The Official Site of Chase Utley

Tue, Apr 7th 2009, 10:07

Utley ahead of schedule

A game face very familiar to Philadelphia, a postcard for intensity, was turned off momentarily. When introduced on Opening Day, Chase Utley jogged from the Phillies dugout to the first-base foul line on Sunday night with no visible signs that he’d undergone right hip surgery in late November.

The best second baseman in baseball was smiling.

“It is satisfying to be in this position,” Utley said.

Utley could have been sidelined all of April and May, doctors predicted before and after performing a Nov. 24 procedure, an arthroscopic debridement of the labrum. Instead, the ultimate gamer was playing spring games by mid-March and ready for Opening Day, when he batted third for the Phillies, 4-1 losers to the Atlanta Braves.

Manager Charlie Manuel expected as much early into Utley’s rehab.

During a December trip to Philadelphia, Manuel spent an hour watching him rehab. He was amazed seeing how hard Utley was working and how he’d progressed so quickly. The skipper eventually left to do some errands, then returned later in the day to find Utley still there working just as hard.

“He was doing things the whole time,” Manuel said. “I knew he was going to be close to ready for the opening day of the season.”

Utley was optimistic, too, but was ordered by the Phillies again and again not to push it.

“I didn’t know really what to expect,” Utley said. “I knew during the offseason we were moving at a pretty good pace, and, obviously, in spring training we put a lot more pressure on it and it felt pretty good. I didn’t want to go out there until I was fully prepared.”

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