Philadelphia Phillies

MIAMI — Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. told CSNPhilly's Jim Salisbury on Wednesday that Chase Utley, who was a late scratch Tuesday, will undergo a MRI either today or tomorrow. Depending on the results of the MRI, the Phillies will decide if a stint on the disabled list is necessary. Utley was replaced by Freddy Galvis on the lineup card about an hour before Wednesday's 7-2 win with what the Phillies called "discomfort in his right side," or pain in his rib cage. Utley has been the most productive Phillie at the plate this season. He has seven home runs and 25 RBIs to go along with a .272 average and an .814 OPS. After two injury-riddled seasons in 2011 and 2012, Utley had been surprisingly healthy to this point.

Well, it was probably bound to happen. Per Jim Salisbury, Chase utley is out of the lineup again today, and will have an MRI on his ailing ribcage tomorrow. “When he took a swing, he felt a little burn, a pain in his rib cage,” manager Charlie Manuel said of Utley after Tuesday's game. “Sometimes if you keep playing that can get more serious and you lose time. I’ve had those things. It’s hard to breathe, really hard to swing. We’ll see. Hopefully we don’t lose him for very long.” Utley missed the first part of the last two seasons with knee injuries, and hasn't played in more than 115 games in a season since 2009. He's still managed to amass 14 WAR over that time. Utley is in the last year of his contract with the Phillies and is currently leading the team in OPS, and has twice as many WAR (1.4) than the next player on the team, Freddy Galvis (0.7) who will likely fill in for Chase should he require a DL stint. To put the WAR into perspective, the rest of the infield regulars (Young, Howard, Rollins) plus Ben Revere and Dom Brown have combined for 1.6 WAR total on the season. Oblique and Rib injuries are both painful and can take serious time to recover from. it's quite likely this is a DL stint about to happen, and added to the injuries to Lannan, Ruiz and Mike Adams, not only severely hurts both the teams depth and ability to compete, it also severely dent their trade value, should the Phillies decide to move salary and veterans at the deadline. Stay tuned.

Phillies second baseman will have a MRI exam in the wake of injuring his rib cage Tuesday.

Being old sucks, guys. May 3, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley (26) celebrates hitting a home run during the third inning against the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports According to CSN Philly’s Jim Salisbury, Chase Utley will undergo an MRI on his sore rib cage, meaning he will not be in the lineup for the series finale against the Marlins tonight in Miami. In case you’re a bit late to proceedings, Utley now joins Carlos Ruiz, Mike Adams and Ryan Howard as players who have needed a trip inside the MRI machine in the last few days, making the MRI machine a more popular Philadelphia attraction lately than The Franklin Institute. I know we all said we wanted to get Freddy Galvis some more at bats, but I don’t think anyone wanted this. Thanks, baseball. Phils GM Ruben Amaro told Comcast Sportsnet this morning, “We’ll probably MRI him today or tomorrow, figure out how significant it is and go from there.” I love that we’re now using MIR as a verb. After last night’s game, Charlie Manuel said, “When he took a swing, he felt a little burn, a pain in his rib cage. Sometimes if you keep playing that can get more serious and you lose time. I’ve had those things. It’s hard to breathe, really hard to swing. We’ll see. Hopefully we don’t lose him for very long.” Obviously, it completely sucks to lose your best offensive player for any length of time, and should it be required, a DL stint for Chase could not come at a worse time. Utley is the team leader in OPS (.814) and RBIs (25) and is second in HRs (7), and batting average (.272). The weak offense cannot afford to lose the one reliable bat they have. I guess the good news is that his knees have not collapsed in on themselves like a couple of matchsticks holding up half a human. That’s all good. But ribcage/oblique strains are taken very seriously in Major League circles nowadays. They’re all the rage, really. Unfortunately, these are some of the consequences of age. As the body gets older, it breaks down a bit. Utley hurting himself during batting practice is like me straining my knee getting out of the shower. Or when I throw my back out sneezing. That kind of stuff happens as you get old. If Utley does go on the disabled list, the Phils could recall Darin Ruf from AAA or Lehigh second baseman Cesar Hernandez, who is having an outstanding season for the Iron Pigs (.320/.386/.456, OPS .842, 2 HRs, 5 2Bs, 6 3Bs). Stupid Father Time.

Chase Utley will almost certainly miss tonight's game and it's probably safe to expect him to miss a few weeks, according to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Utley will undergo an MRI either Tuesday or Wednesday on his sore rib cage. Utley felt a burning sensation when taking batting practice Tuesday and was scratched from the lineup. As Salisbury explains, oblique injuries are taken quite seriously because of all the twisting involved in swinging and throwing. Players often end up on...

