THE CLUBHOUSE was way too morose to be mourning just a loss.
The bullpen had blown a game in the eighth inning, but still, the Phillies had won eight of 13 games and three of four series since the All-Star break.
Everyone in the clubhouse knew: Chase Utley, the team's best player to date, was having X-rays performed on the back of his right hand. He had been hit there with a fastball in the fifth inning yesterday by Nationals lefthander John Lannan, in his major league debut.
They pretty much knew Utley was gone, like Flash Gordon, Brett Myers, Freddy Garcia, Jon Lieber and Ryan Howard before him.
They were right.
Utley, generally considered the best second baseman in the game and a National League MVP candidate, indicated that he will miss at least 3 weeks with a fractured right ring finger.
He will land on the 15-day disabled list today. He will visit hand specialist Dr. Randall W. Culp at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital today to see if surgery is needed.
Worst-case scenario?
"I dunno," Utley said after the Phils' 7-6 loss. "The hand will fall off?"
Apparently not.
"The doctors are pretty optimistic . . . I don't think it's that bad of a break," Utley said. "I definitely expect to come back this year."
Assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said team physician Dr. Michael Ciccotti, who performed the initial postgame examination, said that on a scale of 0-to-10 the break was, "Probably a two-three type of fracture."
Similar injuries routinely are diagnosed with 4-to-6-week recovery times.
Even if surgery is required, Utley said, he could return this season. The Phillies will wait until today's exam to determine if they want to seek a replacement before the non-waiver trading deadline Tuesday, Amaro said.
For the moment, utility infielder Abraham Nunez is expected to fill in for Utley.
Utley's shoes are huge.
A first-round pick in 2000 and an All-Star the last two seasons, Utley, 28, signed a 7-year, $85 million contract extension in January. He is earning the money.
He is hitting .336, best on the team and, at the end of yesterday's game, tied for second in the league. He has 82 RBI, second on the team and, at the end of yesterday's game, second in the league. He has 41 doubles, most in the majors.
He also leads the league in getting hit by pitches (17 times), a sacrificial philosophy that was bound to catch up with him.
"I wish I would've gotten out of the way of this one," Utley said.
More than usual, he tried. Lannan's 0-2 fastball rode up and in on him.
