The Sports Granola

For weeks, Phillies players laughed off their lackluster spring training. Regardless of the results from Florida, they insisted they would be ready to play once the games counted. They were wrong.

Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Washington « 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 0 5 11 12 0 Philadelphia 1 0 0 1 0 1 3 0 0 6 8 2 Preview | Matchup | Lineup | Log | Wrap | Box W:S.Rivera(1-0) L:T.Gordon(0-1) HR: WAS- L.Milledge (1) PHI- J.Rollins (1), C.Utley (1)

Chase Utley has heard the chatter. You know, how 2008 is going to be his year, how he’ll become the third Phillie in as many years to win the National League’s Most Valuable Player award.

“Trendy pick,” Utley said, dismissing the topic with one of his typical shrugs. “Just talk.”

Yeah, it’s just talk. But it’s completely justified.

Utley finished eighth in the voting last season and might have won if he hadn’t missed a month after he was hit by a pitch, breaking his right hand.

The Phillies second baseman was a leading candidate when he went down July 26. At the time, he was hitting .336 with 17 homers and 82 RBIs. He was leading the NL with 41 doubles, and he ranked in the top six in batting average, RBIs, runs, hits, total bases, slugging, on-base percentage and multi-hit games.

Utley’s double-play partner, shortstop Jimmy Rollins, ended up winning the award, following the lead of slugging first baseman Ryan Howard, who won in 2006.

Not since the New York Yankees trio of Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle and Elston Howard in 1961 through 1963 have three teammates won the MVP in consecutive seasons.

Could Utley make it a Phillies threesome?

Sure he could. He’s that good.

How good?

“He’s the best second baseman in baseball,” one rival scout said. “It’s not even close. He’s a great hitter. He runs every ball out. He plays hard. He’s improved immensely on defense. He’s a gamer. Give me him over anyone else.”

Utley, 29, became the Phillies regular second baseman in 2005. Over the last three seasons, he leads big-league second basemen in runs (328), hits (537), home runs (82) and RBIs (310).

He’s also rated as the top defensive second baseman over that span by analyst John Dewan, author of The Fielding Bible. Dewan uses statistics and the opinions of 10 analysts in reaching his conclusions.

Utley is the baseball equivalent of a gym rat. He’s always working at his game, never lets up, never cheats himself or his team.

As a youngster, Utley spent hours in the batting cage. He loved hitting and his dedication shows. He was a high school star in Long Beach, Calif., then went to UCLA, where the Phillies noticed his strong lefthanded bat and selected him 15th overall in the 2000 draft.

Defense was a struggle for the young Utley. He played shortstop as a freshman at UCLA, but moved to second as a sophomore.

“I really liked shortstop, but wasn’t good enough to stay there,” he said. “I struggled with the throw.”

Utley paused.

“Defense has never come easy,” he said.

That’s what makes his status as an elite defensive second baseman so remarkable. There isn’t a play he can’t make. He turns the double play well. He’s tremendous going to his left, halting a ball on one knee in shallow right field, popping to his feet and throwing the runner out. He made just 10 errors in 661 total chances in 2007.

Utley’s strong defense didn’t happen by accident. He fields dozens of ground balls every day. Off the field, he does agility and quickness drills - year-round.

“In the infield, your first step is key,” he said. “You want to feel light on your feet.”

As fine a hitter as Utley is, he takes pride in being a complete player.

“If it came down to making a great play to save a run or getting an RBI hit,” he said, “making the play is more satisfactory.”

Utley has started at second in the last two all-star games. His bat has brought him that honor. He has a short, quick, powerful stroke. He hit .372 at Citizens Bank Park last season, .332 overall.

Utley is a student of hitting. He spends hours in the batting cage, sometimes simply tracking pitches with his eyes, but that is not his only classroom. He watches extensive video. He studies his previous at-bats against that night’s pitcher. He watches how the pitcher attacks other lefthanded hitters. He even watches opposing hitters so he can have an idea how to position himself defensively.

“I’m trying to pick up anything,” Utley said of those video sessions. “Sometimes you do, sometimes you don’t, but you have to give yourself that chance.”

That all-out commitment is why the Phillies gave Utley a seven-year, $85-million contract extension in 2007. It’s a big reason why Utley is the game’s top second baseman.

“His attitude more than anything makes him a great player,” said Rollins. “Of course, he has natural skills, but he does everything with the right attitude - from the batting cage to ground balls - and that carries over into the game.”

Utley shuns talking about himself. He doesn’t spend time wondering whether he might have been the 2007 MVP if he hadn’t gotten hurt in July (”No biggie,” he said. “We still did well when I was out”). He scoffs when people mention him as an MVP possibility for this season.

But he does have an individual goal and that, he hopes, will lead to his ultimate goal - a championship.

“Try to get better,” Utley said. “That’s my main objective. The better you get, the better you play, the better your team will do.”

In recent seasons, the Phillies have made acquisitions that were completely self-explanatory.Jim Thome was picked up to hit home runs, Billy Wagner to calm down the ninth inning and Jamie Moyer to provide innings at the back end of the rotation. Pedro Feliz was signed for more subtle reasons.

Sure, he’s an excellent defensive third baseman - best in the business by some accounts - and he has pop in his bat. Those attributes appealed to the Phils. But so did this: Feliz is a major-league regular, capable of playing every inning, every day. Last season, manager Charlie Manuel had to pull off a nightly juggling act at third base. He alternately used Wes Helms and Greg Dobbs, depending on the pitching matchup and who was swinging the bat best. When he needed better defense at the position, he’d shuttle Abraham Nunez in and out.

Fortifying third base sometimes meant using three players per game, the starter, a pinch-hitter and a defensive replacement. Moves like that take a toll on a team’s bench resources.