Ruben Amaro has to like the Phillies, as it is his job. Apr 21, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr talks with media prior to playing the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports Which makes all the stranger what the rest of us are doing here.  Regardless, fountain of eternal hope/hope-ruiner Amaro has taken to a microphone to express the sheer joy he gets from watching these Phillies dangle a .500 record in front of everybody, then run away giggling. Amaro answered some questions recently, offering up some real gems. “Our job is to try to contend every year.” So don’t plan that rebuild for any forthcoming years, you cowards. “I don’t have a crystal ball that says it will and it hasn’t shown the consistency that would make you think it will. But there are reasons they have those numbers on the back of their baseball cards.” To reiterate: Ruben Amaro has NO crystal ball, DOES have baseball cards, which he implements as scouting/evaluation tools. “Obviously we haven’t had consistency in the middle-relief corps, but it’s not our biggest problem. We’d like to be better there.” It’s tough to argue with the logic that the Phillies’ biggest problem is that they are not a better baseball team. “…if we were to lose Ryan [Howard] and [Carlos Ruiz] for an extended amount of time, it would be very tough on us. There are other people who can step up in both cases and keep us afloat, but I don’t anticipate Ryan’s injury being a long-term one.” There are other people, yes.  Just like there were other people last year.  And they’re gone now.  What Amaro can’t say in public is how barely believable it is that these other people will be able to carry a team somewhere impressive. “Right now, I don’t think it’s unrealistic for us to still think we’re contending in this division. I think we have the talent to compete and contend in this division.” So do I, after we win.  After we lose I become an advocate for moving the franchise the Charlotte.

Hey there Ryan Howard, it’s me, ZWR, of I Want to Go to the Zoo with Roy Halladay - the world’s foremost bolg about wanting to go the zoo with your teammate Roy Halladay.

So, the Ten is a day late. And Paul Boye, your usual curator, is out of pocket, so I will be pulling together your Tuesday Wednesday 10 today. Plenty happening with the Phillies and around the league, so let’s get right into it. 10. Delmon Young plays the sport of baseball professionally (for money) in an organization known as Major League Baseball OK, look. This isn’t that bad. Sure, there are countless other .gifs documenting Delmon’s tragilarious defense in the outfield, but that one hit off the wall! He could’ve played it better, or gotten to it quicker, but it bounced kinda funkily. It’s not like he botched a routine fly there. And, more importantly, it’s not as if the Phillies signed Delmon to be early-2000s Andruw Jones in the outfield; he’s here for his stick. He’s a role player, and it’s unfair to- actually, now that I’m looking at it, he’s hitting .214/.292/.393 in 65 plate appearances. That’s really bad. I mean, it’s only 65 plate appearances, and it’s not like the Phillies bet the house on him, but dang. He’d better pull some kind of streak together quickly. 9. Man, I’ll tell you, that Chase Utley fellow can reall No, wait, I’m not done with this. .214/.292/.393, that’s a .685 OPS. This dude is in Ty Wigginton territory. Actually, he’s orchestrated a full-scale land invasion of Ty Wigginton territory, planted the flag in the capital, and is marshaling his troops for an assault on the Republic of Mike Martinez. OK, only 65 PA, coming off of an ankle injury. But since when is Delmon Young the guy you exercise patience with? Wasn’t he one of those “low-risk” and “high-reward” signings I’ve heard travelers from other markets sing tales of? Take a chance, then cut him loose? Well the results are in! He’s still really bad. Strap him to the rocket. 8. Cole Hamels run support factoid roundup. Here are some rounded up factoids about Cole Hamels’ run su Come to think of it, about the only thing that Delmon has done so far was hit a home run in his first plate appearance back, and then, presumably, stay un-fat enough to get paid more money (and I guess he dingered last night or whatever). Remember when it was March, and he whined feebly about having to practice the sport of baseball in less-than-optimal weather? I am by no means the “attitude police” type of spectator, but, cheese and crackers, how must he regard his profession if he has to be bribed like a child just to stay in good enough of shape to play it? Think about that. 7. Mike Adams‘ rehab deets! Here is the low-down. The skinny. Please say something about Mike Ada I mean seriously, just look at that. Notice how Nellie Fox, Harold Baines, and Luke Appling, just chilling in portrait form on the left field wall, have to watch Baby Huey make a pathetic farce out of the game they dedicated 61 combined seasons to — a game that Delmon could hardly be bothered to put effort into if it were early Spring and there were a chance his nipples could chafe. 6. Carlos Ruiz to the disabled list! He has a hurty spot on his leg and cannot play the game of baseball! For the Phillies! There was no possibility of a DH rule for the National League this year, right? No chance that Bud Selig would suddenly insert that into the rulebook on like, March 30th? Because I can’t fathom how Ruben Amaro thought Young could be serviceable in a Major League outfield. His route-running makes Darin Ruf look like a GPS unit with legs. What on earth was the — oh, yes, I remember. It’s because he’s playing right field now. That’s much better. Waddling about the open field and hoping for Ben Revere to bail you out is a lot easier to do on the right side of the field! Because reasons! Is that what the scouts said? Amaro and the front office in general have been very clear

