Chase Utley said he and his Phillies teammates sat up and took notice the final week of the first half when the Mets took the final three games of a four-game set in Philadelphia then reeled off six more wins in a row over the Giants and Rockies.
“The Mets have played very well,” Utley said today before participating in the All-Star Home Run Derby.
“We’ve got 60-something games to go, and it’s going to be a dogfight. Nobody said it was going to be easy, but I like our chances. We have the mentality, mindset and talent to do it, so we’ll see how it goes.”
For now, though, the 29-year-old planned to enjoy his starting assignment in the All-Star Game and leave the worries about changed swings and the Mets for later.
“I want to remember this forever,” he said of his Yankee Stadium experience. “It’s a special moment for me and for all of us playing. I’d never been there before now, so I want to experience and soak it all up.
“There’s so much tradition and history in it. It’s going to be special.”
The slugging second baseman heard all of the tales of hitters participating in the Home Run Derby and living to regret it the second half of the season because the competition allegedly messed up their swing.
But Utley was confident he will be an exception after gladly taking his turn in the contest for the first time in his budding career.
“I guess if you’re thinking it will screw up your swing, then maybe it will,” Utley said. “I don’t think it will. It’s one day of batting practice, and I’ve had plenty of bad batting practices in my career.”
The three-time All-Star admitted his plan during the competition was to power up to reach the short fence in right field, and Utley fully expects a smooth return to the pretty swing that did so much damage (including 25 doubles and three triples) in the first half.
“I’ll adjust, but after it’s over, I’ll go right back to what I’ve been doing before,” Utley said.
The Phillies, who are clinging to a half-game lead over the Mets in the suddenly tight NL East, can only cross their fingers that the derby won’t muck up Utley’s mechanics.
Charlie Manuel’s club badly needs Utley to pick up right where he left off in the first half, when Utley was one of the biggest surprises in baseball with a career-high 25 home runs.
Mets closer Billy Wagner, a former teammate of Utley’s in Philadelphia and also an All-Star, can’t seem to praise him enough.
“I remember leaving Philly hoping that I wouldn’t have to face him,” Wagner said during the media session in Midtown. “He’s like a new version of Pete Rose. He’s just a phenomenal player. He’s laid back, but he has that quiet intensity where he’ll run through a wall for you.”
The Phillies likely will need Utley to run through a few walls — or at least send several more shots over them — to fend off the hard-charging Mets in the second half.