Jimmy Rollins: Chase Utlley Will Never Be the Same

Wow - a mind-blowing article from Jayson Stark at ESPN today, wherein he quoted Jimmy Rollins extensively on his take on the injuries/health of Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. Here is what JRoll said about Chase Utley (Click Here to read what JRoll said about Ryan Howard):

A Moment Once Common, Now Rare

For the second straight spring training, Rollins has gone through an entire camp without playing with his double-play partner of the past 7½ years. And while Manuel portrays Utley's absence this spring as a matter of just "saving bullets," Rollins is concerned about the reason for saving those bullets in the first place.

"It's really the same thing as last year," Rollins says. "[Utley's knee trouble] is just one of those things where the more you use it, the more it's going to nag you. And like last year, trying to plant and turn a double play is going to really give him problems. And going to his right and trying to throw back to first -- going to get that ball and not having any legs to throw, he's probably not going to try to make that play anymore.

In His Prime - He Was the Man

"So I think his [injury] is more of a long-term thing. It's like the opposite of Ryan. Ryan's is more of a shorter-term type of injury. You heal it. It gets fixed. And after a while, you have the confidence you're not hurt. With something like Chase, you've got your degenerative hip and the knee that's on the same side, and they're all related.

"You've got [a muscle] that runs from the hip to the inside of the knee and it's putting all types of different pressures on it. So you shave the hipbone down, but the muscle length is still the same. And the muscles treat the body like it's … normal. Regardless of what the hipbone says, the muscle hasn't changed. So that's something that's not going to change."

JAG Comment:  JRoll knows.  Chase was Hall of Fame bound, but he has been derailed, and even his legendary work ethic, toughness and tenacity cannot overcome his condition.  Chase, just keep giving it all you got, there are still great days ahead, just fewer and farther between is all...

It is no wonder, given the circumstances surrounding Ryan Howard and Chase Utley (oh, and did I mention that Placido Polanco is coming off hernia surgery and hasn't been healthy since he returned to the Phils), that the Phils are currently searching for infield help.

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