Chase

Utley

It’s incredibly hard for any player to earn a spot in the Hall of Fame during their first year on the ballot. Any candidate who receives votes on 75 percent of all ballots cast will earn election, which usually means just a small handful get in any season. However, it’s certainly an honor for these players to be considered and there are a handful, like Adrián Beltré, Joe Mauer, and Chase Utley who seem likely to have their names called eventually.

''It’s way too early for me to commit... . Polanco could be in there playing somewhere Opening Day. It’s not like we’ve ruled that out,’' Manuel said. ''Utley is definitely going to play more than he did last year. But at the same time, it doesn’t mean we can’t get Polanco at-bats. Polanco can play a lot of different positions. It’ll play itself out.’' We expect that this means Polanco will play second base against lefties and Utley will still get all of the starts against righties initially. That’s the way it should be.

Utley last played the position in the Cape Cod league. Even before Jim Thome was hurt, the Phillies were planning to have Utley spend some time at first to enhance his chances of making the team.

The team has little interest in trading Polanco or Utley, though offers will be listened to, of course. Manager Larry Bowa thinks he can get each of the three enough at-bats to keep them happy, but fantasy leaguers may want to stay away from the situation unless one of the players is moved.

Utley could take over at second base with Placido Polanco shifting to third base. The Phillies plan to be patient since they already have Tyler Houston and Tomas Perez as insurance, but GM Ed Wade said he would not hesitate to use Utley down the stretch in the pennant race. Utley would be a nice pickup if promoted.

Utley entered yesterday hitting .318 with 14 home runs and 67 RBI. He could be putting up numbers at least equal to those of David Bell in Philadelphia, which could have saved the Phillies some serious dough. As it is, the Phillies will have to choose between Utley and arbitration-eligible Placido Polanco this offseason.

''Like Bowa told you guys 10 days ago, a guy like [Polanco], who was one of our most valuable guys last year, doesn’t lose his job because he has a quadriceps problem,’' Wade said. ''I haven’t made a decision about what we’re doing with Chase.’' Utley gained a lot of attention with a hot start, but he’s slipped a bit lately, and his average is down to .270 with a .299 on-base percentage. David Bell has an 845 OPS at third base so he won’t be losing his job, so Utley could head back to Triple-A when Polanco is ready.

In fact, Utley could play first base during interleague play with Jim Thome DH-ing. The Phillies could send down a pitcher when Placido Polanco comes off the DL Tuesday.

Don’t expect Utley to stick around very long. The Phillies will want him to play everyday in the minors.

Both players’ names have been mentioned in trade talks, and manager Larry Bowa thinks that has distracted Polanco, who is hitting just .138 with runners in scoring position. In 259 at-bats, Polanco is .263-5-17. Utley meanwhile, in just 142 at-bats, is hitting .275-8-34.