear that Chase Utley won't be ready to take the field to start the season. With the latest "news" coming out today that Utley basically has tendinitis in his knee and didn't respond to a cortisone shot, the Phillies need to prepare themselves for a few weeks without their number three hitter. While the team has currently stated that surgery is not an option at this time, if things don't get better soon, Utley will certainly go under the knife and miss even more time.

Fortunately, not having Utley in the lineup is something the team has gotten used to over the years. Between his hand problems a few years back and his hip issues last season, Utley has had more than his fair share of injuries. Expect Wilson Valdez, who actually did a solid job for the Phillies last season, to step into the starting second base job until Utley is ready. While Valdez will be a suitable defensive replacement, he doesn't even come close to replacing Utley's bat in the lineup. This unfortunately means we might be headed for a few weeks of Raul Ibanez in the number three spot in the batting order.

While the Phillies do have the best starting rotation in baseball, they are still going to have to score some runs. With Jayson Werth gone and Utley not in the picture right now, there is quite a dropoff from Utley-Howard-Werth in the middle of the lineup last season to Ibanez-Howard-Francisco this season. Hurry back, Chase.

Phillies offense disappears as Astros sweep them out of town

With Ryan Howard and Chase Utley returning to the lineup, it wasn't supposed to be like this. With arguably their two best hitters coming back from injury, the Phillies offense was supposed to explode and it was only supposed to be a few days before they took the division lead away from the Braves. After a four game sweep at the hands of the lowly Astros, however, the Phillies find themselves sputtering at the wrong time.

The main culprit for the poor showing against the Astros was the offense that, with everyone healthy and back in the lineup, managed to score only 7 runs in 4 games, an average of 1.75 runs per game. While the Astros do have some decent pitching, the Phillies just couldn't get anything going against a team that has given up 4.65 runs per game this season. What made the series even more frustrating was that the Phillies wasted strong outings from Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Joe Blanton because they were so inept with bats.

It's hard to place the blame on any one individual player for the Phillies when really no one is swinging the bat well. Fueled by their below-normal production, there has been some speculation that both Howard and Utley rushed back from their injuries and are not healthy enough to contribute at this time. Howard for sure hasn't been himself since coming back, going 3 for 20 with only 1 RBI and no extra base hits.

What makes the 4 losses against the Astros even more frustrating is that the Phillies now have to travel to San Diego to take on the best team in the National League. With the Padres having one of the best pitching staffs in the league and the Phillies offense currently flailing, things could get ugly fast on the West Coast trip. Of course, knowing the Phillies, they could easily flip the switch and turn everything around in their very next game For the sake of their 3 game deficit in the division, let's hope that's the case.
(AP PHOTO)

5-run 8th pushes Phillies into Wild Card lead

After a slow start, the Phillies managed to ruin Pat Burrell's return to Philadelphia. Burrell, likely pumped by the standing ovation the crowd gave him, spoiled things early for the Phils, hitting a homer in his first at bat in a regular season game at Citizen's Bank while wearing an opposing uniform. Starting pitcher Roy Oswalt settled down from there, though, mowing through the Giants while allowing 3 runs across 7 innings.

The Phillies offense came alive in the 8th inning when, while searching for insurance runs, the Phils nearly batted around, plating 5 runs off a usually strong Giants bullpen. The big inning allowed the Phillies to win the game 9-3 and take a one game lead over the Giants in the Wild Card.

While Burrell made some noise in his return to the Phillies, Chase Utley was fairly quiet in his first game back in several weeks. Utley finished the night without a hit, going 0 for 5, but he did look healthy, which is the most important thing. As for who supplied the offense for the Phillies, Placido Polanco was a big contributor, going 4 for 5 while increasing his batting average to an NL-leading .325. The rest of the offense came from all over the lineup as every Phillie besides Utley registered a hit and either scored a run or drove one in. Most impressively, the Phillies managed to score 9 runs without hitting any home runs.

While the Braves won again on Tuesday night to keep the Phillies 2.5 games back, having the Wild Card lead is a nice fallback for the Phillies. While their goal should be to win the division, simply getting to the playoffs any way possible is ultimately the most important thing. After all, with a 1-2-3 pitching rotation of Halladay, Hamels and Oswalt, it's not going to matter whether they are at home or on the road to start the playoffs.

Chase Utley has returned to the Phillies!

He's back! The Phillies got some great news as Chase Utley, who had been sidelined since June 28th with an injured thumb, has been activated from the disabled list and is ready to step back into the starting lineup. While the original diagnosis called for Utley to be out until late August, he has once again shown a remarkable ability to heal and is ready well ahead of schedule. It's great timing for the Phillies, who remain 2.5 games behind the Braves despite not having their best hitter in the lineup for well over a month.

To make room for Utley, the Phillies have once again designated Greg Dobbs for assignment. As you may recall, Dobbs was DFA'd back in June but managed to get back to the majors after a short stint in Triple A. I'm not sure why the Phillies aren't sending Domonic Brown so he can actually get some playing time; I guess they are fine with him getting only occasional at-bats with the big club.

