Utley Out 4-6 Months For Hip Surgery

Agreed. I didn't know he had a problem with his hip.

Dang...no WBC for Utley. The US needs to perform better this time around.

He was rumored to be having issues with his hip a couple of months ago. He refused to comment on it though, so I guess it was never confirmed.

Played half the season injured, that's pretty sweet.

Bummer for the Phillies, especially since Howard takes the first 3 moths off too. Im so glad that bum didnt get MVP with his 200k's and 240 batting avg.

There is the flush as Utley's fantasy vaule goes down the toilet.

This is a rough one for my Phils. Getting a right handed power bat becomes that much more important. Amaro better be on the phone with the tigers right now

His RsBI were what they were in decent part because of Utley. Useless stat.

Wow, out of nowhere. I guess that explains his dropoff after the blistering start though, I would think the Phils will still be okay without him as long as he comes back 100%.

I wonder if this could mean they'll go after a short term stopgap and keep him as a utility guy for the second half. Who would be willing and able?

I'm thinking Mark Loretta? I suppose Grudzielanek would make sense but I don't know that he's versatile enough. Or would they just give the job to a minor leaguer?

Utley was hurt the majority of the year. there is reason why he only had 5 hr after the allstar break. Pedro should be back for Spring Training.

There were reports out just after the All Star break that Utley had a hip problem.

He denied it at the time and even later in the season when asked.

When you watched him late in the season, you could see he was having problems swinging the bat.

i love those that point to his K's but forget his production. That's fine clarknaddision, we'll keep him and he'll keep putting up ridiculous numbers for us. He is ridiculously clutch, especially in Sept when it counts. he's also clutch when runners are on and with 2 outs.

I saw a statistic last year that was just amazing to me about how streaky he really is and it was that he was one of a couple of players all time who had 10+ HR's and 30 RBI's in a span of a month and he's done it like 3-4 times.

Oh and the fact that his HR's and RBI's are matched by only Babe Ruth for the first couple years of his career is a pretty good thing too. Don't get me wrong I like the Ryan Howard who won rookie of the year and MVP better than this year's version, but I'll take him until he reaches free agency, thanks.

Go ahead and start the "IN THAT BALLPARK" comments.

"You cannot seriously say that you would rather have Derek Lee than Ryan Howard. :\

I will take Howard every day of the week. Lee's nothing more than an average 1B now."

At least Lee can play a little 1B, Howard is a nightmare in the field. Id take howard if I can only pay in 1/2 his salary, the guy only plays toward the end of the season.

Very true about the ballpark. My mom could hit 20hr in that band box. If he showed up to play in the first half of the season, the Mets wouldnt even been in consideration toward the end. I just hate Bums that go out there and (like manny and howard) and bitch about their contract and play half azz.

As far as Lee showing up everyday, I totally respect that, too. To a fault though, he needs to learn to accept a day off every once in a while when Lou asks him to do so. His production suffers because of the daily grind.

It's a catch 22. Fans want to see a guy gut it out, but the player clearly needs a day off and won't do it. Looks good, in the end it's questionable. Just saying there are two sides to it.

i agree, im done ranting Papelboner. I just hat guys that make 10mm per and complain about it...then dog it down to 1B. I cant say some of the Cubs dont do that either. Its just annoying....

clarknaddison has just made one of the all time worst arguments ever on this board. Congrats. You beat some really bad trade offers to reach this new height.

clarknaddison,

OK, first off he doesn't dog it. Is his play in the field poor, yes. But he doesn't ever dog it. He plays hard every game. Do you know what this is:

.279 BA 102R 50HR 141 RBI 94BB

Those are his average annual stats for his first 3+ years. Who beats that? Ruth and not much more. Ya he strikes out too much, so what.

Do you realize he had 153 hits last year and 146 RBI's. How clutch is that?? You know what keep your team, I'll keep ours thanks.

And this story is about Utley not Howard and how spectacular he was this year AFTER he was injured. Most other players would sit out with this, but not only did he play he gave 100% like he always does. Makes me appreciate the HR's in the postseason even more. vs Lowe, and against Tampa.

cano and nady for howard?

Chase Utley is Philadelphia. And in case all you forgot, the "bum" that strikes out alot was a big part of Chase Utley's Worl F*ucking Champs.

Chase is the hardest nosed player in the league right now, he earns every penny of his contract. Alot of players need to take a page out of his book.

As for Howard...there is no arguing that he strikes out alot. We know. So just stop saying it. Just make sure after you say it, then you say that he has won Rookie of the Year, MVP, and placed 2nd in MVP voting in the 3+ years he has been in the league. Also, make sure you acknowledge that with the exception of Fat Albert, you would love to have him on your team.

I am willing to bet the sour posts on Howard are from our buddies up north. Isnt that right Mets fans?

I'd be curious to see how Howard's ABs with men on (298) and RISP (175) compared to the rest of the league.

This is in no way good....if it's humanly possible, you have to think he's ready at or near Opening Day, though

I'm not sure this would affect Ruben's willingness to deal Donald for OF/SP help.

I'd like to see Bruntlett non-tendered and upgraded anyway, so maybe they go harder at a Hairston Jr or Bloomquist now

nrmax,

relax. Sometimes we all have itchy trigger fingers and I bet if you go to a Yankees/Red Sox board anything anti Yankees it'll be assumed it was a Red Sox fan. Most of us don't have names that signify our team (well except for me!) or ones that people don't get sometimes like clark/addison referring to Wrigley. Or Wayne gomes, i like that one!

Personally i'm gonna go check to see if SteveJeltzHOF'er is still available. My guess is sadly it still is.

Anyways, we all have our fans on out side that we "regret" sometimes. Neither of us is immune.