Todd Zolecki On Chase Utley: Can't Use Bad Luck 'As An Excuse'

By Ray Boyd

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Phillies entered Tuesday on a two-game winning streak as they closed out a series with a win over the Marlins before heading to Atlanta and opening with a win. The two-game spike came after a five-game skid and there are still a lot of issues plaguing this bunch.

Phillies beat writer Todd Zolecki joined Josh Innes and Tony Bruno on Tuesday to discuss the current state of the team.

The elephant in the room right now for the Phillies is the dismal play of Chase Utley. His overall career contributions to the Phillies have given him what some see as a free pass from the fans and the media, but it is hard to ignore a No. 3 hitter who is an 0-4 performance away from hitting below .100.

"It's gone on too long," said Zolecki. "You can say over say a week and a half, two weeks, where he's really running into some bad luck. He's hitting the ball hard and there certainly have been some times where he's hitting the ball hard, but the fact of the matter is you can't use that as an excuse for 25 games."

LISTEN: Todd Zolecki discusses the Phillies with Josh Innes and Tony Bruno

Earlier in the day, Utley's general manager did just that on the 94WIP Morning Show and summed Utley's struggles up as bad luck.

Zolecki also cautioned Phillies fans who may see this as just a five week slump for Utley. "You take a look at his numbers since about the end of May of last year, he's hitting .215 with a .610 OPS. Those are bad numbers."

The Phillies are in somewhat of a tough spot with Utley. Do you move Utley out of the No. 3 spot much like Ryne Sandberg did with Howard at the four spot? Do you give Utley an extended break of three or four days off and maybe give a young bat like Cesar Hernandez a chance to show something?

This may be tough for Phillies fans to watch, but it is hard to think the Phillies can continue on much longer with the status quo.

"I think something needs to be done at least short-term," Zolecki said. He even referenced the fact that Charlie Manuel would routinely rest hitters for a few days during slumps to allow them to clear their heads.

"It seemed to help more often than not," Zolecki said of that strategy. "I just don't see why they don't give that a shot with Chase. Let him take a break for a few days."