Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports: Can Chase Utley’s return jumpstart Philly’s struggling lineup?

Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports Latest Big League Stew - MLB from Yahoo! Sports Can Chase Utley’s return jumpstart Philly’s struggling lineup? 23 May 2011, 4:51 pm The Philadelphia Phillies have been starving for runs through the first 46 games of the season. But they could get a nice boost of offense this week as second baseman Chase Utley is set to return to the Phillies' active lineup on Monday night against the Cincinnati Reds, according to multiple reports. The team made it official, already penciling Utley into his usual No. 3 spot in the batting order. Utley has been out since early March with patellar tendinitis, chondromalacia and bone inflammation in his right knee. The problems developed during offseason workouts and became worse during spring training. The Phillies considered bringing in veteran help like Luis Castillo before the season, but ultimately decided to use players already on hand to fill in at second base. The offense, of course, suffered because of it. Wilson Valdez got more of the playing time at second base, batting .234/.261/.290 with no home runs and nine RBIs in 114 plate appearances. That gives him a -0.6 WAR for the season so far and a mark that is worst among second basemen. Pete Orr also chipped in with a .230/.299/.279 average, three RBIs and -0.1 WAR. To put an even finer point on it, the Phillies' second baseman have been hitting worse than Houston Astros pitchers this season. So yeah, not only can the position use Utley's usual output, but the Phillies' offense overall. So far, they've only scored 176 runs (3.82 per game) this season, the second-worst total among the six division leaders. (Only the Giants have scored fewer.) It's the lowest run total in the NL East — even lower than the Washington Nationals! — and fifth-worst in the National League. Despite all that, they still have the NL's best record. Utley will surely help those numbers, assuming he's able to stay in the lineup. (Charlie Manuel has said he will not play every day initially.) Even last year, when he was limited to 115 games, Utley still hit .275/.387/.445 with 16 homers and 65 RBIs. His 5.2 WAR was fourth among second basemen and in the top 30 of the major leagues. Between Utley's return, the call-up of Domonic Brown (who hit .341 in Triple-A) and Shane Victorino likely coming off the disabled list next week, the Phillies might actually be able to provide some much needed help for an excellent pitching staff that has been receiving some of the worst run support in baseball. Follow Ian on Twitter — @iancass — and engage The Stew on Facebook You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed.