Utley awaiting thumbs up or down from doctors

Chase Utley reportedly flew back to Philadelphia late Monday night for a follow-up exam on his right thumb.

According to an update on the team Web site, Utley, who has been out since June 28 with a torn ligament suffered while sliding into second, jetted back to Philly following a rehab doubleheader in Clearwater. The odds of being activated for tonight’s series opener or being sent back to the minors for more rehab appear to be even at this stage. Utley, who was hitting .277/.383/.466 with 11 homers before the injury, went 3-for-12 with two triples and an RBI single and an error while trying to turn a double play in four rehab games. [Link]

Phillies finalize deals: The Phillies inked 20th-rounder Kevin Walter, 21st-rounder Jon Musser and 28th-rounder Brian Pointer to last-minute, over-slot deals hours before the midnight signing deadline for June draftees. However, they fell short of meeting expectations for fifth-rounder right-hander Scott Frazier, who has committed to NCAA powerhouse Pepperdine, and ninth-round outfielder Brenton Allen. “The Phils spent about $1 million on deadline day, but instead of giving it to one guy (Frazier), they chose to spread it out across three guys, Musser, Walter and Pointer,” writes James Moyer of Phuture Phillies. “I know that some people are going to be upset about this, but look at it this way. Are the Phillies better off risking all of their money on one guy, or spreading that risk over three guys?” Read his comprehensive take here.

Biddle bombed: So far, so good for Phillies 2010 first-round pick Jesse Biddle, who has been pitching for the Phillies Gulf Coast League, but yesterday he was rocked for his worst outing yet, allowing five runs on seven hits in only an inning of work. In nine starts, he’s 3-1 with a 4.32 ERA with a 41/9 K/BB ratio in 33 1-3 innings. A good start overall.

Braves stun Dodgers: Melky Cabrera's two-run single off Octavio Dotel with the bases loaded in the ninth inning capped a three-run rally that lifted the Atlanta Braves to a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night. The win pushes the Braves to a 2.5-game lead in the National League East.

Comments

[Sophist]

C'mon, docs. Just bought tickets.

[Sophist]

The return of Pat the Bat tonight:

"That guy," Huff said, pointing across the Giants clubhouse to Pat Burrell, his one-time teammate at the University of Miami.

"When I transferred, the first guy I met was that son of a . . . . ," Huff said. "I hadn't met such an arrogant (jerk) in my life. I couldn't stand him. All he did was rag on me."

You knew Huff's next story about Burrell would be good. He prefaced it by saying, "Awww, I'm sure Pat won't care if I tell this."

"After two weeks at Miami, I wanted to go home," Huff said. "So my mom flies out, trying to convince me to stay. I was living with two seniors and they ragged me, too. I just didn't understand all this baseball ragging nonsense. She's in my room one night and I'm sitting on my bed and she's telling me to give it another two weeks.

"Anyway, there's a knock on the door, and before I can even get off the bed, Pat comes barging in with a six-pack in his hand, dripping wet, buck naked.

"So I jumped up and shut the door. Coming from Texas, these things didn't happen. I said, 'See what I'm dealing with here, mom?'

"She just started laughing and said, 'Actually, Aubrey, that's pretty darn funny.'

"I thought, 'My God, if my mom can laugh at this, why can't I?' "

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2010/08/16/1573716/huff-credits-burrell-for-his-blossoming.html

[Sophist]

...

As the details of Huff's story were recited back to him recently, Burrell just closed his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, that's pretty much how it happened," he said. "I was looking for the shampoo. There wasn't any in the shower. Obviously, I didn't know his mom was in there." Long pause. "I don't know how the six-pack got in my hands."

[timr]

Oh man, thats too good!

[p. Red]

I just hope they aren't rushing him back. Would hate to see a less-than-healthy Utley down the stretch. If this team was 6 games back and fading fast, I could see trying to rush it. But this team is playing well right now and I think they have the luxury of waiting until both are 100% before bringing them off the DL.

[Jason]

Love the title. Clever as usual.

[st]

they aren't rushing him back. he's rushing himself back. there is a difference. team doesn't have control of the player, especially in this case

[Bubba]

JW- Thumbs up or down?

