For a little while, it felt like the old days.
Alumni weekend turned out to be a pretty good one for the Phillies. The Cole Hamels trade became official and Wall of Fame honoree Pat Burrell gave a memorable speech Friday.
More importantly, the Phillies won three out of four games after dropping Sunday’s finale to the Atlanta Braves, 6-2. In that regard, it was just like old times at Citizens Bank Park this weekend.
Winning helps, especially after some of the future core players on the team contributed. Aaron Nola won his second game in his third start Saturday while Maikel Franco, Cesar Hernandez, Freddy Galvis and Odubel Herrera continued to impress in the field and at the plate.
But with Hamels gone and the memories of the glory days pervading Alumni Weekend, Ryan Howard’s play and Chase Utley’s imminent return stood out. As two of the three holdovers from the 2008 and 2009 World Series clubs, it was a pretty big weekend for the pair.
The weekend saw Howard put together a streak in which he reached base in 10 of his last 14 plate appearances while riding an eight-game hitting streak (14 for 30). In the four games against the Braves, Howard went 8 for 14 with three doubles, five RBIs, four walks and just one strikeout.
The elder statesman is not wistful after his big Alumni Weekend showing. Nor is Howard looking around and wondering where all his old teammates have gone. In fact, it’s just the opposite.
MLB
“Baseball is supposed to be a fun and youthful game,” Howard said after going 2 for 4 with a double and a run in Sunday’s loss. “You keep it youthful by having fun. That’s what we’ve done in the second half by just coming out here and having fun and just playing the game and letting things fall into place. You will make mistakes, but you learn.”
That’s another part of youth where sometimes the learning curve can be sharp. However, says manager Pete Mackanin, players like Herrera are learning something new every day. Though he’s never really played the outfield in the minors nor appeared in a game above Double A before this season, Herrera is a full-speed type of player. He also made the proper adjustments in center field and at the plate to boost his batting average to .282.
Herrera isn’t afraid of the challenge and that has made the difference, says Mackanin.
“I always look to see if a guy has any fear — if he’s scared to be in the big leagues,” Mackanin said. “He certainly is not. He came to us as a real aggressive player. We knew he was aggressive. I’d rather have a guy make aggressive mistakes, which he has done. But he learns from being told by coaches about what to do and what not to do. He’s just a raw talent that’s starting to get a little more polish to him. He’s got the ability with his eye-hand coordination. He fights off pitches that might be on the corners. He’ll foul them off to stay alive in the at-bat. He hits mistakes. He’s gaining ground as the season goes on.”
Utley hopes to borrow a page from Herrera as he works his way back to the big leagues in attempt to salvage a terrible season. Out since June 23 with inflammation in his right ankle, Utley began his rehab stint with a 2-for-3 showing as the designated hitter for Triple A Lehigh Valley. He’ll play a pair of games this week with Double A Reading when it visits Trenton and then the Phillies will see if Utley is ready to come back.
And though Hernandez’s emergence at second base has been a big lift for the Phillies by batting .326 (45 for 138) in the 34 games Utley has been out, we don’t exactly have the second coming of Wally Pipp here. Utley is going to play, Mackanin said. There will be some juggling out there.
“I’m not going to just dump Chase Utley on the bench. He’s going to get playing time somewhere and I’m going to find him playing time,” Mackanin said. “I spoke to him [Saturday] about it. I’ll mix it up, move him around. I can give Cesar a day off here. Play Cesar at shortstop, for example, to allow Utley to play. It’s important for us, I believe, to get him at-bats. He might play first base a day. I’m going to try to get him as many at-bats as I can. There’s no way I’m just going to let him sit on the bench. Because he’s got value and I think he’s got a lot left.”
In other words, Utley is not a participant in Alumni Weekend quite yet. He may even be around in time to catch Jimmy Rollins return to town with the Los Angeles Dodgers before Thursday’s series finale.
The reception should be interesting, Howard said.
“I expect it to be good. I expect there to be a lot of cheers,” Howard said. “He’s done a lot of positive things in this city and helped it win a championship. I expect a lot of cheers.”