Chase Utley will have surgery on his right hip next week.
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) -
The Philadelphia Phillies announced Thursday that half of its starting infield -- All- Star second baseman Chase Utley and third baseman Pedro Feliz -- would undergo surgery.
Utley will have surgery on his right hip next week. The 29-year-old was rumored to have problems with the hip most of the season, as his offensive numbers dipped considerably after the All-Star break. Utley still finished with a .292 batting average, a career-high 33 home runs, and 104 RBI.
After a poor performance at the plate early in the playoffs for the Phillies, Utley rebounded to hit .353 with a homer and three RBI in Philadelphia's five- game win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. He only batted .167 in the World Series, but hit a two-run homer in the first inning of Philadelphia's Game 1 win over Tampa Bay. The Phillies went on to defeat the Rays in five games for their first World Series title since 1980.
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Is Mussina a Hall of Famer?
By Chris Ruddick, MLB Editor
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) -
The worst-kept secret in baseball started to leak out on Wednesday, when it was revealed that right-hander Mike Mussina was indeed going to hang up his spikes after 18 seasons.
The news certainly comes as no shock, as the Yankees have been operating under the assumption that Mussina would not be returning since the season ended. It was never about coming back this season for him, it would have been about coming back for at least three more seasons to make a run at 300 wins.
If he had returned next year and had another good year, he would have owed it to himself to go after 300. In the end, he wasn't ready for that kind of commitment.
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