By RYAN LAWRENCE
Journal Register News Service

Three weeks after the Phillies celebrated their first World Championship in 28 years, their hope of repeating was dealt a blow.

On Thursday, the team announced half of their star-studded infield had appointments in the operating room. Chase Utley’s pesky right hip and Pedro Feliz’s balky back have led both infielders to surgery.

Feliz, who spent 26 days on the disabled list with the injury during the season’s second half, had surgery Thursday in Los Angeles by renowned back specialist Dr. Robert Watkins. The third baseman will begin an 8-12 week rehabilitation program.

Utley, who won his third straight Silver Slugger Award as the league’s top hitting second baseman, will likely be out longer.

According to head team athletic trainer Scott Sheridan, Utley is scheduled to undergo “arthroscopic evaluation with treatment of any labral or bony injury” next week. The Phillies said Utley should be able to resume baseball activities in three to four months, but full recovery time could take four to six months.

With that timetable in motion, Utley’s status for Opening Day could be in jeopardy. The defending World Champions open the 2009 season against the Braves on Sunday, April 5.

“Our feeling is he’s going to be fairly close to ready, if not ready, by Opening Day,” Phillies general manager Ruben

Amaro Jr. said Thursday. “A lot depends on how the surgery goes, how the rehab goes. This is not an exact science, but we fully expect to have Chase Utley with us for the bulk of the season.”

Utley, who turns 30 next month, will undergo surgery next week with Dr. Brian Kelly in New York. Boston Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell also underwent hip surgery with Kelly last month.

According to Sheridan, Dr. Kelly will make the decision to prepare the labrum during the arthroscopic surgery. But it shouldn’t impact the recovery time either way.

“There’s not a significance difference between the two procedures,” Sheridan said. “It’s just a matter of getting in there and seeing what’s going on, and proceed from there.”

When asked about his ailing hip several times shortly after the All-Star break, Utley played ignorant, not wanting to admit to the injury. But his stats told a different story.

Utley hit 25 of his career-high 33 home runs before July 8.

In the first 89 games of the season, he hit 25 home runs, knocked in 68 RBIs and banged out 52 extra-base hits. In the final 70 games, Utley hit eight home runs with 36 RBIs and 26 extra-base hits.

“I don’t know if it had much to do with second half production. Could it have weighed on him a bit more mentally? Possibly. There’s a lot of factors involved here,” Amaro said. “The fact of the matter is Chase Utley does everything he possibly can to prepare himself to play. If he felt he was going to do something that was going to be detrimental to the club, he would have begged out. If he was not able to perform, he wouldn’t have gone onto the field.”

“From the discussions we had with Chase, there was not any point where he thought there was anything that was affect him to play his position… he was highly functional,” added team physician Dr. Michael Ciccotti. “While he had his persistent systems, we were carrying on those non-operative treatments — stretching and exercising — but those original symptoms are what led to the surgery.”

The Phillies couldn’t pinpoint when Utley’s hip became an issue, but Sherdian said the second baseman had symptoms in spring training. According to Sheridan, Utley said he thinks it may have originated when he began working out last winter.

Despite his setback, Utley will not be asked to slowdown his hair-on-fire approach to the game. If the Phillies alter anything, it will be the types of exercises and stretches he performs during his routine throughout the season.

“Those are the types of things that are going to have change to keep him on the field for the entire season,” Sheridan said.

The Phillies said Utley talked about a “pinching, uncomfortable” feeling at different points in the season, but that, overall, the symptoms were “very mild.” Thus they altered his exercise routines and brought him in for treatment, but did not think of shutting Utley down for the season.

“We were in touch with him all season to manage the symptoms to know whether he was getting worse,” Ciccotti said. “If there was something significant different, we would have changed the plan of care for him. We all agreed on how this was being managed.”

Although different people heal at different rates, there’s a chance Utley could be ready before the Phillies break camp in Clearwater, Fla. at the end of spring training. Chicago Cubs pitcher Chad Gaudin, formerly with Oakland, had hip surgery last December and was activated from the disabled list in April 8.

Lowell underwent surgery on October 20. He’s already off crutches and Dr. Kelly expressed optimism for a full recovery in an interview with the Boston Globe last week.

“I think there’s a good chance he’ll be the same,” Kelly told the Globe. “The pro athletes that I’ve dealt with that have this type of surgery are typically able to get back to their full level of function without losing much.

“If there is some degree of permanent damage, is that damage going to become progressively worse? It probably has more to do with longevity of one’s career. Will he come back like he was? That’s what we all want to know. I’m optimistic.”

Although Utley’s availability for Opening Day likely won’t be known for a few months, the Phillies will not alter their offseason plans, according to Amaro. Utility infielder Eric Bruntlett, who filled in for Jimmy Rollins last April when the All-Star shortstop suffered an ankle injury, and rising infield prospect Jason Donald give the team two possible backups.

“I think we have converge with Bruntlett and the emergence of Donald at this stage of the game,” Amaro said. “That doesn’t mean that we wouldn’t look to add…

“You don’t necessarily replace an Utley. At the same time, we feel based on the information that we’ve gotten, and we won’t know much until the surgery is done how long it will take to recover. Our feeling is he’s going to be fairly close to ready, if not ready by Opening Day.”

Donald, who hit .307 with 14 home runs and 54 RBIs at Double-A Reading this year, was named the 2008 recipient of the Arizona Fall League Dernell Stenson Award. The award is presented annually to the Fall League player who best exemplifies unselfishness, hard work, and leadership.

Donald, the Phillies third-round selection in the 2006 draft, is hitting .407 with the Mesa Solar Sox.

“Jason possesses all of the qualities this award is all about — tremendous work ethic, a true leader, and he plays the game of baseball the right way,” said Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg, a coach on the Solar Sox staff. “He’s been a pleasure to be around and he could be a guy who we see in the major leagues next year.”