Three Phillies named to 2010 All-Star Game

The All-Star teams were announced today and three Phillies are going to Anaheim: Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Roy Halladay. Utley was voted in as a starter at second base but will not be playing due to injury, Halladay was voted in by the players and Howard was added to the roster by NL manager Charlie Manuel.

While it's hard to argue with the inclusion of Utley or Halladay to the roster, you can bet plenty around baseball will complain about Howard's selection. With Manuel having a say in who makes the team and Howard's power numbers being down this year, many will argue that Manuel just picked his own guy, especially when you consider that Joey Votto, who has better numbers than Howard in nearly every category, was left off the team.

Placido Polanco almost made the All-Star team as well but was beaten out in the final stretch of fan voting by David Wright. It's just as well, Polanco wouldn't be able to play due to injury, anyway.

Click here to see the full rosters for both leagues.

Phillies injury update: Utley out 8 weeks, Polanco out 3-4

The Phillies beat writers have spoken and it isn't good news: Chase Utley has had his surgery and will be out for 8 weeks. Yikes. Also, an official timetable for the return of Placido Polanco was announced: he will rest for the next two weeks and will likely not return for 3-4 weeks.

That means we have several weeks of Wilson Valdez and Greg Dobbs ahead, folks. Ruben Amaro better hit the phones.

Utley to have surgery, miss 5-6 weeks

The road to a third straight World Series appearance just got a whole lot tougher. Word has come out today that Chase Utley, who injured his thumb sliding into second base on Monday, will need surgery to repair a torn ligament. While there has been no official word on how long he will be out, David Murphy of Philly.com believes Utley will miss 5-6 weeks.

No matter how you look at it, this is a huge blow for the Phillies. While Utley hasn't quite been the hitter we've been used to over the last few years, his departure leaves a gaping hole in the lineup for an extended period of time. In his absence, and with Placido Polanco also out, the Phillies are forced to turn to a combination of Greg Dobbs, Wilson Valdez and Juan Castro on a daily basis. Expect the Phils to actively be trying to acquire someone who can play second or third base in the coming days.

With Utley out for about two months and Polanco shelved for an undetermined amount of time, the Phillies infield is in shambles. There is no way a team can contend for the playoffs with players like Wilson Valdez playing every day. About the best the Phils can hope for now is to tread water until Utley comes back in August and then make a playoff push then.

Phillies put Utley, Polanco on the DL

This injury stuff is really getting ridiculous. Just when it looked like they might be getting close to having a healthy lineup again, the Phillies today announced that both Chase Utley and Placido Polanco have been placed on the 15 day disabled list. Talk about a double dose of bad news.

Utley's injury is a sprained thumb that occurred last night when he slid into second base attempting to stretch a single into a double. While the Phillies still haven't revealed the actual extent of the injury, they will definitely be without their star second baseman for the next few weeks.

As for Polanco, he's been dealing with an elbow injury all season long and needs the time off to allow it to heal. Polanco hasn't played since the first game of the Blue Jays series so he was likely retroactively placed on the 15 day DL.

With two roster spots now opened up, the Phillies have called up Greg Dobbs and Brian Bocock from Lehigh. Neither player deserves to be on the major league roster but the Phillies infield is spread incredibly thin at this time. As it is, if the Phillies don't make a trade over the next two weeks, you are going to see Wilson Valdez and Juan Castro starting on a daily basis. For a team that already struggles to score, having those two toiling at the bottom of the order is going to make things even uglier.

No, it's not quite time to panic just yet, Phillies fans. Losing Utley and Polanco are tough blows but neither has an injury that sounds too serious. Now, if Jimmy Rollins suffers a setback and the team is forced to go with Dobbs or Bocock on a daily basis....

Chase Utley dealing with injured knee?

We might finally have an explanation for Chase Utley's .257 batting average, .451 slugging percentage and mere 10 homers: he might have a knee injury. According to Phillies first base coach Davy Lopes, "Chase has had some problems with his knee" and that's why he isn't hitting like his usual self.

Of course, the Phillies have been denying for weeks that Utley has any type of injury. Given his weak numbers at the plate, finding out he has an injury should actually comfort Phillies fans as they finally have an explanation for why the 4-time All Star hasn't looked like himself this year. It is interesting to note, though, that Utley's defense has not suffered at all this season.

Hopefully, if Utley does have a knee injury, he and the Phillies wise up an give him some time off. The last thing this team needs is for Utley to miss significant time down the stretch. There is no shame in admitting an injury an taking a week or two off, Chase.

Utley's bombs send Phillies back to New York

(Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

This is why you can't give up hope, Phillies fans. Facing elimination, the Phillies came out and played inspired baseball to get past the Yankees in Game 5 by a score of 8-6 and push the series back to New York.

The hero of the game for the Phillies was Chase Utley, who hit two homers on the night, a three-run shot in the 1st inning and a solo homer in the 7th. Utley set the tone for the Phillies right away with his 1st inning homer, helping erase the Yankees early 1-0 lead and putting the Phils up for good. Utley's homers have now become historic as he has tied Reggie Jackson's World Series record for homers with 5. With Game 6 coming on Wednesday, Utley has a great chance at making the record all his own.