On a thumb injury?

Cute.

[Sophist]

Again, Utley is fully healed. Reports are he would not have been given the go for the rehab assignment if he weren't. The only issue now is his timing and how well his grip holds up after weeks of inaction.

[st]

that's absolutely correct. this isn't about health. it's about timing. kerfeld says he needs two or three more games to get his timing back

[awh]

st, excellent point.

Remember what Charlie was quoted as saying (I'll paraphrase):

"Try to tell Utley he's getting the day off and he looks at you like you just killed his mother".

Chase has to be chomping at the bit right now.

Personally, if the doctor isn't worried about reinjury we shouldn't be either. Also, a less than healthy Utley is still an upgrade.

My only concern is that he comes back and presses too much and doesn't perform as well as he can.

[J. Weitzel]

Trying desperately to google search images I could use to run with that story, but naked six pack is setting off all kinds of alarms at the Comcast Center.

[Shawn]

Is Pat Burrell for real?

wow.

[Andy]

Actually, Huff left something out of his story. The real version went like this:

"She just started laughing and said, 'Actually, Aubrey, that's pretty darn huge...errr...I mean funny.'

[Sophist]

ha, naked six pack.

There's alway old reliable:

http://internetservices.readingeagle.com/blog/zeke/images/Burrell.jpg

[Sophist]

P A T B U R R E L L
left fielder

[denny b.]

Upcoming probable pitching matchups for the next week....

GIANTS-

Tuesday- Oswalt vs Zito
Wednesday- Blanton vs Cain
Thursday- Hamels vs Sanchez

NATS-

Friday- Halladay vs Marquis
Saturday- Kendrick vs Strasburg
Sunday- Oswalt vs Olsen

ASTROS-

Monday- Blanton vs Myers
Tuesday- Hamels vs Norris
Wednesday- Halladay vs Happ
Thursday- Kendrick vs Rodriguez

-Oswalt will not face the Astros

-5 RHP and 5 LHP

[aksmith]

If Utley's completely healed, then why is it up to the doctor's? That may be as dumb as Howard and Gload being day to day. Maybe dumber.

If the doctor's had to weigh in, it certainly would have been before the rehab assignment. So somebody is blowing smoke.

[Noah]

Yeah, I mean why would Utley go in for a routine check up after playing 3 games to make sure there were no further complications.

Obviously, something much more sinister is afoot.

[Sophist]

aksmith - I'm pretty sure you know this but Kerfeld isn't a doctor. He's the asst. to Amaro (and also a looney former relief pitcher). I'm sure Utley will meet with doctors, but I bet it's Kerfeld's and others' opinion of Utley's gameshape (not health, but ability to hit and field in the majors) that will be a bigger factor in his return date.

[awh]

smitty, the doctors cleared him.

It's up to the FO. According to they have yeat to decide if he's ready to be activated or he needs more rehab ABs.

From today's DN:

"
Charley Kerfeld, Phillies special assistant to the general manager, was at the game and was expected to accompany Utley back to Philadelphia late last night.

Kerfeld said he wasn't necessarily convinced Utley is ready for major league pitching.

"I think he needs some more bats," said Kerfeld, also between games of the doubleheader. "He looks fine. He just needs some more pitches."

I imagine Chase is going to lobby pretty darn hard to get activated.

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/phillies/20100817_Utley_heading_back_to_Philly_after_successful_rehab_assignment.html

[limoguy]

'Obviously, something much more sinister is afoot.'

Or, perhaps, at hand.

[st]

yeah you guys need to read a paper. lord

[awh]

smitty et. al., look at it this way:

After botching the Freddie Garcia trade and the firestorm that accompanied it, after bringing Jimmie back too soon earlier this year and seeing him reinjured, if you were the Phillies wouldn't you schedule a routine follow-up exam on a player as valuable as Utley? Wouldn't you want to be absolutely certain?

You may be right to be worried, but it's probably something they had scheduled all along.

[Heather]

What is up with the Braves? I watch them, and every time I watch them, I'm not impressed. I keep thinking they have to fall to earth soon, but they're hanging tough and keep winning games.

