Thursday, March 10, 2011
Posted: 4:03 p.m.
By John R. Finger
CSNPhilly.com
CLEARWATER, Fla.Dom Brown showed up at Bright House Field on Thursday morning with a pretty substantial cast on his right arm. Though barely 48 hours removed from surgery to remove the broken hamate bone from his wrist, Brown was back at the park and in good spirits, ready to face the next challenge of his career.
Actually, Brown was already discussing his plan for attack for when he can remove the elbow-high cast and get back in the cage. For starters, hes going to forget about the new hitting stance he was working on during spring training before breaking the bone in his wrist.
I just said, Forget it. I'm going back to what got me here, Brown said before Thursdays game against the Yankees. Thats the key for me. The other thing did not work with the hands down. Thats going to take time, and I really don't have time to spare like that, especially coming from Winter Ball. I didn't have enough time to prepare myself with the lower hand angle.
Brown, the Phillies top prospect, quickly rose through the ranks and cracked the big league roster last August. Upon his call-up, however, Brown didnt see much playing time. When he did get into a game, he struggled at the plate, batting just .210 in 70 plate appearances with five extra-base hits.
After struggling through a handful of games in the Dominican winter league, the thinking was that Browns stance was the issue. See, Brown holds his hands high before he triggers his swing, and the Phillies thought it might serve him better to hold his hands lower before he took a hack at the ball.
Maybe not.
MLB
Brown went 0-for-15 before getting his first hit of Grapefruit League play, which, incidentally, came moments after breaking his hamate. By then, however, the decision had been made.
Hands up.
The Phillies expect Brown back in action in four-to-six weeks, upon which he will start the year in the minors. In the meantime, he can do some cardio work before having the stitches out next week. Either way, Brown will be able to get back to work without the glare or pressure of competing for a starting job.
Im not worried about that, Brown said. You guys are going to be around when Im doing something right, so thats all Im worried about. I know Im doing all the right things on and off the field and I know Im good.
Injury bug bites
Brown said he had a pretty good idea he broke his hamate as soon as it occurred. He says he felt some pain radiate down his fingers and some pressure on his palm. The surgery, conversely, was a breeze.
They knocked me out. I woke up and I had a cast on my hand, Brown said. It was pretty simple. I didnt have any pain or anything. It went pretty well.
The way things have gone for the Phillies in the injury department lately, Browns report is about as good as it gets. Even infielder Brian Bocock is not immune to injuries. X-rays taken on his wrist after getting hit by a pitch Wednesday were negative, but Bocock was headed back to Philadelphia to be examined by Dr. Randall Culp, the same physician who operated on Browns hamate.
In fact, even pitcher Roy Halladay was walking around with a black eye from a ball that caught him during bunting drills.
Of course, nothing looms larger than the injury to Chase Utleys knee, which may or may not need surgery. If there is one story that has resonated this spring, it has been the chain reaction of events that could occur if Utley misses significant action.
Lefty ace Cliff Lee likens losing Utley to the Rangers losing Josh Hamilton. Hamilton, the reigning American League MVP, is the best player Lee has played with, but Utley is no slouch, either, the pitcher says.
Him and Ichiro and Howard are kind of together in the next tier, in my opinion, Lee said. Hamilton is right up there with the best that ever played. Theres something about Josh thats different, at least there has been in the past couple of years. Hes just a whole different breed. But Chase is not too far behind, in my opinion.
The addition of Lee to the Phillies pitching staff will help, but that doesnt make the potential loss of Utley easier to swallow.
It definitely eases some of the worry if we can keep the key guys like Utley from getting injured, Lee said. Pitching is what carries the team and gets a team to the playoffs and then wins in the playoffs. Still, its hard to replace a guy like Utley. Hes our three-hole hitter, and any team that loses its three-hole hitter is going to feel an impact. But its nice to know we have the pitching to cushion things like that. If we had our preference, wed definitely have him out there.
E-mail John R. Finger at jfinger@comcastsportsnet.com
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