Injury Replacements Shine

It’s obvious that three big sparks in the Phillies lineup have been sitting on the bench the past week and will continue to do so for several games to come. Chase Utley, sidelined with a broken bone in his right hand, will likely be out until later this month or early September. Michael Bourn is on a similar timetable as Utley, but he may need an extra week or two before completing a rehab assignment and returning to the team. Shane Victorino has been progressing well and could start a rehab assignment as early as this weekend.

But credit needs to be given to the three players who have stepped into their roles and flourished – Tadahito Iguchi, Jayson Werth, and Chris Roberson. Keeping in mind that Iguchi is still new to the team and the National League, Werth had been abruptly activated from a two-month stint on the disabled list, and Roberson had been called up from AAA for his first 2007 stint in the majors, they’ve done remarkably well.

Following are some side-by-side comparisons. Utley hit the DL on July 26, and Iguchi made his Phillies debut at second base two days later on July 28. These numbers show Utley’s stats in his last ten games before getting injured and Iguchi’s first ten games as a Phillie.

There’s a bit of a dropoff with RBI between Utley and Iguchi’s last ten games, but Iguchi has shown that he can step right into a role that no one expected he could fill. Of course, no one can truly take the place of Chase Utley, but Iguchi is performing well above average, both offensively and defensively.

Next, we take a look at Victorino and Bourn in comparison with Roberson and Werth. Here are the numbers for Victorino and Bourn’s last six games before they both hit the DL July 31.

Both were hitting for average and getting on base despite the lack of driving runs home. However, Roberson and Werth have stepped in nicely. In the six games they played since Victorino and Bourn were injured:

Roberson is in the midst of an 0-7 mini-slump and hasn’t gotten a hit since the final game at Wrigley Field last Thursday, but he seems to have made a solid effort in trying to make up for it with his defense. Werth has been an unexpected threat, both at the plate and in the outfield. If these two players can keep producing, the Phillies offense will be very much intact by the time all three injured players return.

Victorino and Bourn are both known for their speed both on the bases and in the field, which allows them to cover more ground than your average outfielder. While Roberson and Werth don’t have the same level of speed, they’ve both managed to make great defensive plays:

Roberson, playing right field, made a great diving catch in Milwaukee to rob Kevin Mench of an RBI or two to preserve Philadelphia’s 5-4 lead through six innings in what ended up being a painful 6-5 Milwaukee win.

Last night, Roberson was inserted into the game to play center field as a late-game defensive replacement, and immediately snagged a line drive off the bat of Marlins’ third baseman Miguel Cabrera to rob him of a double. Even Harry Kalas sounded impressed.

Werth made a great dive, snapping his belt while robbing Prince Fielder of extra bases while the Phillies were down 5-0 in the fifth inning Sunday afternoon at Miller Park. The Phillies would later come back to tie the game in the ninth off lights-out closer Francisco Cordero, and would rally on to win in the 11^th inning off an RBI double by Wes Helms.