Morning report: Thanks, Chase
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Morning report: Thanks, Chase
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- In full midseason mode, Chase Utley was a ray of sunshine this morning as he addressed reporters for the first time this spring.
The dramatic highlights:
-- He is happy to see a bunch of players here early. "I think everyone is excited to get the season started," Utley said. "We're pretty hungry. Last year was a little disappointing. We made some good acquisitions in the offseason to make us better, so we'll see what happens. But we're going to have a lot of fun."
-- His thumb was "fine" once he returned from the disabled list.
-- He has made adjustments to his workout routine but would not divulge the secrets.
-- He has spoken to Ryne Sandberg and plans to talk to him often. "I'd be dumb not to pick his brain," Utley said.
-- How much can he improve from a disappointing 2010? "I always feel like I can improve."
No doubt.
I would like to see a reality show in which Andy Reid and Chase Utley interview each other. Wait a second - no, I wouldn't.— 1980
put up or shut up for Ut'z I need him to have a mvp year jimmy and Ryan have done it and Chase has all the tools. I need my second baseman to be the what he is one of the top 5 players on Baseball! I need him to have that!— twentysecs- You need punctuations. — smfree31
- Agreed. Twentysecs goes about fiftywords between commas and periods. — Vituperator
- It can only help having Sandberg close by to talk with.— jayflyte
- Utley's not the kind of guy that needs to be an MVP. He just needs to win. My kind of guy.— Eddieboy
- He looks stronger. Look at the forearms.— EL Zorro
- Harry the K said it best, "Chase Utley, you are the man!"
Love that he's talking to Ryno, that can only help. I'm expecting a monster year out of Utley. World Series champions in '11!— FireTMac&Wheeler! - A lot of the guys look good and I agree that reporting early is positive sign. Hey, these guys aren't stupid: They're in the primes of their careers, on a team that's loaded, and they learned last season that they can get bounced from the playoffs at any time. That's good motivation right there.
— eman 
I am rooting for Utley, JRoll and Howard to have monster seasons. I think all those guys have productive years left. Chooch, Vic and Polanco, too. Raul, we'll have to see if he's too old, and Brown, whether he's old enough.
EL Zorro :"He looks stronger. Look at the forearms"
Wow, keep it in your pants dude.
- Chase lets his bat do the talking.— daveb618
Please don't get hurt this year— shawnmac- Very funny guys. I hope you feel very happy now.— EL Zorro
