Utley, Howard, Rollins among early arrivals
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Utley, Howard, Rollins among early arrivals
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Shortly after 11 a.m., Ryan Howard emerged from a side door at Bright House Field and stared at empty dirt.
"Where'd everybody go?" he asked.
Howard missed Tuesday's informal infield drills by about 10 minutes. Had he received the memo, he could have been standing on the same infield at the same time as Chase Utley.
In recent springs, that has not happened often.
Howard missed all of last spring following Achilles surgery and complications thereafter. Utley has not played in a Grapefruit League game since 2010 because of his chronically injured knees. But both infielders appear healthy at the start of camp this spring.
Utley spryly moved during groundball drills Tuesday. He may have been more active than at any point last spring. The Phillies monitored him closer than ever this winter. The second baseman, on the advice of his doctors and trainers, made the decision to stay busy on his knees. The downtime in recent winters apparently made it more difficult to ramp up in preparation for the season.
Howard looked in better shape than last spring, which was to be expected. After Achilles surgery in October 2011, he was restrained to a couch for two months and conditioning was a challenge.
Shortly after Howard disappeared, Jimmy Rollins completed some work on the same field. The three infielders are here well in advance of Friday's mandatory report date for position players.
The real tests, of course, are beyond taking grounders on a half field in February.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
Chase Utley - YOU ARE THE MAN— The Moose is Loose- Howard is there for the free meals, JRoll is there for the extra publicity and Utley is there to test out the knees.— alwaysphil1
- upcoming announcement: Utley overexerts himself in practice and needs to sit until the all star break.— high water
- With Frandsen to round out the infield, please! Youth need apply.— gubbers97
- Like you I am not optimistic for 2013 but I am excited to see the season begin. Since my first game , 1954 Robin Roberts vs. Carl Erskine, (Brooklyn Dodgers), Phillies of course lost 2-1, I've looked forward to the beginning of the season with hope and enthusiasm......nothing better.— Dave47
- The pitching is still above average and evyone appears to be healthy. Darin Ruf is ready to prove he's ready for the big stage. Throw are the negativity towards the birds.
— Phillyrick - The beauty of spring training is the positive vibe everyone feels. From players to reporters to fans. To hear that Ut, Howard & Rollins reported early makes it all the better. Seems strange that they just "missed" each other by minutes. Maybe a nice bit of planning... If anything, it proves that despite their age and success all 3 might be hungrier this year than in last 2-3 years. Add to it that I am sure that Doc is working out and out of sight to be ready to make his debut truly makes Spring Training something beautiful. Heres hoping that everyone stays healthy and that surrendering the division to the Nats ends up being the best motivator for one last run.— PhillyinBmore
- I couldn't agree more about the beauty of spring training and think we should petition to make pitchers/catchers report day a national holiday.
If motivation is what they need, I believe last year provided plenty. Here's to good health for all and a winning season. Let's go Phillies!
— DPinDC - Utley: Contract year. M. Young: Contract year. Ruiz: Contract year. Halladay: Club option year.
These are four guys with great careers and pride who know this year is crucial to their late careers. Atlanta has the Uptons and Washington has that starting GG pitcher on steroids, but we won't go down quietly. You sense it and Utley, Howard, Halladay report early -- no coincidence.
Lock and load.
— therealeman - That photo is absolutely beautiful.— vafan