With Feliz at third, Manuel won’t need to use newcomer Eric Bruntlett as a late-game defensive replacement, thus freeing Bruntlett for pinch-hitting and pinch-running. The acquisition of Feliz also allows Manuel to keep the lefthanded hitting Dobbs in reserve for pinch-hitting assignments. Dobbs led the majors with 18 pinch-hit RBIs last season. Helms is still with the club, but his days could be numbered.

“I thought we could gowith Helms and Dobbs at third,” Manuel said. “But Feliz stayed out there [on the free-agent market] and [assistant general manager] Ruben Amaro kept talking to him.

“The big thing with Feliz is he’s an everyday guy. Now I don’t have to use a couple players in the sixth inning. I don’t have to burn two players. It saves our bench and makes us stronger late in games.”

Feliz, who is signed through next season, turns 33 in April. He comes to the Phillies after seven seasons with the San Francisco Giants, where he played outfield, first base and third base. He was team’s regular third baseman the last 21/2 seasons.

Although Feliz has never won a Gold Glove, he is a first-rate defensive player. In fact, baseball analyst John Dewan, author of The Fielding Bible, rates him as the top defensive third baseman over the last three years, ahead of Brandon Inge, Scott Rolen and Joe Crede. Dewan uses statistics and the opinions of 10 analysts in reaching his conclusions.

Scouts are also high on Feliz’s defense. “He’s very sure-handed and has an accurate arm,” one rival scout said.In 2007, Feliz led all NL third baseman with a .973 fielding percentage. He committed just 11 errors.

“He’s one of the best third basemen around,” said Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker, who skippered the Giants during Feliz’s first three big-league seasons, 2000-02. As manager of the Chicago Cubs from 2003 to 2006, Baker watched Feliz frequently. “A ball would be hit to him late in a close game and someone on our bench would say, ‘Throw it away.’ I’d say, ‘Forget about it.’ He has as true a throw as any third baseman you’ll see.”

Feliz has a very sound and simple release. He also has above-average range. He gets to bunts quickly. With him and Gold Glove shortstop Jimmy Rollins, the Phillies have one of the best left-side infield tandems in baseball. Feliz’s fielding skills were honed on the pocked fields of the Dominican Republic. “I played on fields with rocks and no grass,” he said. “You always had to be ready for bad hops. It prepares you.” The Giants initially signed Feliz for $5,000. Growing up in the Dominican, Feliz developed the free-swinging approach to hitting shared by many of his countrymen. As they say in the Dominican, “You can’t walk off the island.” To appeal to scouts, players swing the bat and try to drive the ball. In some cases, though, plate discipline suffers.

Feliz’s career on-base percentage (.28 is poor. He walked just 29 times as a 150-game full-time player last season. Feliz, however, has knocked in at least 80 runs three times, while hitting at least 20 homers each of the last four seasons. He will hit sixth or seventh and shouldget plenty of RBI chances in the Phillies’ potent lineup. Last season, he hit .310 with runners in scoring position.

“He’ll swing at anything, and the breaking ball gives him trouble,” a rival scout said. “But he should hit 30 home runs in that park.”

In San Francisco, Feliz played in AT&T Park, one of the most difficult places to hit home runs. In Philadelphia, he will play in Citizens Bank Park, one of the easiest. Last season, an average of 1.46 homers per game was hit in San Francisco, while the average per game in Philadelphia was 2.98.

“In San Francisco, he was maligned as a free-swinger, but that’s who he is,” Baker said. “In that lineup and that ballpark, he’ll do well.

“That’s a good signing for the Phillies.”

The City of Miami said yes to the new Florida Marlins stadium. The stadium, which will have a retractable roof, will be at the Orange Bowl site. What? Yes, the Orange Bowl site. Who will travel down there during the week. South Floridians know, you don’t travel down there during the week. The rush hour is terrible, I mean terrible. I have lived in Atlanta and DC, and the traffic heading down there is awful. Why not put it up in Broward county. Most of the Marlins fans come from Broward and Palm Beach counties. This is a terrible idea. No one will go. Doesn’t matter with roof or not. I have season tickets to the Hurricanes. I hated to go there on the weekends.

There is no parking there. You have to pay citizens to park in their yards. Yes, their yards. They are only building a parking garage that holds 6,000 cars. That is it. 6,000. Will it be enough. Maybe. Nobody goes to Marlins games. Not sure why. I enjoy them. I love the sport of baseball. But building it down in Miami is a killer. Bye, bye Orange Bowl, I will miss you.

Philadelphia Phillies star first baseman, Ryan Howard, won his salary arbitration case. He was awarded $10 million, the most ever by arbitration. He was the first to win this off season. Howard deserved this. I am so happy for him. The Phillies only offered him $7 million a year, seems like a lot, but it isn’t compared to other first basemans out there.

The Phillies have a lot of talent, but pitching is still there achilles heel. How will they do? I guess we have to wait and see.

Hey check this out. People are idiots.

sports

According to US prosecutors, Barry Bonds failed a drug test a month after hitting his record 73rd home run. Ok, we all know he took drugs. His head grew. That isn’t normal. Baseball never had a steroid policy back then. Lay off. I don’t agree with what the players did, but it was the norm back then. Everyone did it. They had too because everyone was doing it. The government needs to stay out of this. I am sick and tired of the hearings after hearings. It isn’t doing a bit of good. Congress needs to worry about the country (Iraq War, Terrorism, Poverty). They have wasted so much money on absolutely worthless acts.
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New York Newsday is reporting that Andy Pettite affidavit confirms that Roger Clemens was injected with steroids. What will happen tomorrow? Stay tuned in.