Chase Utley Injury Concerns Worsen: Will He Recover Enough to Star in 2011?

Going into spring training this year, the one team that fans picked to make the World Series (at least out of the National League) was the Philadelphia Phillies. 

In what can only be called a Cinderella story, the team landed prize pitcher Cliff Lee as they beat out the two favorites in the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees. Combined with their strong lineup, the Phillies were expected to be the top team in the National League and easily make it to the Fall Classic.

Then, once spring training started, trouble struck.

By some cruel twist of fate, All-Star second baseman Chase Utley went down with what has been described merely as a knee injury. As of today, he has been able to take batting practice, yet he cannot run or play in the field. 

Given how the Phillies play in the National League, this poses a major problem.

I’m not going to beat around the bush, folks: If Chase Utley were to miss significant time with this knee problem, it would be a tremendous loss.

Power-hitting first baseman Ryan Howard would not have any protection in an already-aging lineup and a World Series appearance for the team wouldn’t be as automatic as some once thought.

Those who don’t follow the Phillies may be somewhat unaware as to how much of a presence Chase Utley is in his team’s lineup.

Long story short, he is the glue that holds it together. The man has the ability to not only hit well for average, but his power is tremendous.

In a full season, Utley can be expected to hit 30 or more home runs and drive in over 100 runs. He is good at getting himself on base too, so he can be counted on to score a lot of runs as well.

However, the past four (perhaps soon to be five) seasons have been enigmatic for Utley. He broke his hand in 2007 and only played in 130 games, but still managed to hit .332 with 22 homers and 103 RBI. He bounced back and played full seasons in 2008 and 2009, earning All-Star berths and Silver Sluggers.

In 2010, the injury bug bit Utley yet again. On June 28, he tore a ligament in his thumb while sliding head-first into second base. He did not return until mid-August and finished the season with a .275 batting average, 16 home runs and 65 RBI. 

Those were his lowest totals since 2004.

All that being said, with this knee injury slowing him down, will Utley make enough of a recovery to return to his old form? That remains to be seen.

It’s pretty much a certainty that he’ll begin the season on the disabled list. He can’t run or field, and he’s going to need to at least spend time in extended spring training to work on that.

What’s even more odd, though, is that the specifics surrounding the injury haven’t been truly defined.

On March 9, SB Nation’s Rob Neyer reported Utley to have “patella tendinitis.” As someone who suffers from this condition, I can safely say that it can mean anything.

In some cases, patella tendinitis is merely an inflammation of the patellar tendon that goes away within a couple of days. In others, it means torn cartilage and sometimes more. 

Given how Utley can’t even run, I’m going to assume that he is suffering from the latter case.

If his knee is indeed hurt that bad, the best option would be to have surgery. Once that happens, only time will tell if he can recover his true form. 

He will either be the Chase Utley of old or he will be the Hideki Matsui-type: The man who was able to hit well for average and power at one point in his career, but now isn’t the same because of bad knees.

So, all of that being said, Chase Utley will recover enough to star in 2011. However, he will only do so if he puts his ego aside and has surgery on his knee. 

It’s bad that he’ll miss part of the season, but this is a case where health should come first. He is too valuable to the team to have a “wait and see” approach.

Hopefully, he will come to his senses and have surgery soon. If he doesn’t, Phillies fans will have to get used to Wilson Valdez playing second base all season.

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