Stuff Your Worries In A Sack

[FanGraphs] - Yes, the aches and pains are starting to add up, but a broken thumb is not the kind of injury you expect to be a lingering problem, and his 2007 problem was caused by getting hit by a pitch. The nagging hip and knee pains are problematic, certainly, but given that he was still an elite player with both problems last year, I don’t think we can claim that either has demonstrated enough severity to cause his skills to diminish all that quickly. Will Utley average 150 games per year going forward? I’d call that unlikely at best, but the Phillies shouldn’t be too overly worried that he’s going to stop producing when he is on the field. It’s quite possible that they won’t get any more +7 WAR seasons from their second baseman, but there is enough precedent to suggest that he can still be quite useful for many years to come.

Chase Utley is one of the best players in baseball. That, regardless of this latest injury, is an indisputable fact. When he is on the field and healthy, Utley produces at a rate that few other players in MLB can match. He walks, hits for power, steals bases and fields 2nd base better than any other guy in the league. But, as an article by Dave Cameron at FanGraphs today mentions, he probably can't be counted to play 150+ games anymore. Age is slowly catching up to him, and things like "knee tendonitis" and his prior hip injury are just the first signs of what may become an issue over the rest of his career.

However, what is important to realize is that the rest of the Phillies roster has been upgraded with this in mind. Rubes was smart, he realized that he had a declining offense that may never return to it's 2007-2008 levels. His response? Build a pitching staff that can help make up for that difference. Think about it, the Phillies pitching staff as a whole last year recorded 18.4 WAR (according to FanGraphs). It's reasonable to assume our four main starters, barring a major drop off in career performance, should be able to better than number BY THEMSELVES (combined last year those four totaled 22.2 WAR, so even with a drop off, or missed starts due to injury, they should surpass 2010's total). Add in a good year from Blanton and decent relief pitching and you're looking at a pitching staff that should be improved enough to handle any further drop off our offense has.

So, while we are all worried about Utley, the Phillies are still a very good team built to handle the 162 game schedule in a variety of ways. If the offense goes cold, the pitching can help them avoid long losing streaks. When the offense is hot, they'll dominate. Let's all hope Utley get healthy, but lets not worry too much just yet. This team is going to win a lot of games this year. Trust me.

Now back to your regularly scheduled funny videos and crazy news stories.

Kinda Like Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park is obviously a great movie. Sure, it's a little ridiculous at times, but who the hell cares? You have dinosaurs eating people, dinosaurs eating some more people and, of course, dinosaurs eating some other people. It really doesn't get much better than that.

That said, the Phillies kinda suck. Ok, they totally blow right now. Very little has gone right for this team since the middle of May and things aren't looking great as we near the All-Star break. Minus Roy Halladay being everything we hoped he would be, the rest of this high-priced team has performed woefully under expectations. After tonight's 7-5 lost to the Braves, the Phils sit six games back in the division (three out of the wildcard, pending the Dodgers-Marlins result). This certainly isn't the where I'd thought we'd be come early July. Which of course, got me to thinking...

The Cubbies Come to Town

There aren't many teams over the last 100 years that have been less successful than the Phillies. 10,000 losses is pretty hard to compare to. But know this, if you asked a Cubs fan to trade the Cubs history for the Phillies history, I bet they'd say yes. Two World Series titles since 1980 looks like millions when compared to none since 1908. (But at least they aren't Cleveland, right?)

Tonight the Phillies start a quick two-game set with the Cubbies, before they get ready for the Sox this weekend. While the Cubs have struggled mightly this year, the Phillies would do best not to look past them. There are still some dangerous hitters in that lineup, even if most of them have been slumping all year. Plus, we'll face their best pitcher (Ryan Dempster) tomorrow. Here are the matchups:

Tonight: Moyer (5-2, 4.57 ERA) v. Gorzelanny (1-4, 3.60 ERA)
Tomorrow: Blanton (1-2, 5.49 ERA) v. Dempster (2-4, 3.49 ERA)

Gorzelanny is a lefty who has actually pitched rather well this year. His K/9 rate is higher than it has ever been and he's only had one start with more than 3 ER allowed (albeit his last one). Considering the Phillies can struggle against lefties they don't see often (they haven't faced him since 2007), it could be a tough matchup. Especially since Chase Utley may miss a third straight game with flu-like symptoms.

I do, however, expect the Phillies to bomb the hell out of Ryan Dempster tomorrow. Why? Because he's on my fantasy team, no other reason. I see a line of 5 IP, 7 ER, 2 HR allowed. Mark it down, it's a mortal lock.

Go Phils.

Will Chase Utley Win 2010 NL MVP?

Mayyyybe...? Allow me to explain.

You can't just say yes. Because to say yes means that Albert "Jesus Christ Holy Shit" Pujols won't win it -- and I'm not prepared to make that statement. Since 2001 Poo-joles has never hit below .316 and has never had less than a .400 OBP, 100 RBI, or 30 HRs. Those are big dick numbers, my friends.

But yes, our man Chase is certainly in the chase hunt. Tons of reasons why. Since 2006 two Phillies have already been awarded MVP (Howard in '06 and Rollins in '07), so history is on our side. He might get a production boost from Ed Bighead hitting in the 2 hole. He's hit 28+ HRs in the past four out of the five seasons and finished with 93+ RBI in those years. He plays "old school". His blood smells like cologne. His "game hair" has a Don Draper-like slickness to it.  And, lest we forget...he's the best second baseman in the damned universe!

Also, this 18 year-old New Yorker with the Yahoo handle "Machinehead 625 NYR NYY NYG CUSE" says to "keep an eye on him". If a source as credible as this doesn't convince you that Utley has a legit shot, nothing will.

Boo? Fuck you.

Why We Love Chase

With the Eagles having lost yesterday, again, I figured we all need something to smile about. Well I've got it for you:

Chase Utley.

Chase Utley, You Are The Man!

Last night, the city of Philadelphia was hoping for the best and prepared for the worst. Was it even possible that the hated New York F'in Yankees would celebrate their 27th World Series title on our field? After an early run-scoring double courtesy of A-Roid, it was looking like the night may not belong to our Fightin's. Chase Utley, however, had a different idea.