Phillies Nation TV! In this jam-packed episode where Pat and Corey discuss Jimmy Rollins candidacy for Hall of Fame down the road, plus a look back at a wild series against the Reds. Natalie talks with Jen Utley about their involvement with the PSPCA. Natalie also has some fun at Utley Casino Night, talking with Michael Young, Kevin Frandsen, and Ruben Amaro, among others. And last, but certainly not least, Tony Luke with Ian!

May 20, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; Washington Nationals pitcher Zach Duke (30) is pulled from the game against the San Francisco Giants in the fourth inning at AT You know, as bad as the Phillies have played at times this year, being a fan of the Washington Nationals must be a far more frustrating experience. Last season, the Nationals had the best record in baseball at 98-64 and won the NL East by four games over Atlanta, and by 17 games over the Phils. And although they got beaten by the Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs, their future certainly appeared bright. They came into 2013 with two of the best young pitchers in the game, Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmerman, one of the game’s two most exciting young players in Bryce Harper, a lineup with a nice mix of veteran talent and youth, the best rotation in the National League, and a bullpen with an established closer in Rafael Soriano. On paper, the Nats appeared to have no holes. But things have not gone well in DC so far this year. After last night’s brutal 4-2 loss to the Giants in 10 innings, the Nationals fell to .500 on the season at 23-23, 4 1/2 games behind Atlanta, and just one game better than the Phils. That’s right. The Nationals are just one game ahead of the Phillies in the standings. Tuesday night’s loss in San Francisco was just brutal. Holding a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the ninth, Soriano gave up an RBI triple with two outs to tie the game, then watched as Pablo Sandoval hit a Yunesky Maya offering out of the park for a walk-off two-run homer. It was Washington’s fourth straight defeat, and they are now 3-6 on their current west coast road trip. To add insult to injury, Soriano blamed the defensive alignment in the outfield for preventing Harper from catching the game-tying triple. After the game, Harper took the blame, saying he was afraid of hitting the outfield wall, which isn’t surprising considering he nearly broke his face on the outfield wall in Los Angeles last week. So, not only are the Nats losing, they’re blaming each other afterwards. Not a good sign. Through 46 games, their 2013 run differential is a staggeringly bad -27, which is only slight better than the Phils’ -34. And there are ominous signs that things are not going to get better anytime soon. Relief pitcher Ryan Mattheus pulled a Ryan Madson after Monday’s loss to San Francisco, breaking his hand after punching a locker. Oddly, Madson and Mattheus both suffered their self-inflicted wounds in San Fran. Not only that, there are signs Jayson Werth, who signed a 7-year, $126 million contract with the Nats after the 2010 season, could be out another two weeks with a stubborn hamstring injury. Team officials described the Werth medical report as “alarming.”  That’s not a word you want to have associated with the guy you still owe $83 million AFTER this season. Werth has played in just 238 of the 370 games the Nats have played since his arrival. It’s fair to wonder if the Werth contract is actually worse than Ryan Howard’s deal. The Nats also lost Wilson Ramos to the DL for a hamstring injury recently (seriously Nats trainers, let’s stretch those things out a bit in pre-game warm-ups, huh?) and Ross Detwiler had to be scratched from his start Monday in San Francisco. However, the big problem for Washington, much like the Phillies, has been the offense, which has actually been WORSE than the Phils’. Apr 29, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Washington Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth (28) is checked by head trainer Lee Kuntz and manager Davey Johnson (5) after being injured on a swing against the Atlanta Braves during the eighth inning at Turner Field. The Braves defeated the Nationals 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports Let me say that again. THE WASHINGTON NATIONALS’ OFFENSE HAS BEEN WORSE THAN THE PHILLIES’. Let that sink in for a moment. The Nats have scored j