Philadelphia Phillies Notes: Chase Utley Eyes Return, Brad Lidge Healing

Last night’s extra-innings loss to the Milwaukee Brewers exemplified everything that is wrong with the Philadelphia Phillies in recent weeks. The offense—which came out of the gates to start the season like its collective pants were on fire—has slumped into oblivion, having scored no more than four runs in a single game since April 9 in Atlanta.

Another of the Phils’ greatest weaknesses reared its ugly head last night, as the bullpen blew another game wide open for the opposition late in the ball game—this game, of course, well into extra innings.

After Joe Blanton threw seven strong innings, Ryan Madson, who had been perfect all season, finally surrendered a run to allow the Brewers to tie the game. In fact, the only reliever spared from last night’s game was Danys Baez, as Charlie Manuel chose instead to go with Kyle Kendrick in the 12th inning.

Even in limited action, Kendrick has found a way to blow games. In just a single inning, he walked three batters and committed a costly error, allowing three runs to score and effectively burying a scuffling Phils offense. As I said, last night’s game effectively exploited all of the Phillies‘ weaknesses—the bullpen and an offense entering an early season slump.

The offense is in need of a boost, and a couple of guys setting their eyes on returning from injury could be just the boost that this club needs. The first of which is a guy who’s managed to hog the headlines for the past couple of months, despite not having stepped foot on the field during a game.

As Chase Utley begins to test his knee, we wonder just how much time he’ll miss. According to a few sources, it may not be long before Led Zepplin’s “Kashmir” is blasting through the speakers at Citizens’ Bank Park.

Utley, who had been sidelined by patellar tendinitis—among other things—began doing some light fielding as the Phillies broke spring camp, and has been steadily progressing ever since. Not only has he continued to field and swing the bat, but recently, Utley’s been running around the bases and testing his lateral movement—both big steps towards his return.

One of the most reliable sources for injury related news weighed in on Utley’s situation recently, when Will Carroll of Sports Illustrated, who does an excellent job keeping fantasy baseball owners updated on the latest injuries around the league, wrote what he has observed about Utley’s condition and what other observers have reported to him:

“They’re pushing him to either side, back and forth, left and right. [It’s] not so much about range as the back and forth,” I was told by one observer. The best news is that Utley’s knee showed no real signs of trouble after adding activities. I expect this to continue forward now that the medical staff has gotten ahead of the issue. Now it will come down to maintenance and making sure that there’s no surprises. Often there’s some setbacks when players go 100 percent, since it’s difficult to simulate the full-go or the unconscious uses on the body. Right now, that May 15 ERD is looking like it might be too negative.

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So according to Carroll, an earlier proposed May 15 return date for Utley is looking a little negative. Personally, I’m not optimistic that Utley can return before that date, only because he hasn’t even adjusted himself to live pitching yet.

Word from around the league is that Utley will continue to test his knee at 100 percent, and when he feels comfortable moving forward (as in no discomfort the day after rigorous drills), he’ll begin a rehab assignment.

Recently, I asked Ryan Lawerence, who covers the Phillies for the Delco Times, whether or not he thought that, after observing Utley several times, an early May return date was a possibility. He wasn’t so sure.

@ryanlawrence21 If you had to guess at Utley return date, early May too soon?

@Greg_Pinto eh, it’s tough to guess bc he tells us (and by extension, you) nothing. Maybe mid-May.

Even in that scenario, Lawerence’s mid-May estimation seems to line up perfectly with the estimated May 15 return date that several injury specialists at SI.com have proposed. If that is indeed the case, it is excellent news for the Phils’, whose lineup can use a serious boost.

In other news, Domonic Brown is recovering nicely from his broken hand. He played in an extended spring training game yesterday, playing five innings and collecting two hits in three at-bats.

He, too, could provide a nice boost to the Phils lineup, especially if Raul Ibanez and Ben Francisco continue to struggle collectively. We know that Charlie Manuel loves hitting and wants to see a bit more power in his lineup, which Brown could, theoretically, provide.

Correcting the bullpen may not be such a simple task.

While Jose Contreras has filled in admirably in the absence of Brad Lidge, and despite last night’s outing, Ryan Madson has been stellar in his eighth inning role, the Phils bullpen is going to struggle. Lidge’s injury means that the bullpen has to shuffle its roles, and that isn’t a good thing for the Phillies, who have a serious lack of a capable arms to pitch in the seventh inning.

That situation worsened a bit on Monday night, when JC Romero left the game early, citing a calf injury. He went down like a ton of bricks and had trouble getting back up, so the disabled list seemed like a possible destination last night, and Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reiterated those thoughts this morning when he spoke to an unhappy Romero.

“Probably, probably some time,” Romero said, asked if he expected to be placed on the DL. “I don’t know how long, but hopefully 15 days or so.”

Obviously, Romero hitting the DL would only weaken the Phillies bullpen even further. That leaves Antonio Bastardo as the lone left-handed option for Charlie Manuel, and there is not guarantee that the club calls on lefty Mike Zagurski in his absence. He has struggled with control in the past and the Phils could use stability more than anything right now.

If I had to guess, I would assume Mike Stutes gets the call, despite being right-handed. The coaching staff was infatuated with him in Spring Training, and the club could use a fresh arm.

As for Lidge, he is probably the furthest away from returning, though he did get some good news earlier in the week. He met with team doctors who told him that his injury his healed. Now, he’ll need to begin rebuilding arm strength—the toughest, lengthiest part of his rehab. He’ll begin throwing in about two weeks and hopes to return before the all-star break. 

When Lidge returns, there is no guarantee that the Phils will relieve Contreras of the closer’s role. That said, however, Lidge would provide a more reliable seventh inning option than what the team currently has.

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