Chase Utley will play when Phillies start exhibition season

CLEARWATER, Fla. - After eight days of drills that spawned an insatiable craving for actual baseball, creativity was required Wednesday. Phillies catching coach Mick Billmeyer dramatized a routine pop-up practice by forcing his catchers to spin in circles or do a forward roll before looking to the sky for the ball.

Are the games here yet?

Exhibition season starts Friday with an intrasquad game. Saturday marks the start of the Grapefruit League schedule, when the Houston Astros visit Bright House Field. Chase Utley will be on the field both days, manager Charlie Manuel said, and Cole Hamels will be on the mound for one.

Hamels earned the nod for the spring opener, which could align him for his first opening-day start come April. He will be followed in the spring rotation by Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Kyle Kendrick, and John Lannan.

Utley's presence in any Grapefruit League game is significant. He has not played in the spring since 2010 because of his chronically injured knees. After two days of action, Utley will skip Sunday's road trip to Lakeland, Fla.

It is likely Utley will play most of his spring games in the confines of Clearwater or nearby locales Tampa and Dunedin. Utley has participated fully in all drills during the workout period. It appears that he is without limitations.

"He worked hard this winter," Manuel said. "I think he really put a lot of hard time in last year. He went to Arizona. And I think after the season was over, with the way he's swinging right now and the way he looks, you could tell he's definitely willing to pay the price to get back to where he was.

"I think Utley wants to play quite a few more years. And that's good."

Manuel typically wants his regulars to make some 70 plate appearances during the spring. He is fine relaxing those standards for Utley.

"If Ut doesn't get 70," Manuel said, "it's not like he hasn't reached my goal or whatever."

Hamels, in his eighth year with the Phillies, has never started an opening day. Not that it has ever been a huge priority for the lefthander, but it would be a deserving honor.

Nine pitchers have signed $100 million deals in baseball history, and only two have never made opening-day starts. Hamels is one. Matt Cain is the other, and he already has been named San Francisco's opening-day starter for 2013.

When asked why he plotted his rotation in that manner, Dubee said: "Left, right, left, right, left." The pitching coach can resemble a drill sergeant, but in this case he was referring to the throwing hands of his starters.

He cautioned against reading too much into the current order.

"I'm not saying that's the likelihood yet," Dubee said.

Halladay's much-anticipated first start will come Sunday against Detroit. He is scheduled to oppose Justin Verlander.

Dubee said he prefers to split his lefties this season. Since there are three in the rotation with the addition of Lannan, that will be impossible. But he can keep Halladay between Hamels and Lee. The pitching coach also said he expects to use his top three pitchers in succession during the first series at Atlanta.

That could change if Dubee believes that Halladay is best for the home opener rather than starting at Turner Field, a venue where he has stumbled. Kendrick has quality career numbers against the Braves.

Manuel said he is pleased with the team's attitude during the first week. Soon, when the games begin, he can make actual evaluations.