David Murphy: The Utley reality

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The first instinct is to doubt. And that is understandable. When the subject is injuries and the messenger is a professional sports team, you can find yourself longing for the transparency of an organization like the CIA. But you can also find yourself caught up in conspiracy theories that don't mean a thing. Because when you get right down to it, we already have the information we need.

One week into Grapefruit League play, Chase Utley has yet to participate in a game. Everything else is a matter of semantics.

The Phillies will tell you that this has always been The Plan. Utley is still hitting, still running, still dressed in his familiar No. 26, all of which prompted an exasperated Charlie Manuel to say to reporters, "You see him out there, don't you?"

Indeed, Utley appeared to be wholly intact before yesterday's game against the Pirates, standing behind the batting cage and stretching out his left leg without any obvious assistance from man or marionette string. For the time being, the world is safe from Weekend at Bernie's: Clearwater Chaos. But even if the condition of Utley's knee remains the same as it was at the start of spring training, his absence from the lineup does provide a good indication of the organization's concern about the speed at which that status can change.

If we are indeed witnessing The Plan, then The Plan suggests that we should be paying close attention to players like Ty Wigginton and Freddy Galvis, both of whom spent time at second base during yesterday's game. The Plan suggests that we should be watching hitters like Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence, whose performance over the second half of last season helped make up for the drop-off in production the lineup received from second base.

On the other hand, does The Plan really suggest anything we did not already know? That chronic knee tendinitis is something that never fully heals? That Utley's condition is something that will always have to be managed? That caution is the new side on which the hardest of noses must err?

Maybe there was a little part of all of us that thought we would arrive at spring training and see Utley stealing bases and bowling over catchers and sprawling after balls hit just out of reach. Maybe there was a little part of us that thought some offseason rest was all he'd need. The reality is, Utley has entered the final chapter of his career, a chapter whose narrative will be shaped not just by his performance against opposing pitchers, but by his performance against a rare and painful knee condition that can flare up without the slightest of warnings. It also means the Phillies have entered a new chapter, one in which they no longer have the luxury of counting 30 home runs and a .380 on-base percentage as a given at second base.

Utley believes, or at least says he believes, that he still has the potential to perform as he did in his prime. And that may very well be. The mere fact that he worked his way back onto the field for the final 4 months of 2011 is a testament to his will. If you were to imagine a player capable of overcoming patellar tendinitis and chondromalacia, that player would be wearing No. 26.

At the same time, we entered spring wondering what, exactly, to expect out of Utley, and seven games into the Grapefruit League schedule, we have not begun to get an answer. Manuel's desire to see Galvis play at second base - he initially planned on starting the prospect there today, but decided to move him there midway through yesterday's game - is a bit of a wrinkle. Wigginton started the game at the position, making a nice charging scoop to first before later committing an error. But the Phillies did not acquire him because of defensive prowess. He is a second baseman fourth, a third baseman third, a first baseman second, and a power bat first.

Galvis might be tapped to plug a long-term hole. Wigginton might fit for the short-term. Neither will ever be Utley, be it 2007 or 2011.

So as we look at this first week of Grapefruit League play and spin our worst-case scenarios, we must also acknowledge that April 5 is the goal. The 25 games that remain before Opening Day present more than enough time for a veteran hitter like Utley to get the at-bats that he needs. With Ryan Howard's rehab on hold because of an infected foot, the Phillies know they cannot afford to enter the season with another critical piece on the disabled list. The Plan, regardless of how it came into being, makes sense. It also speaks volumes.