Checking on Florida Phillies
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Checking on Florida Phillies
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
TORONTO — Chase Utley (knees) played five innings at second base in a minor-league intrasquad game Saturday and went 2 for 3 with a walk. Utley made his first appearance in the field Friday with four innings of work.
Ryan Howard (Achilles) played in the same game and went 2 for 4 with a home run but did not run the bases. Afterward, he took grounders at first and did some light base running activity.
In addition, Laynce Nix (calf) went 2 for 5 and played three innings at first base. He ran the bases after the game.
Utley is the lone player to have started an official rehab assignment. But with single-A Clearwater at its all-star break, camp games are the only opportunity for action.
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Comments (16)
With the way Lee is pitching, I expect him to be down there to rehab too. Perhaps it is not Cole who should be traded??!!!!— Koons- buddy this whole team stinks right now, its not just one guy.— pr0f3ss0r
- I can't believe it, but they really suck right now. Yeah, they have injuries, but that is no excuse for blowing a 3-run lead in the 8th with the $120 million man on the mound. They have been so much fun to watch the last 5 years, but it is brutal to watch this year. I will keep watching, of course, and I can only hope they turn things around. The hour is growing late...— phillyinsd
- While the 50 million sits the manager sits with his legs spread— baeboo
- Brutal to watch was the right description. The depths of their poor play was unexpected, even with the aging and injuries. Now even their vaunted defense is letting them down, in addition to their shaky bullpen and inconsistent hitting. The patience at the plate that was being preached has not been learned; players don't usually change at this point in their careers. It may be time to become a seller and try to avoid a decade of mediocrity (like the mid 60s to early 70s, or mid 90s to early 2000s). A sad realization...— JohnFC
- Can Utley or Howard pitch? Our bullpen might be the worst every assembled.— lazyboy
- Unfortunately, its a domino effect taking place. Each player is trying to go beyond their comfort zone and taking the team on his shoulders. You can see it by the way the pitchers are trying to be "too careful". Except for Worley, who just goes out and pitches, and an occaisional complete game from Country Joe everyone else is simply trying to do too much. As a result, no one is playing within themselves and producing. This is what happens to most teams when there is limited talent. The ones with talent can't fathom what is happening and amp up their efforts...usually disasterous.— drhoffman
- This is a very good point. I think it's also why Galvis played pretty well before he got hurt. The younger guys don't put as much pressure on themselves. Which is one reason to keep a good mix of younger players and veterans on any team. — s
- Manuel has fired the hitting coach yet he doesn,t fire Dubee. Charlie the person that sits and sends in Quarles for the 8 th inning and Papelbon for the save. Changes need to start at the top. The bullpen and team are becoming a joke.— tulsaphil
- Who is Quarles? You're a joke when you don't even know who plays on the team.— simplefreedom
- The Phillies went from 4 aces to zero aces and the team has no leadership— shawnmac
- Amaro let the team get too old last year. Now it, and the fans, are paying the price. Why is everybody so surprised that a pitching staff with 3 guys 30 and a lineup with 7 guys over 30 (when healthy) is struggling. What team has ever won anything when the average age of the roster was 32? Ever?
Then when they get injured, they get replaced with reserves or guys from the minors. They rolled the dice on Lee, Halladay, and Oswalt, depleted the farm system, and are left with an overpriced shell of a ball club with little room to maneuver because of guaranteed long term contracts with players whose best years are behind them.
The win at all costs now philosophy has failed. The best clubs build from within and fill holes as they go. The strategy of trying to buy championships by paying to dollar for players at or just past their peak has been a failure. And because of those contracts, now they're stuck.
Utley, Howard, and Halladay not only have to come back, but they have to play as well as they have ever played for the Phillies to have a prayer.
Let's just hope Amaro is smart enough to learn how to fix this mess in a year or two, rather than the 4 or 5 that it could take.— WallStreetExaminer - looks like Beltran would have been the proper cal after all— SyddBarrett
- I found myself rooting for Lee as if it were a postseason game. He pitched well enough to win but defense did him in. It's hard to recall this team won 102 games. Its been said every team has injuries but it's the very key players who get injured for Phills... Mayberry likely just valuable in platoon against lefties.— Don w
- Can't believe it isn't even the All-Star break and I can't wait for the Eagles and Flyers, especially the Flyers, my favorite team in sports.— PhillyboyinNYC
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The Phillies Zone is the place for up-to-the-minute Phillies coverage from the Inquirer.
Matt Gelb
Inquirer Staff Writer
Bob Brookover
Inquirer Baseball Columnist
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