Chase Utley Permitted to Do a Knee-Related Thing

The Phillies have taken it easy on Chase, going against my advice to force him to run laps around the field at full speed from day one of his horrific knee injury in hopes that it would somehow fix everything; and if he explodes, he explodes.  It’s all just a part of baseball.

But finally, after doing it in their own stupid, correct way, the Phillies are ready to allow Chase to operate his knee, under heavy supervision, with an armed guard present.I think we all deserve a pat on the back for not freaking out too hard about this.  We, like Chase, have taken it slowly, refusing to panic, and watched as national media outlets and the audiences of our rivals theorize that we are a lost cause without him.  Maybe we disagreed, but we kept it to ourselves for the most part; bottling our emotions deep down where they belong, below the surface until we irrationally blow up at a cashier in a Turkey Hill nine years from now.

So, what is actually happening.  Chase is spending a lot of time underwater, and according to Ruben, staying in “great shape.”  No surprise there; Chase could be shackled to a radiator and still find a way to work his glutes.

Ruben also compared Chase’s return to a mid-season acquisition; so while he was totally unwilling to give us a time table, he was willing to say that if a time table existed, it would stretch all the way to July.  Hur… rah.

"“…the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that he showed his most movement yet on Sunday, going to his right on flips to second base and going down on one knee.”–FOX Sports"

I had an Xbox controller with a malfunctioning joystick that prevented whoever was using it from turning to the right.  This led to endless comical deaths.  And with that being basically the same thing as what’s happening to Chase, I can tell you, not being able to move to the right is a pretty key detriment to fielding a baseball.