Manuel 'in no hurry' to play Utley
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Manuel 'in no hurry' to play Utley
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Chase Utley will not be at second base when the Phillies open their Grapefruit League schedule Saturday against the Yankees. And it's possible Utley does not see game action for some time.
Earlier in the spring, Charlie Manuel said he planned to play Utley less during exhibition games to keep his chronically injured right knee fresher for the season. Of course, Manuel has made such proclamations about rest before, but this could actually be legitimate.
Typically, Manuel likes his regulars to have at least 70 at-bats in the spring. It appears as if he's willing to ease that requirement for Utley.
"It might be a little while before I play him," Manuel said. "I want him to keep doing his regular workouts. Right now, I'm in no hurry to play him as long as we can have him ready when the season starts. We just want him to feel good about where he's at with his practice and hitting."
Last week, Utley suggested Manuel would follow such a plan.
"We talked about he transition going into spring training and the first few weeks are going to be a little slower than normal," Utley said. "You guys might not see me on the field on a daily basis, so don’t freak out if that happens."
Third baseman Placido Polanco will also skip this weekend's play. Manuel said he'll probably start Polanco on Monday against New York. Polanco is also targeted for extra rest this spring.
The first three Grapefruit League games are against the Yankees. The pitching matchups are:
Saturday: Cole Hamels vs. Ivan Nova in Clearwater, 1:05 p.m. (CSN)
Sunday: Roy Halladay vs. Freddy Garcia in Tampa, 1:05 p.m. (MLBN)
Monday: Joe Blanton vs. Michael Pineda in Clearwater, 1:05 p.m. (TCN)
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The World According To Mumbles— Sam Crow- The posters here that continue to believe this guy is dumb due to his WV accent ought to get a rest. He is smart as a fox and wouldn't be in the league for nearly 50 years because 'mumbles' = dumb. Not.
Utley is the keystone, the linchpin, the 'straw that stirs' the Phillies drink. Letting him come along slowly is harder than you think. This guy is on fire all the time and has one speed.
Keeping him fresh and loose is crucial, and critical.— 24sDad - He's not smarter than a fox. He says he's going to rest Utley during Grapefruit League Play. Why not rest him and other key players during the season, too? Why didn't he platoon Ibanez more last year? Why didn't he platoon Polanco knowing his injury history? He doesn't manage the game well and doesn't play small ball. He was outsmarted and didn't give the umpire and earful after he changed the strikezone after LaRussa complained.
He's likeable and his guys play for him but that's about it. Don't give him more credit than he deserves.— Sam Crow - @SamCrow: You are the one that called him 'mumbles'. You, and others, who wish to drag the guy down by using a derogatory description to refer to him think he's stupid. Rather than nuance it, own up to it.
He's won several pennants 'mumbling' his way with management and players. He does some things wrong, and many things right. He's smarter than you give him credit for.— 24sDad - I'm as Pennsylvania Dutch as the next guy. My relatives speak in a thick accent that some may consider slow and dull. I use "mumbles" to describe Cholly because he says one thing but does another and acts as though he's smarter than the rest of us (sort of like another coach across the street). It's insulting to all of us who are baseball fans and understand the game. — Sam Crow
- Sorry Sam, but there is no excuse you can make for the inexcusable tactic of calling a professional manager by a derogatory name that is meant to infer that he is stupid and inept.
You are entitled to your opinion, but CM's performance over the past 5 years generally disproves your thesis.
What is insulting is suggesting that 'all of us who are baseball fans' and 'understand the game' know it better than he does.
The continous efforts of some posters to demean and denounce through name calling and derogatory labeling simply suggests their own inadequacies and inferiority complex.— 24sDad - whatever, pops. nobody really cares so why don't you get down from your soap box, check your ego at the door and spare us the morality lecture. — Sam Crow
- He also should consider resting Joey Donuts until mid season— NewMick314
- Plenty of pitching, and an aging ailing offensive core. It was a fatal flaw to not sign Jose Reyes. We needed to start infusing the team with all star caliber youth, and did not. Rueben actually found a way to get older by bringing in Thome. The Phillies evolved from an offensive only team 6 years ago, to an entirely pitching team today. We have already seen two years in a row, that our offense is not good enough in short series. How many more times do we have to see it to get the message?— Bobphxville
- Fatal flaw. Not. It was the smartest move in the world to not sign that headcase, talent aside. Glad you aren't the GM. — 24sDad
- He went out and got Pence. who is young and an all star. Hoping for Brown/ Mayberry to emerge. Give it a chance Bob. Turnover takes steps. Reyes was too expensive on this team, and DL prone, and a jerk.— WFChamps
- Signing Reyes may well have meant trading Hamels now. Reyes' contract is 7 years and $106 million, or about $15 million a year -- although it's backloaded so the later years are around $22 million. No current Phillie is signed for that long. (Cliff Lee's deal runs out in 2015; Reyes' in 2018.) Amaro made the judgment that Reyes is not so much better than Rollins that he's worth losing Hamels and committing to seven years over. Besides, there was no chance Amaro would sign Reyes this year; we'd be way over the salary cap with Lee, Hamels, Halladay, Utley, Howard, Papbelbon, etc. Plus, we have Galvis coming along. Reyes got a 7-year deal. We don't need a seven-year solution at SS, hopefully.
— eman - Bob is on drugs. Reyes? RU kidding me? I don't think there is another player (except for that idiot in Mil...Morgan) in the entire league who is more opposite the Phils clubhouse personality than Reyes.— Clem
- interleague games will be played from day 1 until the end of the season. the phils will need a DH, thome will actually be useful instad of DH'ing someone like martinez or francsico. reyes is just a bad fit for this town. i want to get younger too, but its going to cost us victorino, polanco and utley either in trades or FA in the next few years.— LJ14