[Jack]

That Burrell story is awesome. One of my favorite Phils ever.

[limoguy]

Heather, it must be that they have a genius for a manager.

[PhillyJoe]

after reading that article Utley does not seem ready at all.... 2 (almost 3) errors in 4 games? and almost caught in a run down?

it all sounds very un-utley-like

[The Truth Injection]

Yeah why would a team have one of the cornerstones of their franchise see a doctor to make sure his hand has not suffered any setbacks from his rehab?

It can only mean they are hiding something. It is completely unheard of for a doctor to examine a guy before beginning rehab and then after his rehab to clear him to play. It has never happened in all the years of baseball

[awh]

Sophist, in looking at the pitching matchups you posted, how would you rate them?

Here's my take on the team with the advantage:

Oswalt/Zito - P
Blanton/Cain - G
Hamels/Sanchez - very slight P

Halladay/Marquis - P
Kendrick/Strasburg - N
Oswalt/Olsen - P

Blanton/Myers - H
Hamels/Norris - P
Halladay/Happ - P
Kendrick/Rodriguez - H

IMHO, the Phils have their work cut out for them, as they're only favored in the pitching matchups in 6 of the next 10 games.

[awh]

TTI, :)

[awh]

I know the Mets have become a non-factor (except possible spoiler), but this quote is from a column in the NYDN by our old friend Mike Lupica in which he calls for the Mets to void KORod's contract:

"A Mets fan I know put it this way Monday: "Rooting for the Mets is like watching 'The Dirty Dozen.' I root for Jim Brown to make it every time. But he still dies every time."

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2010/08/17/2010-08-17_untitled__lupe17s.html

[aksmith]

Well, it's either up to the doctors or it's up to the FO talent evaluators. Kerfeld thinks he needs more at bats, so it's time for a trip to the doctor? That doesn't quite make sense.

Either there's a physical problem or the story is simply wrong. I suspect it's the story that's incorrect. And Kerfeld will have as much say as to when Utley returns as I will. If Kerfeld says he's not ready, and Utley says he IS ready, I wonder who wins that argument.

[Fatalotti]

Jesus Christ people, talk about reading FAR too much into a story. The doctors cleared him to swing a bat and play baseball, but doctors aren't omniscient. The thumb may have met every requirement for him to play baseball and swing as he normally would, but does that mean you don't check up on it? Of course not! Even if the doctors gave Utley a completely full clean bill of health, they are still going to do sporadic checkups on his thumb, just to make sure everything is in good shape. Do checkups mean that he's not fully healthy?? Have you folks ever been to a doctor before??

[awh]

" but does that mean you don't check up on it"

Fatalotti, isn't that why they call them "check-ups"?

[Fatalotti]

That was my point awh. Check-ups don't indicate that there is anything physically wrong with Utley, just means that he's having a standard, run-of-the-mill check-up to make sure nothing is wrong. Whenever you have surgery, you have check-ups. They go together like lamb and tuna fish.

[The Theory]

Lamb and tuna fish? What?

I'm more of a PB&J kind of allusion guy.

[Fatalotti]

The Theory, it's an allusion to a movie. I'll send you a PBJ sandwich in the mail if you can guess the movie. Also, I eat PBJ every day for lunch.

[p. Red]

Re: the pitching matchups. I know this probably won't happen, but I would like to see Blanton get skipped during the Giants series.

Not only would it allow us to have our three best pitchers match up against the team we are fighting for the Wild Card, but it will give Oswalt a chance to pitch against his former team, something I'm sure he would want to do. I can imagine the kind of ovation he would get is something every player would appreciate.

[Fatalotti]

p. Red, the Houston series is in Philadelphia.

[The Truth Injection]

aksmith: This is really not that complicated. The doctors are checking whether he is healthy enough to play and that he did not do any further damage.

The team may decide that physically he is able to play but may not be up to game speed yet.

Stop trying to find something sinister here- it's all very much cut and dry

[Puma Shoes]

You probably should have had a poll about whether to spend the money on a red playing surface. If Boise State's blue surface shows up badly on television imagine a bright red surface. Yikes