Monday, February 28, 2011

New Chink In Dented Armor

Chase Utley has a knee problem and Phillies fans everywhere buckled at the news.

By now everyone who follows the Phillies knows Utley cannot be relied on to reveal the truth about his health; nor, for that matter, can the Phillies, who routinely obfuscate whenever suggestions let alone rumors surface that one of their players is hurting.

The Utley injury, confirmed as patella tendinitis by an MRI, is no small matter given how important his presence in the lineup is and how much the Phils are counting on him to rebound from last season's injury-plagued year. Wilson Valdez did an admirable job last year, but he ain't no Utley, hurt or otherwise.

If tincture of time proves ineffective in Utley's case, the Phils could move Placido Polanco to second, his more natural position. They'd still have to solve the problem of who plays third, however.

What we do know is there is no margin of error for the Phils' offense.

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