Kent & Utley - A Quick Comparison

2B Jeff Kent retired today. Most consider Kent to be an easy Hall of Fame pick and rightfully so. He managed to play 2B to the ripe age of 40 and put up some pretty impressive numbers while doing so. He won an MVP and was a key piece on several teams in his career. A closer look at his stats shows that he and the Phillies own Chase Utley compare favorably. Both broke into the league at Age 24. Both hit .239 in their rookie season. Both are/were middle of the lineup threats that terrified opposing pitchers. A quick glance at the numbers show that up to Age 29, Utley has been the superior player in almost all respects. Kent didn't really enter his prime until his breakout Age 29 season where he finally cracked the 100 RBI mark for the first time. He subsequently knocked in over 100 runs 8 times in the next 9 seasons, just missing 100 RBIs in an injury-shortened 2003 season at Age 35. Utley on the other hand just turned 30 this off-season and has already compiled 4 100 RBI seasons while posting an OPS+ at or over 125 all 4 years. As of Age 29, Utley is clearly the superior player. If you look at other career indicators, Utley usually comes out ahead:

Career AVG:

Utley - .298
Kent - .290

Career OBP:

Utley - .375
Kent - .356

Career SLG:

Utley - .526
Kent - .500

Career OPS+

Utley - 128
Kent - 123

Utley is also clearly more of a threat on the basepaths with a far better SB%. In 17 seasons, Kent has been in 5 All-Star games while Utley has managed to make 3 All-Star teams in his first 5 full seasons. Kent is a 4-time Silver Slugger while Utley already has 3 such awards. If Utley is able to come close to replicating Jeff Kent's success after Age 30, he will clearly be a 1st Ballot Hall of Famer and one of the top 2B of all time. So far, as of Age 29, Utley has been the far superior player. The next several seasons should be interesting to see if he can continue his success deept into his 30s like Kent has been able to do.

Boo?...F*ck You!

Simply put, Chase Utley is the best Phillie to ever live. Give um Hell Chase!!!

Player of the Week-2B Chase Utley: I know its early but with his admirable performance last night at the 2008 All-Star Game HR Derby, Chase Utley has solidified his place in the pantheon of Philadelphia sports.

Weekly Awards

This week its short and sweet:

Player of the Week - 2B Chase Utley: After suffering through a brutal slump for most of June, Chase Utley righted himself this week with a 10 for 27 (.370) performance. He led the team with 6 runs scored and 20 total bases and played the role of table setter for Pat Burrell and Ryan Howard who both had solid weeks as well. Utley's line: .370 avg, 4 2B, 2 HR, 6 R, 4 RBI, 1 SB, .414 OBP, 1.155 OPS.

Pitcher of the Week - SP Cole Hamels: Cole has simply been a workhorse this season and this past week was no exception. Hamels went 2-0 on the week winning both his starts while posting a 2.87 ERA. Simply put, he dominated for the week and fully demonstrated why he is the Ace of the Phillies staff. His line: 15.2 IP, 2.87 ERA, 11 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 15 K, 0.96 WHIP.

Goat of the Week - SP Brett Myers: Brett had such a good week that he is now an IronPig. After another of his pathetic little league esque performances, Brett (and the Phillies fateful) was put out of his misery with a well deserved demotion to the minors to "work on his mechanics". In his one start Brett lasted all of 2 innings allowing 5 H, 5 ER, 1 HR while walking 4 and recording 2 K. That was good for a 22.50 ERA on the week. Good luck in Allentown and good riddance.

Weekly Awards

Player of the Week - 2B Chase Utley: Utley was bored this past week so he decided to homer in 5 straight games for the second time this season. With his hot start this season he has thrown his name in the hat for discussion as one of the best players in all of baseball and clearly the best 2B in the game today. The Phillies are extremely lucky to have such a star play for them everyday. The most special part of Utley is his work ethic and will to win. When Utley was first drafted, even his most optimistic supporters did not project him to do this well. Most projected him as a utility infielder or even a platoon-type player who couldn't hit leftys. Now he hits leftys at least as well as rights and he has gone from being much below average defensively to a top 5 defender at his position. All in all, he is a true superstar. That said, he had a very strong week leading the Phillies with 4 HRs and a .360 avg in 7 games. He went 9 for 25 with 7 Rs and 7 RBI for the week and even chipped in with 1 SB. He posted a very impressive 1.328 OPS as well.

