Disappointment of Hamels & Utley Update

Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Roy Oswalt each took the mound for the first time this season and the results were as expected. Those 3 of the Phab Phour combined for 19 IP, 1 BB, 23 K, 2.84 ERA, and a 0.79 WHIP. Each of their efforts resulted in a win for the Phillies. The blueprint for success was going as planned. Then came the 4th member of the 4 aces, Cole Hamels. He allowed 7 hits, 2 walks, 6 runs, and was gone before the 3rd inning concluded. Not ace worthy. Complete disappointment. No excuses, he was just bad. However, it's only one start and Cole has produced high quality seasons in 3 out of 4 of the years since his rookie campaign (which wasn't too shabby either). Tonight- Joe Blanton.


Utley Update:
Yesterday rumors were abound of Chase Utley soon being ready to jog. Ruben Amaro Jr. was quick to quell such hopes of progression- "He is not close to jogging. If he was close to jogging he’d be jogging, I guess. He’s taken some ground balls. He’s done OK with that so far. But it’s still baby steps, one step at a time. It’s literally a day-to-day thing. He’s made some progress, but it’s slow. And it will continue to be slow. Even if he gets to the point where he starts to be able to run or jog or whatever, that doesn’t mean he’s going to jump forward all of a sudden and be in a rehab (assignment). That may take some time, too. There’s a difference between jogging around and running 100 percent. It’s all kind of a progression." Well, shit! Thank goodness we have Wilson Valdez instead of No-Hit Nunez or Bruntlett.

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