Chase Utley Named Gold Glove Finalist

The 2014 Gold Glove finalists were announced today, because something had to happen with baseball while the Giants and Royals are winging their way to San Francisco. The Phillies' own Chase Utley was one of three National League finalists at second base. The other two finalists are Brandon Phillips of the Cincinnati Reds, and DJ Lemahieu, who is apparently a baseball player. The internet tells me he plays for the Colorado Rockies. Is that true? Is DJ Lemahieu an actual baseball player or a guy the Gold Glove people made up? That's for you to decide, dear readers.

Chase Utley has never won a Gold Glove, which is a travesty and should cast doubt upon the entire Gold Glove operation. Utley isn't the fielder he once was, but age and persistent knee problems tend to do that to a guy. A number of his less-than-pretty plays from this season have stuck in my brain, including a short burst of games where he was booting balls left and right. But the man can still field his position damn well. He's the master of the glove flip to second, and he doesn't just make it look easy, but smooth and sexy. He wasn't named to the 2014 All-Star Team for just his bat, after all.

What are Utley's chances of taking home the giant, golden baseball glove? (That's what they give out, right? I mean it has to be.) Who knows! I'd say they're decent, especially since DJ Lemahieu isn't real.