Pitcher of the Week - CP Brad Lidge: You can't win games without a great bullpen and Brad Lidge has anchored one of the best bullpens in the majors all season. This week was no exception as Brad picked up 3 saves in 3 opportunities without allowing a single run. He allowed 1 hit in 3 IPs and struck out 4. Right now the Lidge trade is looking to be the finest move of the Gillick regime.

Goat of the Week - SS Jimmy Rollins: Jimmy has been dogging it recently and was actually benched by manager Charlie Manuel for failing to run out a pop-out in yesterday's game against the Cincinnati Reds. Hopefully Charlie was able to knock some sense into the reigning MVP. This behavior is quite uncharacteristic for the star SS and team leader and hopefully he turns it around in short order. His line for the week: 7 G, .185 avg (5 for 27), 2 RBI, 2 SOs, .222 SLG, .407 OPS.

5 In A Row!

That's 5 straight games with a HR by 2B Chase Utley. Granted these little HR streaks are getting boring as Utley has now accomplished this same feat twice this year but its still impressive. Oh, in other news, the Phillies won 5-4 and are still in 1st place in the NL East.

Chase Utley...MVP!!!

Chase Utley could very well be the best player in all of baseball right now and we have the privilege of watching him every night. Simply put, Chase Utley is the Most Valuable Player in all of baseball this year. So far this season: .312 AVG, 20 HRs, 50 RBI, 47 R, 16 2Bs, 1.063 OPS.

Bold=League Leader

What a Joke!!!

The Phillies dropped 2 of 3 to the lowly SF Giants over the weekend due to shaky pitching and a nonexistent offense. 1B Ryan Howard continued to struggle although technically he now is in the midst of a mind-blowing 4 game hitting streak in which he has accumulated all of 4 hits. He is currently batting .171 on the season and really proving why he deserved $10 million in arbitration. LF Pat Burrell has finally come back to earth although he is continuing to take pitches (.185 avg over the past week but a .385 OBP) so he is at least getting on base even if he is slumping with the bat. SS Jimmy Rollins had a wonderful comeback from injury his first game back going 3-5 with a HR and a 2B. However, he is hitless since then putting up an impressive 0-9 in his second two games back. Even 2B Chase Utley is in the midst of a mini slump and now has just 2 hits in his past 20 ABs. Clearly the offense disappeared on this West Coast roadtrip. The pitching has also been questionable and now the bullpen is also starting to show cracks after J.C. Romero blew the lead in today's game causing the Phillies to lose 4-3.

Luckily the Phillies have tomorrow off and they get to go back home to face Atlanta for a 3 game set and after that Toronto to close out the week with another 3 games. Hopefully the Phillies will do better in the friendly confines of Citizen's Bank Park than they did on their recent road trip.

Weekly Awards/Monthly Awards

Another week down and another good week for the Fightin' Phils. The Phillies find themselves alone atop the NL East for the first time all season with a 16-13 record going into tonight's contests. Despite inconsistent starting pitching, minimal contributions from slugger 1B Ryan Howard, and injuries to the top 2 of their lineup (SS Jimmy Rollins and CF Shane Victorino), the Phillies have chugged along to their first winning April since 2003. An outstanding bullpen and MVP performances from LF Pat Burrell and 2B Chase Utley have carried them so far.

Pleasant Surprises:

1. Outstanding performances by the bullpen including the reemergence of CP Brad Lidge as an elite closer. Gordon, Durbin, Seanez, and Romero have all been lights out as well.

2. LF Pat Burrell is in a contract year and he is performing well above his career averages in all aspects of the game, offensively and defensively. Keep gunnin' for that new contract Pat!

3. A strong bench led by now part-time starter OF Jayson Werth, 3B Greg Dobbs, UT Eric Bruntlett and C Chris Coste have all chipped in to help win ballgames during the first month of the season. Both Bruntlett and Werth have found themselves in the starting lineup for extended periods of time with the injuries to Rollins and Victorino and both have done their job.

Troubling Issues:

1. 1B Ryan Howard started off the season in horrible fashion and is still batting well below the Mendoza line posting a .184 AVG after 29 games with 39 SOs in just 103 ABs.

2. SS Jimmy Rollins ankle injury appears far worse than was originally believed and he could miss even more time than previously estimated. This could very well turn into one of those nagging injuries that follows him all season. There is no timetable on his return at this point. They were hoping for him to start a rehab assignment this month, but he is still feeling pain in his ankle during fielding drills and baserunning. It could be a while.

3. Other than SP Cole Hamels, the rotation has been mediocre at best. SP Brett Myers has lost his fastball, SP Jamie Moyer and SP Adam Eaton are giving them replacement level innings and SP Kyle Kendrick has looked overmatched all season. One small glimmer of hope for Kendrick is that he is coming off 2 quality starts in his past 3 chances.

That being said its time for the Weekly and Monthly Awards...

Player of the Week - UT Eric Bruntlett: Eric actually had a very good week filling in for MVP SS Jimmy Rollins. He went 6 for 21 and is currently in the midst 9 game hitting streak while playing good defense at SS. He has made several very good plays with his glove to at least slightly ease the pain of having Rollins on the DL. His line: .286 Avg, 4 Runs, 3 RBIs and 1 SB. Basically he's finally doing what a bench player is supposed to do when a star goes down with an injury.

Pitcher of the Week - RP Tom Gordon: If you take Opening Day out of the equation then Tom Gordon has had a very good year so far. Last week was no exception. He made 3 appearances, pitching 2 2/3 innings and picked up 2 wins in the process. In those 3 appearances, he didn't not allow a hit and only walked 1 batter. He is now tied for the team lead in wins with 3.

Player of the Month - 2B Chase Utley: Utley appears to be making a strong argument for the MVP trophy this year as he is off to a monster start. He is batting .357 with 11 HRs, 23 RBI, 25 Runs, 41 hits, 10 2Bs, 1 3B, and 2 SBs. He has also posted a .748 Slugging percentage on the season. On the defensive side of things, he has posted the 5th best Range Factor and the 4th best Zone Rating in the NL along with several Web Gems in recent nights.

Pitcher of the Month - SP Cole Hamels: Cole has started 6 games, going at least 7 innings in each of his starts while compiling an ERA of 2.70. His record so far has been 3-3 but he seems to be on pace to finally have a real breakout season as a star pitcher. So far he has been a workhorse for the Phillies and his efforts have spared the bullpen from being overworked.

Weekly Wrap

Well, its that time again. 1B Ryan Howard continues to struggle in all aspects of the game and his "cold" streak is rapidly becoming a first-half slump for the 2008 season. Luckily both LF Pat Burrell and 2B Chase Utley have picked up the pace and are 1-2 in the League in RBIs so far. Both have had PS3-type weeks that have carried an otherwise underperforming offense to a 12-11 record. The Phillies went 4-3 on the week, losing a 3 game series to the Mets 1-2, sweeping the Rockies in 2, and spliting a 2 game series with the Brewers.

Injury Update: CF Shane Victorino started a rehab assignment in Clearwater on Monday and is eligible to come off the DL on 28 April which is an off day for the Phillies. He will be available to play on the 29th if everything goes well. SS Jimmy Rollins took batting practice at Clearwater and is eligible to come off the DL on 5 May although I wouldn't hold my breath on that. SP Kris Benson continued to throw on the side and had another Bullpen session but there is still no word on when he will start a game in the minors as he continues to come back from shoulder surgery.

Weekly Awards

Player of the Week - 2B Chase Utley: It was a tough decision but Chase basically went nuts this past week with an outrageous line of: .536 AVG/.581 OBP/ 1.831 OPS, 6 HRs, 10 RBI, 8 R in 7 games. LF Pat Burrell also had a very good week but not anywhere close to Utley's.

Pitcher of the Week - CP Brad Lidge: Brad had an excellent week making 5 appearances pitching 5 innings with no earned runs allowed while picking up 3 saves in 3 opportunities. Lidge has anchored the backend of the bullpen so far this year and so far the Bourn-Lidge trade has really paid off.

Goat of the Week - 1B Ryan Howard: Yes, we all know that Howard gets off to slow starts but this is ridiculous. His line: 3 for 28, .107 Avg/.138 OBP, 13 Ks, 1 BB and no extra base hits. Keep it up Ryan, you're definitely worth $10 million per. Interesting fact: No position player on the Phillies has a lower AVG than Ryan Howard so far...only pitchers.

Phils Sweep Rockies

2B Chase Utley continued his hot streak last night and LF Pat Burrell hit a game winning 3 RBI double in the top of the 9th to give the Phillies a 2 game series sweep against the Defending NL Champ Colorado Rockies. Both Burrell and Utley are off to monster starts this April and their contributions have carried an offense that is without the top of the order (Rollins and Victorino on DL). Their contributions have been particularly important with Slugger Ryan Howard badly slumping after another 0-4, 2 K performance that dropped his batting average to .190 on the season.

Notes: Utley's consecutive games with a HR streak is over at 5 games which ties a club record. He went 2-5 with a couple RBIs despite hitting one deep and he is now batting .433 with 6 HR, 11 RBI in his past 7 games. Burrell, in comparison, has cooled off and is only batting .370 in the past 7 games.

Phillies Hang On To Win

Well UT Eric Bruntlett was able to save the day with a game saving play in the top of the 9th with the tying run in scoring position. He made a spectacular stop behind second base and threw a laser beam to first to get the runner. While I am pleased that Bruntlett was able to give us a flash of brilliance to save the game and help CP Brad Lidge close out the game, I still cannot wait to get SS Jimmy Rollins back at shortstop and at the top of the lineup where he is desperately needed.

Hot Streak: All-Star 2B Chase Utley hit two more HRs last night and now has HRs in 4 straight games. If he homers tonight against the Colorado Rockies he will tie the club record for consecutive games with a HR. So far, Utley and LF Pat Burrell have carried the club offensively while the rest of the lineup has struggled to produce runs. Burrell also made an excellent running catch up against the wall in the later innings that helped give the Phillies the win. Pat has been well above his career average in all aspects of the game from hitting to fielding this year.

Behind the Plate: It looks like C Chris Coste will probably earn himself some more playing time. He is batting .385 on the season and he went 1 for 4 last night. He has now started 3 of the last 4 games in place of C Carlos Ruiz who is healthy.

What the Heck?: 1B Ryan Howard has been awful so far this season both defensively and offensively. He is batting a miniscule .186 including going 1 for 13 against the Mets over the weekend. The hometown crowd has taken notice and has taken to booing him loudly...especially after he strikes out. He has struck out 27 times in just 70 ABs and he is well on his way to breaking his own single season strikeout record. The former MVP needs to step it up quickly if the Phillies are to have any chance of winning the NL East.

Bad Luck: SP Adam Eaton had a stellar performance through the first 5 innings last night and thats when the wheels finally came off the bus. He didn't record an out in the 6th and was charged with 4 earned runs to get the no decision. He had a streak of 3 straight quality starts going into last night. He did keep the Phillies in the game which is the important part. Pitching has not been the problem so far this year.

Living Dangerously: Uncle Charlie has relied quite a bit on the bullpen so far this year especially RP Chad Durbin. Durbin has pitched 14 innings in 10 appearances in the Phillies first 19 games. At his current pace, he will pitch 119 innings out of the pen. I'm betting his arm will fall off first.

Phillies Ruin Mets Home Opener

Well the Fightin' Phils managed to win again. They were able to come from behind and defeat the Mets 5-2 despite a very strong performance by Mets Lefty Oliver Perez who went 5 2/3 innings without allowing a run. It was truly a team effort as SS Jimmy Rollins, 2B Chase Utley, and CF Shane Victorino each chipped in on offense with key contributions. In particular, Victorino had his first multi-hit game of the season going 2-5 with 1 BB and raised his batting average to .188 on the year. Utley reached base 4 times with 3 HBP and an RBI double to deep right that cemented the Phillies lead in the later innings.

Most importantly, the Bullpen came up strong again in what appears to be a growing strength for the club this year. RHP Chad Durbin pitched another scoreless inning lowering his ERA to 2.08 and LHP J.C. Romero and RHP Tom Gordon pitched the 8th and 9th innings to seal the deal for the Phillies. Gordon has not allowed a run since Opening Day and he appears to have gotten stronger with each outing which is an excellent sign for the bullpen. He recorded his first save of the season as Closer Brad Lidge was unavailable for work as he had pitched the previous 2 days in a row coming off the DL. Romero has continued his excellent pitching for the Phillies this year and Chad Durbin looks well suited to the middle-relief/right handed setup role that he has been given so far early in the season.

SP Kyle Kendrick will take the mound tonight for the Phillies as they try to make it 10 in a row against the NY Mets. Gametime is 7:05 pm EST and will be broadcast nationally in HD on ESPN2.