Utley Update and Practice Highlights

It is easy to see by the sheer volume of fans at Phillies Spring Training practice today that this team has just won a World Championship.  Fans of all ages descended upon the Carpenter Complex in droves to get a glimpse of the team in action.  The World Series trophy also made an appearance today and eager fans snapped photos.

The real excitement though, came when Chase Utley stepped in the batter’s box.  While he did not actually swing at anything, it was exciting to see him getting back to form.  He took grounders, pop-ups and did the normal stretching with the team.  He was feeling so well in fact, he let Greg Dobbs use him as a stretching post :O) 

All that remains to accomplish for Utley, it seems, is a solid swing of the bat.  Watching pitches today should help with his timing once he is ready to be let loose.

Pedro Feliz also took the field for everything today, except the batting.  He was all smiles and it appears, although he is not as far along as Utley, that he should not be too far behind.  Another interesting development is the progress in the battle for back-up catcher.  Chris Coste supporters yelled out their words of encouragement to him, but on the other side of the complex, Ronny Paulino was knocking the crap out of the ball.  Paulino seems to want to make his case for the job, as line drive after line drive was pounded to the fence.  It is still very early to tell, but Paulino does have power.  On the other hand, Coste has been consistent, reliable and is the fan, and probably the team, favorite.

And on to the photo of the day: 

What exactly does this mean?  Is the car for sale by a player or is this a cruel joke on a rookie?  I may call the number and find out… :O)

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