For a while now, I’ve been contemplating if I wanted to write about this topic or not. I know this is a touchy topic in Philadelphia but I think I’m ready to tackle it. Ok, here goes. Why is it that Chase Utley gets a free pass in this city and Ryan Howard cannot do anything right and gets chastised over every little thing (like breathing)? Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Chase Utley. Hell, him and Ryan are my favorite Phillies and have been since they’ve come up. I love Chase’s hustle, I love how he goes out there every game and plays it like it should be played. I love his baseball smarts. What I don’t like is how for 2 years in a row, Chase waited til spring training to tell the organization he was hurt. I mean really Chase, you didn’t know after the season that you were hurt? You couldn’t get those injuries taken care of in all those months you were off before spring training started? Two seasons in a row, the Phillies had to start without their starting second basemen and last year it really hurt them.
I’ve tried really hard to ignore the lovefest for Saint Chase and the hatred for Ryan but it got to the point that I couldn’t ignore it anymore. Last week when I was at a Phillies game, I got into an argument with basically my whole section. I don’t remember exactly what happened but a ground ball was hit to Ryan and he hesitated throwing it to second base. The whole section started with the “You’re not worth 125 million you damn bum. Sit his ass Charlie”, blah blah blah. An inning earlier, Chase decided to run from 1st to home on a pop up with one out and got doubled up. Not one person said anything, well except me. A few innings later, Chase almost cost the Phils the game with a throwing error to Howard and you know what I heard, “How do you not catch that ball Howard! It’s ok Chase, get em next time”. Wow, really? I see things like this all the time on twitter. Chase makes an error (which he has 5-6 already this season) and people tweet, “We love you Chase, you’ll get em”, or Chase strikes out and you see, “It’s ok Chase, you’ll get a hit next time”. Ryan gets up to bat, strikes out, “Oh look, this bum strikes out again. Remember that bonehead play about 2 weeks ago when the ball went right and Chase went left? Well I do and people had nerve to make up excuses for him after that play. If Ryan would have done some dumb stuff like that, he’d be hanging from a tree right now. When Ryan does do something good, like it a homerun to put the team ahead or just gets an rbi, you hear nothing. Chase does the same exact thing, all hell breaks loose on twitter. You would think he just won the damn World Series for the team. The funny thing is, people seem to forget that Ryan Howard put this team on his back the last few months of the 07, 08 and 09 seasons to get this team in the playoffs. Chase seemed to disappear which is basically what he does at the end of every season. I know, I know, the Chase Utley apologists are probably going to be at my front door with pitchforks ready to kill me for this but hey, it is what it is.
What I’m going to say next is really going to piss people off and once again, I don’t care because if you know me, you know I shoot straight from the hip and don’t bite my tongue. I’ve tried to convince myself over the last few years that this Howard hate is not racial but I really and truly believe that is the biggest reason why he is treated like he is in this city. I got into this argument the other day with someone who said, “Well Philly loved Allen Iverson”. Seeing that over half of NBA fans are black, yea umm, that could be why. Listen I’m not saying that black players are not liked in this city, I mean hell, one of the most beloved to ever play here is black, Brian Dawkins. I’m going to stop right there because this is going to start controversy enough without me going any deeper into it.
Back to Saint Chase and Ryan. You know what makes me sad? I find myself sitting in front of the television at times, hoping Chase does something stupid or strikes out to end the game just so I can say Ha! How about that! (In my Tom McCarthy voice) I hate that! I hate that this is what it’s come to especially because like I said earlier, he is one of my two favorite Phillies. Both of these men have given everything they have to this organization. We would not have won a World Series without them.
I’m just here to let you know, I will criticize Chase just as much as any other player in this city because, well, he deserves it. Some of you need to take off those rose colored glasses and realize too that he is not above being criticized.
I feel so much better getting that off my chest but I know a lot of you probably wish I would have just kept it to myself.
Comments
ineverbooedsanta 
How dare you Teri! Lol I actually agree with you on this one. I love Chase, but he does get a pass. I think it’s because he is a Philly type player (see Iverson, Allen; Dawkins, Brian). Howard falls into the Donovan McNabb/Mike Schmidt category: guys who just won’t be appreciated until they are gone.
Patrick, I really want to respond about the love thing but it will only make things worse. hahaha
It’s a shame because peoole forget how good Howard really was in his mid/late 20’s. Only 3 Phillies have ever captivated me during a season where I had to watch them. Not want to, had to. That was Doc in 2010, JRoll in 07, and Howard in 06. The man hit FIFTY EIGHT HOMERUNS IN ONE SEASON. He almost single handedly carried us into the playoffs in 2006. However, people only talk about his 2009 World Series, or his season ending strikeouts in 2010 or 2011. Nevermind the fact from 2006-2009, only Pujols was a scarier hitter.
*slow clap*
Look, I love Chase. But I simply do not understand why he is above criticism. I don’t get it. This city has its players that are like that from time to time, and the opposite as well. You know, the guys who can’t seem to please the fans no matter what. Ryan Howard is in that category, but Cole Hamels is also. So I’m not sure it’s so much a race thing as it is a ridiculous-ungrateful-fan-since-09 thing. I’ve thought about this a lot because I love Ryan Howarf. Love him. I think that people simply don’t understand how things work sometimes. Who cares how much money he makes? It’s not your money, so why do you care? But God forbid you bring up those two balls that Chase threw into the dugout in the 09 series.
Don’t get it twisted, I love Chase too. But come on, people. He makes mistakes too. He’ll be the first one to tell you that. The criticism of Howard is over the top at times, in my opinion. Feel free to rip me for that opinion, and I’ll feel free to ignore you.
Patrick, you are absolutely right!
It’s a lot of the mid 20’s and under crowd that bash Howard. They either can’t remember/too young to remember how terrible the Phillies were in the 90’s, how many terrible contracts Lee Thomas wrote, how the number one pick in the draft shunned us, and when we had washed up Fernando Valenzuela and Sid Fernandez anchoring our staff.