The first belongs to Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard. He turned 28 on Nov. 19. He is depicted in some baseball circles as being "an old 28." The closer you get to the money, the older Howard seems to get. Howard and the Phillies are $3 million apart in numbers for his 2008 salary. They careen toward a possible Feb. 20 hearing in front of an MLB arbitration panel in Tampa.
The second belongs to Phillies second baseman Chase Utley. He celebrated his 29th birthday on Dec. 17, which makes him 2 days short of 11 months older than his fellow All-Star teammate. When the Phillies avoided arbitration and signed Chase to a 7-year, $85 million deal last January, he was 28. I don't remember anybody saying, "Wow, that's an awfully long contract for a guy who plays with his hair on fire and who will be 34 in the last year of the deal.'' The perception of Utley is that he is a young man in ability and approach who has a tough, lean body that will withstand the high standard he has imposed on it.
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Age-old questions
Age-old questions
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