CLEARWATER, Fla. - Barely 2 months into his rehab expected to take 4 to 6 months, the reports on Phillies star Chase Utley's hip continue to come back positive. Yesterday, the second baseman fielded ground balls for the first time since his hip surgery Nov. 24, although the grounders weren't exactly lasers deep in the hole.
They were weak, and easy . . .
"Just to get a feel again," Utley said.
More important than that small development is the continued lack of any setbacks in the rehabilitation process. For now, the biggest news is that there is no news at all.
"That's the biggest thing," manager Charlie Manuel said. "That would be my biggest concern. Right now I kind of listen to what he tells me. He's one of the guys, he's prepared all the time, and I know him, and if he can be in the Opening Day lineup, he'll be there."
Does Manuel think he will be there?
"If he misses some time," Manuel said, "it won't be much."
Every time Utley talks about his progress - before yesterday, his last update to reporters came on Jan. 24 - he labels a return to Opening Day a possibility, barring any setbacks. Yesterday, he said there has been none so far, and that a return to the field by the start of the regular season remains a realistic possibility.
That said, he is still a long way off.
Utley ran on hard ground for the first time on Monday. Before that, he had been running on an underwater treadmill.
"That's not very fun," he said.
But he realizes that the fun will come sooner if he abides by the schedule laid out by the team's training staff. Thanks to a careful strength and conditioning routine under the watch of team strength coach Dong Lien, Utley says he hasn't had much of a problem maintaining his weight and strength. The surgery prevented him from beginning to condition his lower body until January, but his upper-body routine has not suffered much. Utley said yesterday his weight is in the low-to-mid-190s, about 10 pounds more than his weight at the end of last season.
"I had to take it easy," he said. "Or, they wanted me to take it easy."
Controlling Utley's desire to push himself has been a process of give-and-take. While limiting oneself might seem counter to a professional athlete's nature, Utley said he realizes it is necessary.
"I understand the process, and I think that is the important thing," he said. "I understand I don't want to go all-out right now. I understand that you have to take it in increments, and our staff is doing a good job at making sure I do that."
As he talked to a few reporters in the center of the Phillies' clubhouse at Bright House Field, the sound of wood meeting ball could be heard echoing from the adjacent indoor batting cage. In the near future, Utley will be making that sound. He will start with dry swings, then likely progress to hitting off a tee.
"I imagine swinging will be here in the near future," he said.
As for how many games it might take him to feel ready enough for the season, Utley isn't sure. He says some years he feels ready after 20 spring-training at-bats. Other years, it takes longer.
For now, the most important thing is getting to that point without taking any steps back in his rehab. The Phillies are thrilled that the process has gone as well as it has. The goal is to keep it that way.
"I haven't really overexerted it, but like I said, it's step by step," Utley said. "Yesterday I ran a few sprints, or not sprints, but jogged. Today, I ran a few more, at a heavier pace. Tomorrow, I'd like to be an off day, and then the next day, as long as I feel good, I'll keep going."
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