The Official Site of Chase Utley

Sat, Mar 21st 2009, 10:47

Utley continuing to defy odds in return

Not many thought Chase Utley would be at this stage back in late November.

The Phillies second baseman had surgery on his right hip on Nov. 24 and, at that time, he was supposed to miss four to six months, putting him back on the field, at the very earliest, by late March.

So far this spring, Utley has defied the odds.

On Friday, he was in the lineup again, playing his third game in the past four days and finishing 2-for-3 with a run scored.

Utley ended up playing 5 1/2 innings in a 2-2 tie against the Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium. His next step is to start playing seven to nine innings.

“Those are the steps that we’re going to make soon,” said Utley, who is batting .333 through four Spring Training games. “But so far, so good. Everything has felt good. As far as getting the timing down in games, it seems like it’s getting better. But the biggest thing is I’ve had no more problems with my hip.”

Utley will likely play against the Twins on Saturday in Clearwater, Fla., and Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said he’d probably hold Utley and third baseman Pedro Feliz, who is recovering from offseason back surgery, out of their game against the Red Sox at Fort Myers, Fla., on Sunday.

So far, though, Manuel likes how his two infielders are progressing.

“Both of them just need some at-bats,” he said.

At this point, Utley said he feels good enough to play an entire game, but he’ll hold off on that for a little while, just to be safe. Still, the 30-year-old has to like his current state, considering the original prognosis had him out until late May.

But he isn’t really surprised.

“I really wasn’t sure what to expect,” Utley said. “I know I worked hard this offseason to get to the point that I’m at right now, so I don’t know if I would consider that much of a surprise.”

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