OUCH!: Utley breaks hand, lands on DL

[Louis Cypher]

07/26/2007 5:46 PM ET
By Ken Mandel / MLB.com

PHILADELPHIA -- Chase Utley broke his right hand during Thursday's 7-6 loss to the Nationals and was put on the 15-day DL immediately following the game. The incident took place with one out in the fifth inning, when Nationals starter John Lannan hit him with a pitch. Utley, however, remained in the game, striking out and flying out in his two subsequent at-bats.

Lannan, who was making his Major League debut, proceeded to hit Ryan Howard directly after plunking Utley and was tossed from the game.

Utley's spot on the roster could be taken by closer Brett Myers, who's expected to come off the DL shortly. Myers hasn't pitched since May 23 because of a shoulder injury.

[Uncle B]

well, apparently it is either not too bad, or, he has a pretty damn high tolerance for pain, if he was still able to go to bat twice after the hit.


i'd imagine that probably made it a whole lot worse though.

[mjh218]

That f'ing Nationals pitcher was trying to hit him...and he did. Then he hit Howard. He ought to be suspended for a while

[stevo]

Thats a shame. Hate to see that happen.

[Louis Cypher]

Sox send Iguchi to Phils for prospect
07/27/2007 5:04 PM ET
By Alex Gyr / MLB.com

The White Sox have traded veteran second baseman Tadahito Iguchi to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitching prospect Michael Dubee.

Iguchi, who is set to become a free agent at the conclusion of the 2007 season, is hitting .251 with six home runs and 31 RBIs this season. Iguchi had spent his entire Major League career with the White Sox, signing before the 2005 season after playing eight seasons in Japan.

Dubee, 21, has spent the season with Class A Lakewood, where he is 4-4 with a 3.88 ERA in 30 relief appearances.

The Phillies were looking for a second baseman after All-Star Chase Utley had surgery on his hand on Friday. He is scheduled to miss at least four weeks

[mjh218]

Utley is the best 2nd baseman in baseball right no, there is no question about it. I hope he can make it back within a few weeks and that the Phils can keep pace with the Mets and the NL wildcard teams

[Louis Cypher]

mjh218~

I hear ya.

The kid is a great 2B. Reminds me of Joe Morgan.

Here I thought, I finally may get to see the Phils in the playoffs, hopefully against the Dodgers/Padres.

Tough break indeed.

LC

[stevo]

Surgery will speed Utley's return
By MARCUS HAYES
hayesm@phillynews.com

Tonight, perhaps, Chase Utley will return to the Phillies' bench, to the delight of manager Charlie Manuel, who wants the hard-nosed Utley at his hip.
Utley will be wearing a rigid splint on his broken right hand but he will lend his presence, and maybe his voice, to the Phillies' effort against the Pirates.

No more than 4 weeks from now, he will be lending his offense again, too, replacing replacement Tadahito Iguchi, acquired from the White Sox before last night's game.

The Phillies were delighted that Utley yesterday had successful surgery on the fractured fourth metacarpal on his right hand, the bone that runs from wrist to ring finger. The procedure involved inserting a pin at the bone's base, at the wrist, and running it up through the mushy tunnel inside the bone to stabilize the fracture. It took hand specialist Dr. Randy Culp 20 minutes at Methodist Hospital.

The healing will take 2 weeks. The comeback will probably take 4 weeks, maybe 3, according to the team physician, Dr. Michael Ciccotti.

"That's better than the 4 to 6 weeks they originally said," gushed Manuel, craving the return of Utley's .336 average, 17 homers, 82 RBI and ironhanded leadership.

X-rays and other tests after 2 weeks will determine whether Utley can begin swinging a bat. If he can stand the pain, he will be allowed to work out.

"If there's any human being who will get back in the minimum amount of time possible, it will be Chase, because of his makeup," said assistant general manager Mike Arbuckle.

That path begins in 2 days.

"On Monday, he'll be converted to a removable splint and he will begin immediate range-of-motion exercises, very gentle strengthening exercises. Putting the pin in expedites the healing of that type of fracture," Ciccotti said.

In Ciccotti's view, this was Utley's only choice. When Nationals rookie John Lannan hit him with a pitch in the fifth inning Thursday, the bone fractured at an angle and rotated. The pin will hold it in place. Not pinning it could have allowed it to heal incorrectly, affecting Utley's hand use and strength. Not pinning it also would have meant a recovery period of up to 9 weeks, effectively ending Utley's season.

The pin could be removed, but not before 3 to 6 months. Removal requires up to 12 weeks to heal the area where the splint was and is unnecessary unless the patient's knuckle and/or wrist is irritated by its presence.

"[Culp] realigned it so it would fit and be positioned as it should be anatomically, and then put the pin in which will strut it, and stabilize it," Ciccotti said.

No further damage was done, Ciccotti said, by Utley's finishing Thursday's game. It was a clean break, so there were no bone chips floating around and, anatomically, fibrous bands from the outside fingers support and stabilize the middle and ring fingers.

"It's not likely that it would get [displaced] with just swinging the bat again," Ciccotti said. "It would be the initial trauma that caused the angulation and the rotation that he had."

Of course, further trauma - getting hit again or landing on it during one of Utley's trademark dives - might have affected it.


Injury updates
Dr. Michael Ciccotti indicated the return of righthanded starter Freddy Garcia is "very possible" after 3 or 4 more weeks of rehab on a throwing program. Garcia, 31, was shut down after an abbreviated start June 8 with right shoulder pain. He was the jewel of the Phillies' offseason acquisitions, a $10 million, 1-year rental who went 1-5 with a 5.90 earned run average in 11 starts.

Ciccotti was unable to estimate the return of Jayson Werth, out since June 29 with a strained left wrist. Ciccotti insisted that Werth's current injury was not caused or exacerbated by the left wrist injury that ruined his 2005 season, cost him all of '06 and nearly ended his career. *


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Surgery will speed Utley's return | Daily News | 07/28/2007