Chase Utley press conference

Listen to what Chase Utley, Ruben Amaro and Arn Tellem had to say about the second baseman's new, $85 million contract. Guess what? They're pretty pleased with it.

With new contract in tow, Utley ready to go

When going to a press conference for a guy who just signed a brand-new, $85 million contract, there aren’t too many questions that are unanswered. Obviously, everyone is pretty pleased with what’s happening or the team would have never approached the player with the new deal, nor would the player have signed on the line to stay in town.

Obviously, the player feels pretty excited about the future prospects for the team – and himself – and the team thinks the “investment” of money and years is a wise decision. Obviously.

So when the Phillies brought out Chase Utley, nattily attired in a dark, single-breasted suit and still aglow, rested and relaxed from his honeymoon and recent nuptials, it seemed kind of insulting to ask, “Hey Chase, about that new contract – it must feel pretty good, huh?”

Just once it would be funny to hear an athlete say, “This money is going to come in handy because I want to move to a cabin in the mountains and work on my memoirs.”

Just once…

But Chase Utley isn’t going to be that guy, which is fine. However, Utley’s objective is kind of similar in a odd sort of way.

All Chase Utley wants is to be left alone so he can play baseball. Forget about the money, the tackiness of fame and all of the trappings that go with it. Utley just wants to play ball in Philadelphia for a long, long time.

“My plan is to stay a Phillie for life,” Utley said in his first press conference as a married man.

Because of that desire, Utley’s agent, Arn Tellem, said the All-Star second baseman was willing to sacrifice a bit in order to make the deal go smoothly. That probably is just agent-speak, but afterwards no one seemed too upset about the new agreement.

“When you have both sides that have a mutual interest in getting something done and Chase wanted the security of knowing he'll be in Philadelphia for a long time, we were willing to make concessions,” Tellem said.

The Phillies were happy to make concessions on their end, too, such as giving Utley a limited no-trade clause – something general manager Pat Gillick isn’t too keen on giving out. In the end, Gillick’s assistant Ruben Amaro Jr. said talent was the main factor and Utley just so happened to be one of the top 15 players in the game.

"He's a player other organizations dream about having," said Amaro, who brokered the deal with Utley and Tellem.

For the next seven seasons in which he’ll earn at least $85 million, Utley will be a Phillie as he comes into his athletic prime. When his contract with the Phillies ends Utley will be 35 years old, which was about the same age as Carlos Delgado when he signed a four-year, $52 million contract. In other words, Utley could be in position to earn one more really big contract – especially since the game’s economics will likely be even crazier six or seven years from now than they are right now.

When all is said and done, Utley will have a little bit of pocket change.

But just like the other stuff, Utley’s focus remains on baseball. The money is nice, but Utley says, “It’s not about the money, it’s more about the years.”

Of course, Utley is coming off his best season as a pro where he hit .309 with 40 doubles, 32 homers, 102 RBIs and 131 runs. He also had a 35-game hitting streak that tied for the 10th-longest in major league history and longest by a second baseman, while teaming with NL MVP Ryan Howard to lead the Phillies to within two games of the National League’s wild-card berth.

With Howard likely to get a deal that dwarfs Utley’s in the not-so-distant future, the right side of the Phillies’ infield will form the core of the team into the next decade. Plus, with left-handed pitcher Cole Hamels, just 23, beginning to show what all of the hype was about, the youthful club is starting to take shape.

With Jimmy Rollins at shortstop, the maligned Pat Burrell still on for the next two seasons (and $27 million), and centerfielder Aaron Rowand lending playoff experience, the Phillies are expected to turn to Utley for so-called leadership. That’s especially the case after Rollins revealed that the Phillies would often defer to Bobby Abreu to rescue the club in a tight spot because he had the biggest contract and the stats to match. Now Utley is in a similar position, which is fine by him, but Utley says a leader is what a leader does.

“As far as leadership goes, I’m going to continue to play the way I have,” he said. “I think a good leader leads by example. A contract isn’t going to change that. It’s not going to change how I perform, it’s not going to change how I prepare, [and] it’s not going to change how hard I play. It’s not going to change anything like that.

“[The contract] obviously gives me some security but that’s all it gives me. I’m going to work hard to try and improve every year. It’s going to be no different from here on out.”

That goes for the off-season, too, where Utley was as busy as ever. He flew to Philadelphia from his home in southern California where he had been working out after a tour of Japan with the Major League All-Star team and before his wedding last week. He’s also been keeping close tabs on the transaction wire and is impressed with Gillick’s additions of pitcher Freddy Garcia and outfielder Jayson Werth. In fact, after the acquisition of Garcia, Utley called up Rowand to get some insight on the right-hander who was the centerfielder’s teammate on the World Champion White Sox team in 2005.

“He told me, ‘He’s a gamer,’” Utley revealed. “That’s the highest compliment anybody can get.”

Better yet, Utley is impressed that the Phillies are adding good people as well as good players. That’s important, he says.

“It’s always nice to have good players on the field but it’s even better to have great guys in the clubhouse,” he said.

So with the team that has begun to take shape and a new seven-year deal in tow, Utley’s prediction for the Phillies is just as any one would expect:

“The sky is the limit.”