Archive for September 9th, 2010

Is this the end of the Utley we know and love?

Following up on an interesting article published a week ago by The Good Phight (http://www.thegoodphight.com/2010/9/2/1665092/as-chase-utley-goes), it made me ponder some of Utley’s ups and downs this past year. While some can be blamed on his injuries, he’s mysteriously taken a strikingly different approach at the plate this year, that’s limited his offensive production. His OBP is around his career average, but his slugging has dropped nearly 70 points from last year, wOBA is almost 40 points below his prime years, and his ISO is down 60 points from last year.

Is this the decline in Chase that we’ve been unfortunately expecting with his age/injury history? Or is it simply injuries taking their toll this year, with a bounceback 2011? Let’s look at the stats, shall we?

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