Knee? What knee? Chase Utley is just fine

Before Friday’s game against the Twins, Chase Utley addressed comments by first base coach Davey Lopes that he is currently dealing with a knee injury (via Todd Zolecki of MLB.com).

“I think there’s a little confusion and maybe a little bit of a difference of opinion with what Davey said,” Utley said before the game. “In my opinion, an injury is something that keeps you off the field. When you play 162-games-plus over the course of the year, you’re going to have aches and pains. That’s part of this game. That’s part of being a baseball player. In my opinion there’s no injury whatsoever.”

Utley acknowledged that he has occasional soreness in his right knee, but said that it isn’t affecting his performance at the plate. His answer may not satisfy everyone, but he made a compelling argument on the field on Friday night by going 2-for-5 with a three-run home run and matching a season-high with four RBI. He had gone 88 at-bats since his last home run on May 20 against the Cubs. Utley also scored from first base on a triple by Ryan Howard in the first inning and made a fantastic diving play to rob Denard Span of a hit in the top of the third inning.

Okay, so we’ve learned not to rattle Utley’s cage, but what happens with Lopes now?

“All I can tell you is that Davey is not our spokesman for our medical stuff,” Amaro said. “That comes from me or [assistant general manager] Scott Proefrock or [head athletic trainer] Scott Sheridan or Dr. [Michael] Ciccotti. This is not an injury. This is more preventative. Take it for what it’s worth, I guess.”

There’s no word on if the Philly Phanatic will take over as the first base coach on an interim basis, though the Phillies probably wouldn’t mind at this point since he (it?) has a natural ability of not talking to people.