Chase Utley, Right Field, Brad Lidge and Luis Castillo

1. Chase Utley’s bum knee…
In spite of the positive spin the Phillies and Chase Utley
are putting on his pained knee… he has been diagnosed with patellar tendinitis,
chondromalacia and bone inflammation and is now heading to see a rehab
specialist because the Phillies are afraid to cut open the knee – and rightly
so.  Anyone who has ever had knee surgery
will tell you how no matter what work is done inside the knee,  it is never the same.  Rehab is always a good first choice… however
the fear is that this is nothing more than a continuation of the knee injury
from last season and it will never be the same anyway.  The knee issues caused the Phillies star
second basement to miss 47 games last season. 
This injury is likely to cause Utley to miss several weeks of the season
in the most optimistic of situations.

So what is the answer for the Phillies?

2. Is Luis Castillo the answer to the Utley void?
Wow… a HUGE maybe with a quick follow up of probably not!  The New York Mets released Castillo on Friday
and as soon as Castillo cleared waivers the Phillies pounced with a minor
league deal that offers him the opportunity to win the job but didn’t leave him
a lot of time to do so.  It’s a good news
bad news kind of situation… the good news is at the very least Castillo can
offer some bench help in the infield and possibly reclaim his swagger in the
infield… he has 370 career stolen bases and is a .290 career hitter.   The bad news is that he hit .235 last season
in only 86 games with a recent history of knee issues.  Scouts who have been watching Luis say he’s
lost his speed and quickness, which are essentially his strengths.  He did, however, hit .302 only two seasons
ago.  What it boils down to is a low
risk/possible high reward situation for the Phightin’s. 

Why not Michael Young?  There were some rumors swirling about a
Blanton for Young trade to fix the Utley gap… 
Great idea – I thought of it too. 
Word from the Phillies’ camp was that the biggest issue was his
salary.  The Phillies structured Cliff
Lee’s deal so that they would just stay under the luxury tax.  If the Phillies traded away Blanton and his
$8 million, they would still have to assume the $16 million owed this year (and
for two more years) on Young’s contract, which would push them over the limit
and mean they would be saddled with the Luxury Tax and cost them millions more
on top of it.  It comes down to
economics.

Other options?

My opinion is that Wilson Valdez
should be the favorite to be the Opening Day second baseman, has hit .439
(18-for-41) with three doubles, one home run and six RBIs this spring plus his
solid play last season filling in for the injured Phils.   Other guys vying for the job this
spring:  Josh Barfield has hit .344
(11-for-32) with three doubles, one triple and three RBIs.  Pete Orr has hit .333 (12-for-36) with three
doubles, three triples and two RBIs.  Michael
Martinez has hit .292 (14-for-48) with three homers, two home runs and six
RBIs.  Delwyn Young, who is more of an
outfielder than a second baseman, has hit .292 (14-for-48) with two doubles,
one home run and three RBIs.

3. Dominic Brown and Right Field….
What’s up with D-Brown?  His fractured
hand continues to heal and we are definitely left with him back in the minors
to start the season.  Can he be the stud
outfielder the Phillies want and need? 
I’ve seen this kid play at Reading and he is plus plus plus in
everything at the minor league level. 
The fact that he can’t translate that to the big leagues at this point
is not and should not be alarming to anyone. 
Give the kid some time… he’ll get there.

But where does that leave the Phils for 2011?  As noted above, Delwyn Young is getting a
good look and it primarily an outfielder. 
John Mayberry, Jr. is most certainly a highly thought of candidate to
make the big league clue out of camp.  Ross
Gload is certainly a possibility but is more of a bench guy who can play 1B and
RF and is most likely to fill that roll. 
A lot of folks like Ben Francisco and I do too, but no matter how much I
like him he’s probably never going to be more than the #4 guy even when the RF
spot is gaping. 

All that being said, I think that Francisco, Gload and Mayberry all have a shot
but only two of these guys will be on the roster at any one time.  I’m thinking Mayberry and Francisco but I
also know that the Phillies are paying Gload some cash to do not much so they
may let him take his shot as the fourth outfielder unless they see a roster
spot open.  Of course then one had to
wonder whether Ibanez will have a bounce back year… but that is a discussion
for another time.

4. Brad Lidge…good Brad or bad Brad?
Wow…. Sometimes it seems like yesterday that he was called “Mr. Perfect”… and
then you think of that 7.21 ERA from 2009 and how he started last season and
you want to jump off a cliff instead of handing him the ball in the 9^th.

Nonetheless his numbers from the second half of last year were fantastic.  He was looking like “good Brad” and not “bad
Brad”.  This spring has caused some new
doubts to spring up with his bicep tendonitis coupled with a reported loss of
velocity.  Cross you fingers folks…

5. The Big Picture
The Big Picture is still a bit fuzzy for the Phils.  Question marks are all over the place for a
team that before spring training everyone and their cousin was ready to give
them the World Series trophy.  The
infield is littered with questions… will Howard stay healthy and hit 50… will
Rollins stay healthy and find his swing again… is Polanco’s elbow really “nothing”
as we’ve been told… and well, Utley.   Then there is the RF spot, which we covered
already.  Add to that the back end of the
bullpen being nothing more than a big question mark and who knows what the
answer is.  We will cover the Phillies
pitching situation next week.  Is there a
better team in the National League East? 
You can’t honestly say no because those Braves are improved from last
year and they were pretty good last year.