By Amy McCormick
The Phillies began the 2011 season with two long-term substitutes in key roles: Wilson Valdez has been covering for Chase Utley at second base and Jose Contreras has been consistently filling in for Brad Lidge as our closing pitcher. I’ll admit that I like both Valdez and Contreras; however, the return of Utley and Lidge cannot come soon enough.
At second base, Valdez is a solid infielder. At the plate, he leaves something to be desired. Last season, in 333 at bats, Valdez hit .258. Going into tonight’s game, his batting average was .318, with fourteen hits. Let me put it this way: if we need to have our second baseman on the disabled list for a length of time, and we use an in-house solution for coverage, my choice is Wilson Valdez. That being said, he’s no Utley. Chase Utley is one of the top second basemen in the league, both defensively and offensively. At this point, the Phillies have sixteen games in the books for 2011. In the first eight games, our offense averaged 7.25 runs per game. In the latter half, they’ve average 2.875 runs per game. Are we going to have a repeat of the offensive slump we saw in 2010? We need Chase healthy, and we need him back in the lineup. I watched footage of Utley doing drills yesterday, and his lateral movement looks remarkably better. The fact that he’s running is promising. I’m holding my excitement until I see him in the starting lineup, though. I hope, for our offense’s sake, that it’s sooner than later. The Phils got shut out by Milwaukee tonight, and the offense managed just two hits.
Brad Lidge has been out due to issues with his shoulder, and is expected to return this season without surgery. In his absence, Jose Contreras has been closing quite a few games. I have to say that I like Madson in the eighth and Contreras in the ninth. My concern is the questions I have about Contreras’s longevity. I have doubts that he can keep up the innings he’s been throwing for a long period of time. Some people hate Brad Lidge and say that he’s injury prone, past his prime, and anxiety inducing. Please remember that he had 27 saves in 32 opportunities last season; he converted seventeen of his last eighteen. His four-seam fastball and breaking slider make him one of the best closers in baseball. Don’t get me wrong; I like Contreras in the ninth inning, even if he is 39 years old (he has to be older than that). I’ll admit that I get excited when I hear “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” as he runs from the bullpen. But just as Valdez is no Utley, Contreras just isn’t Lidge.
I think we’re lucky to have talented substitutes for regular players. Wilson Valdez and Jose Contreras continue to contribute to the team and they play their roles well. My hope, however, is that Chase Utley and Brad Lidge are 100% healthy – soon – and we start seeing them on the field each night.
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