Manuel acts in Phillies' best interest, moving Utley in order

ATLANTA - No individual is bigger than the team, baseball's big cigars like to harrumph. It makes them feel in charge. It plays well to the public. And too often it's a crock.

In reality, there's a rigid caste system that governs almost every aspect of the game. It's based on a variety of factors including seniority, salary and service time. The rules are unwritten, but might as well be carved on tablets and handed down from generation to generation.

These status symbols might not seem like a big deal to those on the outside. Within the insular world of big-league ball, this stuff matters. So if two guys want the same uniform number, the player who has been around the longest gets it, but is expected to come up with some sort of compensation. This has been known to range from a case of beer to an expensive watch, depending on the circumstances.

Veterans get first choice of seats on the charter flights. The stars are always given the most well-located lockers, usually with an open cubicle next door for added elbow room. In the final years of the Barry Bonds era in San Francisco, the controversial slugger had four lockers plus his own television set and recliner chair. Just because he could.

That doesn't mean that managers always cater to the superstars. It just means that they have to tread carefully when they don't.

So, yeah, it was a kind of a big deal when Charlie Manuel moved Chase Utley from the No. 3 spot in the order to second for the final handful of games. The best hitter on the team is supposed to bat third. That's what Utley has been, and that's where he has normally hit.

"It's hard when you have a lot of respect for someone and feel strongly about him and know what kind of player he is, I look at that as his spot," the Phillies manager said. "He knows he's not right just now. But I also don't want to send him the wrong message because I look at him as our three-hole hitter."

Manuel was doing what he deems best for the team. But no matter how you want to spin it, this was a demotion. "I worried about that. I was very concerned about that, because that's his hole," he admitted.

Remember what Jimmy Rollins said when he was temporarily dropped out of the top spot a couple years ago? "No matter where I bat, I'm still the leadoff hitter." That's how he sees himself. That's his self-image. And that matters.

It's why Yankees designated hitter Jorge Posada took himself out of a game earlier this season rather than bat ninth in a nationally televised game. Most players have healthy egos and that's essential to competing at the highest level.

Outwardly, at least, Utley accepted the decision stoically. He homered against Atlanta's Derek Lowe in the first inning of last night's 7-1 win over the Braves at Turner Field. He added a single in the seventh.

It was his 11th big fly of the year, and that's the point. He missed the entire Grapefruit League and almost 2 full months of the regular season with a serious knee injury. Since coming back, he hasn't driven the ball with the consistency he used to. His batting average will almost certainly drop for the fourth straight season.

The best hitter on the team is supposed to bat third? The hard truth is that right now, Utley isn't that guy. And Manuel has to get some credit for not sweeping that reality under the rug.

He made a point of saying that he was simply trying to get more balance in the lineup, split up the lefthanded hitters. Left unsaid was that, for most of Utley's career, he hit lefties well enough (.283 lifetime average coming into this season) to keep that from becoming a pressing issue.

This season: .187. And with Raul Ibanez also hitting just .212 against southpaws, something had to be done.

The Phillies are 3-0 since Manuel unveiled his new alignment and have scored 20 runs. It's possible, of course, that this is more a result of facing Mike Pelfrey and Lowe than having discovered some magic formula.

Besides, there are no guarantees that the deck won't be shuffled again during the postseason.

"I want to see Utley get back and play just the way he always has. He's one of the better players I've ever been around. He's going through a tough time right now, but he's going to work through it. And our lineup right now, the way it sets up, for him to hit second can be beneficial not only to him but our team," Manuel said.

"My lineup is not etched in stone. I like it the way it is now. I think that might be a good lineup for us. But it's not all set."

Until Utley works his way back to the third spot in the order, though, the Phillies really are putting the team first. It doesn't always work that way.