Phillies starter Cliff Lee did what everyone expected of him, pitching 7 solid innings before running into a few bumps in the 8th inning. In all, Lee's numbers weren't spectacular as he gave up 7 hits and 5 runs, but he ate innings and kept the team ahead throughout. Lee's confidence alone has to give the team a boost. Although things got dicey near the end of the game as the Yankees made the game close, the Phillies bullpen proved to be just good enough to back Lee up.

Now the series shifts back to New York with the Yankees still needing one win to close it out. The Phillies will send Pedro Martinez to the mound for Game 6 while the Yankees will counter with Andy Pettitte, who will pitch on three days rest. Given the fact that Pedro is fresh, you have to give the Phillies the edge in that pitching matchup, meaning there is a great chance this series could be pushed to a 7th game. What the Phillies would do for a pitcher in that case is anybody's guess since Cole Hamels has shown he wants no part of pitching again this year.

Keep the faith, Phillies fans. This team has done what seemed impossible before, there is no reason not to hope they can do it again. Winning two more in New York won't be easy but the Yankees will start feeling the pressure the moment they fall behind in a game. Go Phillies, we believe!

3 more to go: Lee, Utley carry Phillies to victory

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Up until today, it seemed like the dominance of Cliff Lee was just something us Philly fans, and maybe some Cleveland fans, knew about. After his World Series Game 1 performance, the whole world understands what we have known all along: Cliff Lee is incredible.

For Lee, it was just another dominating performance, throwing a complete game against the Yankees to lead the Phillies to a 6-1 win. Lee made it look easy all night long, mixing in a few nonchalant defensive plays while striking out 10 batters and allowing only 6 hits. He made the potent Yankee offense look feeble all night, as most hitters that didn't strike out sprayed weak hits to the infielders. Cliff Lee was all business, making quick work of all the supposed sluggers in the Yankee lineup.

The offensive standout for the Phillies on the night was Chase Utley, who got the Phillies on the board in the first inning with a homer, then later added another homer. In fact, Utley was the entire offense for the Phillies until they added some insurance runs in the 8th and 9th innings. Even though they scored only two runs off of him, the Phillies kept the pressure on Yankees starter C.C. Sabathia all night long by staying patient and forcing Sabathia to throw strikes. By forcing Sabathia to make extra pitches, the Phillies were able to chase him from the game and get their insurance runs off of the weak Yankee bullpen.

The team that no one outside of Philadelphia picked to win the World Series just made a huge statement. They went on the road, gave up only one run against the best lineup in baseball and beat the opposing teams best pitcher. Even more importantly, the Phillies have already snatched away home field advantage from New York and have put all the pressure on the Yankees Game 2 starter, A.J. Burnett.

There is a reason they are the World Champs, folks. The Phillies always win the first game of a series and put themselves in the drivers seat. By doing that, they hold all the cards and force the other team to try to adjust to them. Now let's see if Pedro Martinez can pull a Cliff Lee in Game 2 and really give the Phillies a huge advantage.

Utley, bullpen waste Pedro's brilliance, allow Dodgers to even series

(AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Talk about wasted opportunities. Through 7 innings in Game 2 of the NLCS, the Phillies were cruising with a 1-0 lead, riding Pedro Martinez's brilliant 2-hit shutout performance. Then, the Phillies turned to their bullpen and everything went downhill from there.

Why the Phillies chose to take Pedro out after only 87 pitches will remain a mystery, but Charlie Manuel turned the game over to Chan Ho Park in the top of the 8th inning. Park subsequently gave up a pair of singles but then forced Russell Martin to hit a double play grounder to Pedro Feliz. Feliz made the throw to second baseman Chase Utley for one out, then Utley did the unthinkable, wildly throwing the ball past first baseman Ryan Howard. The error allowed the Dodgers to tie up the game and gave them new life. From there, the Phillies used four more pitchers in the inning and eventually J.A. Happ walked in the game winning run for the Dodgers.

It's hard not to place the entire blame for this game on Utley. A double play in that situation wouldn't have guaranteed that the Phillies get out of the 8th without giving up a run, but it would have gotten them one out from ending the rally. What makes that play particularly disappointing was that it was Chase Utley that made an error for the second day in a row. If the most reliable Phillie is letting the team down, what chance do they have of getting past the Dodgers?

There is plenty of other blame to be spread around today, though. The bullpen once again couldn't close things out. Charlie Manuel also has plenty of explaining to do as to why he pulled Pedro Martinez. You can't let the bats off the hook, either. Except for the homer by Ryan Howard, where was the Phillie offense? They couldn't get more than one run off of Vicente Padilla?

While this is as tough a loss as you are going to see, Phillies fans need to look at the big picture. The Phillies did split the first two games in L.A., something the team would take every time. While the opportunity to really command the series went out the window, the series is shifting back to Philly for three games and the Phillies do have Cliff Lee taking the mound in Game 3. All hope is nowhere near lost.

It was just one game, folks. One brutally disappointing game, but it's just one game. There's still plenty of series left to play.