The Hawk

Issue date: 4/23/08 Section: Sports

Chase Utley has led the Phillies' offense this year through Jimmy Rollins' absence and Ryan Howard's struggles.

There is an old adage in baseball that says a team cannot win anything in April, but it sure can lose everything.

Over the past several years the Phillies have tried to test this saying with their constant ability to start off sluggishly, leaving them to fight an uphill battle for the duration of the season. Until last year's epic September comeback, their inept starts could be seen as a direct reason for the lack of October baseball in this town. Coming into this season, the team was determined to come out of the gates, if not scorching hot, then at least tepid enough to weather the storm until the calendar flips to May.

Early results have been somewhat encouraging, at least in regards to the past several seasons. At the end of the day Sunday the team sat at 9-10, only two and a half games off the pace in the NL East, despite battling some injuries and poor starts. Many pundits believed that with such competition in the division, the race would be decided by who could stay the healthiest between the Phillies, Mets, and Braves. It is only late April and already the Phils have been without the services of their closer for the opening week (indirectly costing them an Opening Day win), and the table-setters for the lineup, shortstop and reigning MVP Jimmy Rollins and centerfielder Shane Victorino, are already on the Disabled List.

Predictably, Rollins' absence has inflicted the biggest strain on the roster; the team had just beaten the Mets in their first meeting and whispers were beginning to creep up that the team was inside the Met's heads. At the heart of all this was Rollins, the player who takes the brunt of the venom from New York fans and thrives on it.

Unfortunately Rollins sprained an ankle late in the win and was forced to miss the next 10 games, which included four losses to the Mets. The team salvaged a win in the final meeting on April 20, but they also made the decision to move Rollins to the DL and give him the proper time to heal. Undoubtedly it was the right move to make since the season is so long, but in the short-term his absence is a severe hindrance to the team in all facets.

With Rollins gone, the heat has been turned up on others to carry the torch until his return. Chase Utley has been nothing short of miraculous at second base, batting .351 with eight HRs and 17 RBIs in the first 19 games. Included in this is a stretch of four straight games with a homer, an impressive feat when you consider that Utley hits for average first and power second. It is this kind of production that has helped to make Utley one of the most popular athletes in Philadelphia, and one of the finest players in all of MLB.

Continued...

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