Manuel acts in Phillies' best interest, moving Utley in order

ATLANTA - No individual is bigger than the team, baseball's big cigars like to harrumph. It makes them feel in charge. It plays well to the public. And too often it's a crock.

In reality, there's a rigid caste system that governs almost every aspect of the game. It's based on a variety of factors including seniority, salary and service time. The rules are unwritten, but might as well be carved on tablets and handed down from generation to generation.

These status symbols might not seem like a big deal to those on the outside. Within the insular world of big-league ball, this stuff matters. So if two guys want the same uniform number, the player who has been around the longest gets it, but is expected to come up with some sort of compensation. This has been known to range from a case of beer to an expensive watch, depending on the circumstances.

Veterans get first choice of seats on the charter flights. The stars are always given the most well-located lockers, usually with an open cubicle next door for added elbow room. In the final years of the Barry Bonds era in San Francisco, the controversial slugger had four lockers plus his own television set and recliner chair. Just because he could.

That doesn't mean that managers always cater to the superstars. It just means that they have to tread carefully when they don't.

So, yeah, it was a kind of a big deal when Charlie Manuel moved Chase Utley from the No. 3 spot in the order to second for the final handful of games. The best hitter on the team is supposed to bat third. That's what Utley has been, and that's where he has normally hit.

"It's hard when you have a lot of respect for someone and feel strongly about him and know what kind of player he is, I look at that as his spot," the Phillies manager said. "He knows he's not right just now. But I also don't want to send him the wrong message because I look at him as our three-hole hitter."

Manuel was doing what he deems best for the team. But no matter how you want to spin it, this was a demotion. "I worried about that. I was very concerned about that, because that's his hole," he admitted.

Remember what Jimmy Rollins said when he was temporarily dropped out of the top spot a couple years ago? "No matter where I bat, I'm still the leadoff hitter." That's how he sees himself. That's his self-image. And that matters.