Props of course to Maury Brown. If this sort of topic, or other Biz of Baseball topics, appeal to you, you might like his website.

Disclaimers: The new CBA may be different and Utley may different language in his contract. I don’t know these things. Maybe the Phillies are honoring their agreement with Utley; maybe they are obfuscating.

As for HIPAA, I have worked as a computer programmer for both a medical center and a state, and I was absolutely prohibited from disclosing personal medical information (Want a list of women diagnosed with nymphomania, on MEDICAID, aged 18-40, in your zip code or surrounding zip codes, sorted by body mass index and marital status? I can’t tell you.). My wife is an emergency dispatcher and she is bound by the same rules. So it’s not just doctors and other medical professionals.

How this relates to non-baseball related injuries and medical conditions, such as Joba Chamberlain or Ryan Westmoreland, I have no idea.

If you were to get a hold of his medical records, whoever supplied you with them would be violating HIPAA and my guess is that in some way you could be held accountable too. The common example I remember on these exams was something like “Mr. X is in the hospital for treatment and a member of the staff not involved in his treatment disseminates his information. Is this a violation of HIPAA? -yes.

But it’s been a while so. Regardless of HIPAA, even if he asked them to keep quiet, they should.

Also, injury reports and such are only for Vegas and the gamblers so they can set proper lines. Think about that next time one of the professional leagues gives a diatribe against the evils of gambling.

1) Utley had knee problems last year. I’m guessing RAJ knew about that because Utley missed a portion of the season.

2) By all accounts, Utley modified his workout regimen in the winter and it wasn’t until baseball activities started that his knees bothered him (again because the condition is chronic it is foolish of the Phillies to not anticipate some set back).

“I love chase,but a leader does whats best for the team,not whats best for his career first.”
- One this assumes that Utley is the clubhouse leader (or one of them). I’m not convinced I buy all the leader hubbub but he plays hard on the field. Perhaps he’s a leader through his play. And because he’s such an important part to the Phillies success, it’s perhaps better for him to worry about his career a little bit. Longer, more productive career could be better for the Phils (however long it may be).

Cuddyer is a bad defender at multiple positions and I would hardly call him a “stud.”

Two other things:
1) His knee issues aren’t a secret. He was diagnosed with a chronic condition last season and if the Phillies were smart they would have expected it to resurface at some point. So it’s not like it was a big secret or something.

2) Cuddyer is not a key player.