Utley solid at plate with Lehigh Valley, rehab to continue with Reading

In his first game action since June 22nd, Phillies second baseman Chase Utley went 2-for-3 with a walk for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Sunday.

In the 4-0 loss to Norfolk at home in Allentown, Utley acted as the team's designated hitter.

The 36-year-old has been sidelined in recent weeks with a right ankle injury.

In 65 games at the big league level this season, the veteran has tallied a .179 average with four home runs and 25 RBI. In his 13-year big league career, Utley, who was the Phils' first round draft choice in 2000, has a .281 batting average with 232 homers and 911 RBI.

With the IronPigs slated to hit the road this week, the Phillies will keep Utley close to home and have him continue his rehab with Double-A Reading when they make the short road trip to Trenton beginning on Tuesday. The plan is for Utley to see some action in the field and play with the Fightins for two days. He will be reevaluated after that.

Outfielder Nick Williams and hurler Jake Thompson, acquired from Texas in the Cole Hamels/Jake Diekman trade last week, are expected to be added to the Reading roster in time for the team's series opener in Trenton.

Comments

Q&A with Justin De Fratus

Justin De Fratus is a 21 year old right handed relief pitcher with the Lakewood BlueClaws. An 11th round draft choice in 2007, Justin had been a starter in his first two seasons in the Phillies organization. Informed this spring that he'd be switched from the rotation to the bullpen, Justin has excelled and become one of the most reliable pitchers on the Lakewood staff. In 19 games this season, Justin is 2-0, with a 1.83 ERA and 0.89 WHIP over 39 1/3 innings pitched. PhoulBallz.com spoke with Justin De Fratus just last night. Here's how that went down... Justin, South Atlantic League all star selections were announced this week, and you were named to the team. Can I get your reaction to that? How excited were you? Very excited about it. Well, especially this year because I just got moved to the bullpen, so this is a new role for me. So, if anything, it's reassuring that I'm doing my job. It's the first time in my pro career that I've been selected as an all star...

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...

Heroes- Fight of the Century

VS. It's a big day for your boy, Jay Ballz . No work, X-Men Origins: Wolverine premieres, our Phillies face the Metropolitans for the first time this season and tailgating for BOTH doesn't sound all that absurd to me. Anyway, I surveyed some qualified phans and got several opinions on how exactly a fight might go down if the mutant hero Wolverine faced off against Phillies hero Matt Stairs. Well known blogger, Chris, of I've Made a Huge Tiny Mistake , kept it real and said the following- "Wolverine has adamantium ( indestructible metal substance) claws, so that's a great advantage. Stairs' Wonder Bat is neutralized there. See, the problem becomes Wolverine's ability to recover (he has a regenerative power) faster. Stairs is merely human. Sure, he has a goatee, and goatees are great, but they're great for saving sauce, not for defeating mutants. I think Wolverine takes it in a fight to the death in about 15 minutes because Stairs simply doesn'...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog