MLB Network analyst and former Phillies closer Mitch Williams said yesterday that he believes a foot injury is behind Chase Utley's postseason throwing problems:
I think he's hurt. Watch the way he's trying to throw the baseball. He can't put his right foot in the ground. I'm not going to sit back and listen to people say he's got the yips. That ain't the case. To get the yips, you've got to be really weak-minded. Chase is a lot of things. Weak-minded ain't one of them. When I saw the first one, you run it back, and he steps on the bag with his right foot, and the first thing you're going to do there is drop, plant and throw. He doesn't. He basically sets himself up to get killed at second base. I don't know if it's the hip. It's something on his right side. I could be really wrong, but when the season's over, there's going to be something come out that Chase has been playing with this.
Utley has said throughout the postseason that he feels fine, but Scott Lauber of the Delaware News Journal notes that he said the same thing last year before undergoing offseason hip surgery and missed some time this September after fouling a ball off his right foot.
Whether his throwing problems are physical or mental there's definitely something amiss, because he's made several throwing errors while looking shaky on numerous other throws this postseason after committing a grand total of just four throwing errors in 1,357 innings during the regular season.
chase can do no wrong. he is an advid animal lover and proved this by financially backing an abused dog in our area. anyone who is an animal lover is a GOOD human being. i hope if he does have an injury he will take care of it off season and be back as good as new in 2010.
nanci.....what? Please do tell me what being an animal lover has to do with this topic? He may also like pizza and yellow houses, will that help him in baseball?
I remember when he was hit with the ball in the foot, it looked painful. He is tough as nails and probably just deals with it...he may not even think that it is the issue.."if I make this adjustment the problem will be fixed".
He will not want to miss a game so perhaps it will come out later. Or, it may be nothing.
He is a great player and we are lucky to have him! So are the dogs.
I can see how this could be true. His right foot has been smashed by foul tips quite a few times this season. As a matter of fact he had a protective cover on it for a while recently. He is the type of player who will play through injuries even though it will skew his numbers in a not so favorable way. Last season he played through his hip injury, it would be no surprise to me if he did it again. He's not like many other MLB players who go as far as faking injuries, or leaving due to soreness, just to salvage their numbers during a slump. He is one player any team in the game would take and start the first day.
A Chase Utley with a sore foot is better than what most teams have. He's one of the best, if not the best the league has. It might be that he's having a couple of "off" days.
I'd start him at second on any day....
maybe it was that 'fair ball" that hit him during the NLCS.
seriously I like Chase and hope he heals quickly if he really is hurt. I want the Phillies to win the whole thing since they beat my Rockies
i'm not so sure he's hurt, but anythings possible. including that he may have just had a couple bad throws. i definately agree with mitch that it's not a head problem. he just doesn't let things like a previous error affect him, unless it's to hit a home-run his next at bat.
Apparently animal lovers are complete idiots. That statement made absolutely no sense. Seriously, I am all for freedom of speech, but hell. Get this person a helmet for god sakes.
Im not sure if Chase is hurt, and if he is, you know he won't cry about it. Chase is a great player. A couple of miss throws, no big deal. The Phillies need him to help repeat again this year. He may be hurt, but he will be their. He is an Iron Man. I am worried about Cole Hamels.
One can imagine I read it twice. While I am not as proficient on this topic, I match with your conclusions because they make sense. Gives Thanks and goodluck to you.