I don't know if I could ever say yes to losing Utley without agonising about it. I mean its Chase f'n Utley.

hopin Chase takes names this year.

21McBride wrote:hopin Chase takes names this year.

me too.

a .290/.400/.520 season would be exactly what we need.

FTN wrote:

21McBride wrote:hopin Chase takes names this year.

me too.

a .290/.400/.520 season would be exactly what we need.

Not that this needs to be said, but over 150+ games, please.

Should I be at all concerned about this "leg soreness" thing?

lethal wrote:

etched Chaos wrote:I wonder what the talks would be like if we enquired over Zimmerman.

Ruben: We're interested in Ryan Zimmerman, whats a reasonable offer for you?
Nats: Domonic Brown, Jon Singleton, Jared Cosart, Brody Colvin, Chase Utley, Roy Halladay, CLIFF LEE and Chooch.

Would you trade Chase Utley straight up for Ryan Zimmerman? Honestly, I'd have to think long and hard about that.

Nope. I'll pull the intangibles/leader of the team card. I believe.

Zimm just turned 26.

His last two seasons have been outstanding.

Utley just turned 32.

I love Chase.

But the aging curve for 2B is really horrendous.

If hes Jeff Kent, then we're fine. If hes in the other 98% who've played the position, we're not quite as fine.

FTN wrote:Zimm just turned 26.

His last two seasons have been outstanding.

Utley just turned 32.

I love Chase.

But the aging curve for 2B is really horrendous.

If hes Jeff Kent, then we're fine. If hes in the other 98% who've played the position, we're not quite as fine.

All things I'm well aware of. I'd still keep Chase.

We're gonna win the next 6 WS anyway

Like I said, I'd have to think long and hard about it.

kruker wrote:

FTN wrote:Zimm just turned 26.

His last two seasons have been outstanding.

Utley just turned 32.

I love Chase.

But the aging curve for 2B is really horrendous.

If hes Jeff Kent, then we're fine. If hes in the other 98% who've played the position, we're not quite as fine.

All things I'm well aware of. I'd still keep Chase.

Thinking about this.....both of their contracts run through 2013. It's obviously a risk, but I don't think Zimm outproduces Chase by that much over the next three seasons. I'd put my money on Ryan, but I don't think there's enough benefit there to rock the boat.

I was thinking about a way to work this all into Black-Scholes, but I'm done with that for a few days. Suffice it to say, one of the caveats would have to be a guarantee that Zimm signs a reasonable extension.

Durbin is an Indians.

Utley's 3 most comparable hitters by age are jeff kent, joe gordon, and jim edmonds

Hitters decline as they get older?

Like I said, I don't think the difference between Utley and Zim is going to be that dramatic over the lifetimes of their current contracts. Unless you could guarantee Zimmerman signing a favorable extension at the time of the trade, I don't think there's a big enough benefit to shake up the organization. For as good as Zimmerman was last year, his WAR was only 1.2 higher than Chase in 27 more games. He hasn't posted a WAR that would be in Chase's top 5. That's not a knock on Zimmerman, but just going to show you that he's not a lock to outproduce Chase over the next three years. Chase isn't going to regress from being a consistent 6+ WAR player overnight to a dead weight. So where's the benefit to trading him now?

You've got to take the analysis a step further here. If you keep Utley, you get comparable production over the next three years, then are free to either sign Zimmerman as a free agent or that third sacker who plays in NY who also happens to be a free agent after 2013. Or someone else...whatever. The point is, when making this comparison, its wrong to consider anything achieved by Zimmerman at the end of his contract without factoring in what can be done with Chase's 15 million.

I don't see any reason to expect Chase's production to fall off a cliff. He's been as reliable as anyone in the game since he became a starter and his injuries haven't been of the chronic variety. I understand the argument that you minimize production volatility by going younger, but that has to be weighed against the likelihood of Utley severely regressing and the effects to the team and organization. Part of the reason we've been able to attract Halladay, Lee, Oswalt here is that we're an organization with continuity and an established nucleus. Trading Utley, while still producing at an MVP level, shatters that image. If you have a good reason to believe that Chase is going downhill, ok, but a tenuous comparative analysis based on position and statistical comparability isn't convincing.

kruker wrote:He's been as reliable as anyone in the game since he became a starter and his injuries haven't been of the chronic variety.

The hip troubles me. That may be a chronic issue, and it has a big impact on his hitting.

Jimmy not playing today either. Charlie says because he missed the last two days of workouts, and he'll play tomorrow.

jerseyhoya wrote:Jimmy not playing today either. Charlie says because he missed the last two days of workouts, and he'll play tomorrow.

BUT IT'S A STATEMENT GAME!!!

Although I guess the statement could be "whatever."

Don't get MLB Network at school, I haz a sad face