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Friday, March. 1/2013

Chase Utley and Ryan Howard guest starring on “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” I love this show and this episode, but it is wildly inappropriate and I would not suggest it for children. Chase and Ryan were awesome in it.

By Ryan Dana (MLB Reports Writer): Follow @ryandana1

Ryan Howard and Chase Utley have played for the Philadelphia Phillies their entire careers to this point. They have been holding down the right side of the infield for the Phillies consistently since 2006 – and have been tearing apart pitching from the 3-4 slots in the lineup for equally as long. They each played in 100+ games every year since the 2006 season, until an injury plagued 2012 campaign for the duo.

Howard managed to play just 71 games, and Utley only 83. Maybe age is starting to catch up with the 33 year old Howard and 34 year old Utley, and if it is, that is a terrible sign for the Phillies playoff aspirations because their offense has been built around the two (plus standout Shortstop Jimmy Rollins). I think the Utley – Howard combo still has productive seasons left with in Philadelphia, and 2013 should prove that. I expect them to be bright spots in the lineup for a team that has become largely reliant on their starting pitching to achieve success.

Baseball Friends Utley and Howard:

Howard and Utley are a powerful tandem. Howard currently has 300 career HRs, while Utley sits just 1 shy of 200 at 199. Both also have a career Slugging % of .500 or better. This pic is from 2006 when they each brought a Silver Slugger Award back to Philly.

First let’s discuss the health of the two sluggers. Chase Utley had been able to stay on the field for most of his career through 2010 other than a 15 day DL stint in 2010 for a sprained thumb. 2011 brought a more serious problem. Prior to the season Utley was suffering from chronic knee problems including patellar tendonitis, chondromalacia, and bone inflammation. He played through a lot of games (103 in 2011) with the knee problems, and his performance while in the lineup suffered. In 2012, still suffering from the knee issues Utley started the season on the DL and wasn’t activated until the end of June.

Utley played only about half the season in 2012 as a result, and again saw his performance at a level less than what he has grown accustomed to. Now things seem to be making a turn for the better, as Chase says the knee problems that have hindered his performance over the past 2 seasons are “behind him.” A good sign is that he is playing in Spring Training for the 1^st time since 2010.

2010 was Utley’s last All-Star year, not to say he will get back to that level, but he is starting off the year in a better situation than any year since. I think he will be able to stay on the field more this season. Chondromalacia is not something that is just going to go away, but at the very least if any knee problems flare up, I would think Utley be better prepared to deal with it.

Ryan Howard’s injury past is a little more clear-cut than Utley’s. Howard has really not had any injury troubles until the end of the 2011 campaign. He played at least 143 Games in every season since 2006 (excluding 2012), so he has been on the field and in the lineup. In 2012 he started his season on the DL still recovering from a torn achilles tendon which happened while he was running out a ground ball on the last play of the Phillies season in 2011.

He didn’t make it back to the lineup until early July. He was less than spectacular, probably still not fully trusting in his repaired achilles, until he broke his toe at the end of September in 2012. The toe is fine now, and he has had ample time to rehabilitate his achilles now so I doubt the injuries will linger any longer.

These are acute injuries that should be a non-factor going forward for Howard. On top of being healthy to start a full slate of Spring Training games and practices, Howard also benefited from being able to train this off-season which wasn’t really possible last year. Howard should be in game-shape once games start in 2013, so his performance should look a lot more like the perennial MVP candidate than he had been, rather than the player that never really made an impact in 2012.

Utley and Howard are clearly known for their offensive prowess, and while that is all Howard really has to boast, Utley is actually quite a good defensive Second Baseman. He saved 119 Runs on Defense from 2005-2010.

What should we expect numbers wise for Chase Utley? Well, before the knee really became a problem for him, he was the best 2^nd baseman in the NL. He was an All-Star from ’06-’10, a Silver Slugger winner from ’06-’09, and finished in the top 14 in NL MVP voting every year from ’05-’09. From 2005-2010, he averaged .298/.388/.523 with 27 HRs, 95 RBI, 105 R, 36 2B and 15 SB. The only thing he’s ever led the league in was Runs once and HBP 3 times. He is not the “best” at anything really, but it’s hard to find someone more well-rounded offensively, especially as a Second Baseman.

The numbers speak to the fact that he can do it all, which makes him a perfect number 3 hitter, and an integral part to the offensive attack. There is no doubt that the last 2 seasons his production dropped off, but if you take his 2011-2012 numbers and project them out for 162 games he hit .258/353/.426 with 20 HRs, 78 RBI, 89 R, 32 2Bs, and 22 SB.

Granted his ’05-’10 numbers were with an average of 145 Games Played, but you can see that even while battling injury, when he was on the field he was still productive. It will be interesting to see how many games Utley can play in 2013. I hesitate to say he will have another season like any of the ones he had prior to ’09, but I think he will be very close. I am optimistic about Utley to the least.

Ryan Howard was a consistent force in the NL from 2006-2011. He only had 3 All-Star Appearances and 1 Silver Slugger Award  in this stretch of time, but he finished in the top 10 in NL MVP voting every year – and won the award in 2006. Over this span he averaged 153 Games Played and hit .274/.369/.559. He also averaged 44 HRs, 133 RBI, 96 R, and 28 2Bs. Like I said before he did not suffer from an injury that should have a carryover effect to 2013, so I expect him to pick up right where he left off.

Howard had also had 6 straight 30+ HR seasons with 100+ RBI from 2006-2011.  He led the NL in HRs 2x (58 in 2006 and 48 in 2008) and RBI 3X (149 in ’06, 146 in ’08 and 141 in ’09’).  Translation from these gaudy numbers is the man originally from St. Louis can hit.  If the team struggles after this year, plus they don’t resign Utley, I could see Howard being a good candidate to be traded to the American League to be a Designated Hitter/Part time First Baseman eventually.

Howard is also the Active Leader amongst MLB’ers for HRs/Per AB.

This year, he should be able to knock out 30+ HRs and 100+ RBI – while hitting in the mid-high .200s, with an OBP in the mid .300s. That is what I expect from Howard and it is perfectly reasonable. With that level of production, combined with Utley’s – the Phillies should once again have a force in the middle of their lineup which they have been lacking consistency in over the past 2 seasons. This should help the Phillies eclipse the 684 Runs they scored in 2012, and put them back in playoff contention in combination with their stellar Starting Pitching Rotation.

Utley and Howard have crossed the plate a combined 1440 times in a Phillies uniform.  Both men have spearheaded the organization to 5 division titles in the last 6 years – including a World Series win in 2008, plus an additional berth in a 2009 loss to the New York Yankees.  After the tandem of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz were split up in 2008 for the Boston Red Sox, some argue that Utley and Howard took the mantle as the games best 3-4 combination.  Do they have one more deep Post Season run in them for the city of Brotherly Love in the next few seasons?

*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com and their partners***

A big thank-you goes out to our baseball writer Ryan Dana for preparing today’s featured article.  Ryan is a junior studying physical education with a concentration in coaching at Bridgewater State University. He has been playing baseball since he was 7 and coaching since he was 14. Ryan wants to be a college baseball coach once he graduates.  Ryan is, and always will be, a diehard Boston Red Sox fan. Secondary to baseball, he is a big health and fitness enthusiast. You can find Ryan on Twitter . Follow @ryandana1

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