Despite injuries,
Phillies still have a chance

In the Batter’s Box
By Matt Godfrey

Adversity can have an interesting way of affecting a team.
By definition, adversity means bad luck or misfortune.
But it does not mean defeat.
Take, for example, how an injury to a key player often has a negative impact on a team. And if that player is having a phenomenal season, his loss can put the team in a malaise for the rest of the season, with sights being redirected to the following season.
But sometimes — just sometimes — the loss of its best player has a way of inspiring a team to play its best, to overcome adversity.
We’re seeing that now with the Phillies and the loss of all-star second baseman Chase Utley, who could be out for a month while he waits for his broken right hand to mend.
The pitch that nailed Utley in a game with the Washington Nationals last week had reason to derail the Phillies’ momentum as they closed in on the division-leading Mets. Utley — in the midst of a monster offensive season — had successful surgery to repair the fracture and is projected to be back in the lineup in a few weeks.
As I talked to some people about the injury, most had the same response — "there goes the season." Having seen the MVP candidate go down, they were ready to forget about baseball and soothe their sorrow with football season.
If this were any other baseball season, I’d probably be inclined to agree. I’d have to regard Utley’s bad break as the insurmountable injury in a season of significant injuries to key players for the Phils.
If this were last season, I definitely would have felt that way. At this point last year, a division championship was just a dream. Instead, the Phillies were fighting for a wild-card playoff spot among a very crowded field.
But not so fast.
This season has been different from the start. The Phillies have coped with their share of adversity but remain in good standing, both for the division championship or a playoff spot.
Before the start of the series with the Cubs, the Phils were just three and a half games behind the New York Mets for the division lead. They leaped over the Atlanta Braves to move into second place in the division and were just a game and a half out of the wild-card lead.
Granted, there are four teams ahead of them for the wild card, but a game and a half is hardly a comfortable lead.
And all along, adversity has been there. There were the injuries to starting pitchers Freddy Garcia and John Lieber. And then the decision to move starter Brett Myers to the bullpen as a closer, a move that showed promise until Myers suffered an arm injury shortly after fellow reliever Tom Gordon suffered his own arm injury and went on the disabled list.
Ryan Howard had a lukewarm start of the season, then headed to the DL himself to heal a leg injury.
Reserve outfielder Jayson Werth is nursing a wrist injury. Ryan Madson just went out with the type of shoulder strain that put Myers on the DL.
Madson said he felt something tear in his shoulder. Tests will determine whether his season is over.
It took Myers more than nine weeks to return, but he’s back in the bullpen.
So is Gordon.
Lieber and Garcia are out, but J.D. Durbin and Kyle Kendrick are filling in admirably for the veteran duo.
Chris Coste was called up, and I must say that he’s doing a better job of filling in than Werth was doing.
And Ryan Howard? His stroke and power are pretty much back in action. He is surging in the second half. And this team is following his lead.
What it all means is that the injury to Chase Utley, while definitely a major blow to the team, should not be regarded as the end of a season. Second baseman Tadahito Iguchi, picked up for next to nothing in a deal with the White Sox, is showing that he can chip in until Utley returns.
Adversity, unfortunately, often is the name of the game. But it’s how a team deals with it that separates those who reach the postseason from those who must watch it at home. ••
Columnist Matt Godfrey can be reached at 215-354-3113 or mgodfrey@phillynews.com