Utley gets boost from hit movies

Chase Utley makes it look terribly easy, but he said it certainly is not.

It's hard to hit a baseball.

So he makes sure he steps into the batter's box completely prepared. Every day he sits in front of a computer in the video room inside the Phillies' clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park - if the Phillies are on the road, the video equipment is crammed into a corner somewhere - and watches video. He looks for tendencies and patterns in pitchers that he hopes can help him knock in a run or two that night and help the Phillies win.

"He studies and prepares for the game as much or more than any other hitter I've been around," manager Charlie Manuel said. "He's off the charts with preparation. He has a tremendous memory. He's totally ready when the game starts. You'll never catch him not prepared. He knows all about the pitchers. He knows what they want to do."

The proof is in the numbers. If he continues along his current course, Utley should receive serious consideration for National League MVP after the season. Entering last night's games, he led the league in RBIs (81), doubles (41), extra-base hits (61), total bases (229), and home batting average (.399). He was second in the league in hits (131). He was third in the league in batting (.337) and runs (75). He was fifth in the league in slugging percentage (.589) and sixth in on-base percentage (.409).

Utley's almost obsessive attention to detail and his drive to excel have played a hand in that. But make no mistake: First and foremost, his tremendous talents are what have made the second baseman a success.

"He's a great hitter," hitting coach Milt Thompson said. "You can analyze everything, but the bottom line is that the kid is just an unbelievable hitter. That's what it boils down to. He studies and stuff, but he's just a great talent. He just loves to hit, which is a good thing. When you love to hit and know how to hit, it makes it very simple."

Utley, who spent countless hours as a teenager hitting in the batting cages near his family home in Long Beach, Calif., typically shows up at the ballpark at 1 p.m. for a 7 p.m. game. If it's the first game of a series, he might watch two hours of video beforehand. He will watch about 45 minutes before the remaining games in the series.

"It depends what the team is," said the team's video coordinator, Kevin Camiscioli. "He might do a refresher course for teams in the division."

Before the first game of a series, he will study the starting pitcher and the relief pitchers he might face. Utley studies how each pitcher has attacked him in the past, or how they have attacked other lefthanded hitters. For example, the Phillies had the last three starts for Padres righthander Jake Peavy in their computer system. Utley pretty much went pitch by pitch to see how Peavy has worked lefthanded hitters.

"That's the first day," Camiscioli said. "Then the second and third day, it's basically all of his at-bats, other lefties' at-bats of guys on our team. . . . I'm not always sure what he's looking for, but it seems to be working."

Manuel said Utley has a tremendous memory, and he carries it into the game.

"He'll say stuff during the game in the dugout, like when a pitcher comes in," Manuel said. "He'll say what he throws and what tendencies that he has. He's the one I notice. Those guys will be asking him."

Then as soon as the game is finished, Utley will head back into the video room to review his at-bats.

Those who see Utley at work every day say he often will just sit down and look at video as a way to kill time.

"You try to find tendencies," Utley said. "You try to figure out what approach he's going to take to you. Sometimes you're right. Sometimes you're wrong. There are plenty of times when you're wrong. But Kevin does a good job getting [an opposing pitcher's] most recent starts. I watch those and see what his game plan is going to be. Like I said, sometimes it's a huge advantage. There are other times it can mess you up a little bit. But that's the chance you take.

"But I think video is a huge advantage, especially against the guys you've never faced before. It helps you get an idea of what it might look like. Every pitcher is a little different. Why would you not want to watch a guy or watch yourself?"

But the preparation doesn't end there. Thompson said Utley, who always is on the field for extra hitting, will spend 15 to 20 minutes a day hitting off the practice tee.

"People don't do that anymore," Thompson said.

It is mentioned to Utley that most kids think hitting off the practice tee is, well . . .

"For the birds?" he said.

Exactly.

But that's OK.

"You're moving the tee around, hitting the ball all over the place, and refining your swing to try to keep it consistent," he said.

"The thing about Ut is that Ut never gives away at-bats," Thompson said. "He's always there. You rarely see him fooled. Even when a pitcher makes a tough pitch, he'll find a way to foul it off. That's what good hitters do."

Utley believes the preparation helps.

"Hitting is difficult, so if you have some kind of advantage, hopefully you'll be more successful," he said.

He has been just that.

Nationals (Bergmann, 2-5) at Phillies (Kendrick, 4-1), tonight at 7:05.

7 days until the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

On the Market

Steve Kline,

LHP, Giants.

The reliever was 0-1 with a 3.26 ERA in 39 appearances entering last night.