Two Phillie Greats Return Tonight

My Fellow Phans,

Coupled with this Phillies/Giants Preview is a brief note on what plans to be a terrific week as two Phillie greats from the '08 World Series team plan to return; although their tales are entirely different.

Over the weekend, the Phillies received what may be the best news that any person in the organization has muttered all year and that is the possible return of Chase Utley tonight, August 17th, versus the Giants at Citizens Bank Park. As I finish up this piece, I give you great news as Utley is indeed in the starting lineup tonight and hitting second. Its actually quite an odd lineup at that too, we can dissect that at a later time.

Tonight's lineup: Rollins, Utley, Polanco, Werth, Victorino, Sweeney, Ibanez, Ruiz, Oswalt

The other man that I referred to in the title will be here for sure, and that is Mr. Pat Burrell. Now Burrell is not returning from injuries; he is on the complete opposite end of the spectrum and is returning as an opposing player while playing for the Giants.

Now, I know that I am not the only one who is delighted to see Pat back in town; despite the fact that he is technically the enemy. Regardless of the uniform that Burrell wears, he will always be a Phillie to me. I think this will be his first game in Philly since that clutch double he hit in the 7th inning of Game 5 of the World Series. Nobody in this area will ever forget what he has done here for us and I don't see any reason to dislike the man. He was a class act during his time here and I am happy to see him succeeding once again.

That doesn't mean that I want to see the Giants succeed this weekend while they play here. Here is a look at the upcoming series:

Pitching Matchups:

Tuesday: Roy Oswalt  vs. Barry Zito
Wednesday: Joe Blanton vs. Matt Cain
Thursday: Cole Hamels vs. Jonathon Sanchez

Synopsis: The Phillies will need to beat at least one tough left hander in order to win this series. Can this be done? I see no reason it cannot be done. As long as our pitching keeps us in the game, we have a chance to win this series. Watch out for the return of Utley and see if he can pick up and play at an All-Star level once again. Expect low scoring games all around and tightly fought battles until the end. This will be a series between two teams that are both good enough to make the postseason.

Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!