Written By: Bill Campbell

Most baseball people believe that pitching is really the name of the game and that the Phillies should simply breeze through the season. But the game also involves bats and gloves and players who are pretty good at using those tools.

Chase Utley is one of them, now plagued by the pain of patellar tendonitis. And Jimmy Rollins is another coming off a 2010 season that limited him to 88 games.

The skill and accomplishments of the best pitching staff ever, which many label the Phillies' rotation, needs support - particularly through the middle. It needs consistent fielding behind it. The best rotation ever can't strike everybody out. And it needs double plays. Therefore, guys like Utley and Rollins are of major importance with the glove and the bat.

The news on Dominic Brown isn't good either. But at least he didn't figure as a 2011 mainstay guy. Merely the fact the he was considered to be the Phillies' top prospect makes that news at least uncomfortable.

Utley, already the recipient of a cortisone injection, is the middle man on most double plays. He is also an accomplished hitter and I'll wager there is no Phillies pitcher who will completely relax until Chase Utley is able to play every day. Pitching may be the name of the game but defense and scoring have their places too. If those shots up the middle find holes and start going through, even the best rotation of all time can begin to look a bit ordinary.

As we approach the post-season tournaments in college basketball, it might be worthwhile to review the status of the City Six. They used to call it the Big Five plus Drexel, but the "City Six" has a nice ring to it. And the aforementioned Drexel deserves some recognition if for no other reason than the way its season ended.

Virginia Commonwealth did the honors this time in a whistle-filled game. VCU went 25 for 36 at the foul line to Drexel's 10 for 17. In the second half, the advantage was 25-3 VCU at the foul line. It still took a buzzer-beater by Jamie Skeen to win the game in front of a roaring Richmond crowd. Skeen scored 18 of his 24 points in the second half. Drexel finished its season 21-10 with only 2 reserve players available last week against VCU. Three had fouled out and Coach Bruiser Flint was tagged with a technical with 4 minutes left and his team only 5 points behind. Hardly the way to play in a building where Drexel and Flint have a 4-10 record in the CAA Tournament. Skeen was wide open on his game-winning shot, very much to his surprise.

Villanova is still playing - but barely. The loss to Pitt reduced the Wildcats to a 21-10 record on the year, 9-9 in the conference, and the 10th seed in the Big East Tournament. To the Wildcats' credit, they have been without Corey Stokes and, using the injured Corey Fisher, they fought Pitt hard and made the Panthers earn their outright Big East title. It was Villanova's 4th straight loss and its 6th defeat in its last 8 games in this final game of the regular season for both teams.

Temple retained its consistency, led by Lavoy Allen's 24 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals and an assist as he played his final game at the Liacouras Center. He made it a game to remember as Fran Dunphy's Owls finished 24 and 6, 14 and 2 in the Atlantic Ten, a number two seed and a first round bye in the A-10 Tournament.

La Salle provided the opposition for Temple and the Explorers' final stats included a 10th seed on a tough trip to 7th seeded St. Bonaventure. The winner of La Salle-St. Bonaventure will be forced to meet Temple again in a quarter final in the tournament where Temple has won the last four. Hardly an adequate reward. La Salle finished with a regular season mark of 14-17 and 6 and 10 in the League. But in its last few games it has looked more like a team perhaps catching on to the fact that good basketball also includes rebounding and defense. A few observers expected the Explorers to challenge this year - and they are still waiting.

Penn appeared to be at a standstill after losing by 15 to Harvard. Last Friday night's loss seemed to carry over to the first half of the Dartmouth game on Saturday. The Quakers kept turning the ball over, down by 13 at half-time, before coming on for a 12 point victory in the closing minutes. Penn, with no tournament problems to worry about, wound up 13 and4, 7-6 in the Ivy League, with its coach Jerome Allen expressing his hope about his team starting to play a bit earlier in the game than half-time.

Which brings us to St. Joe's, in the hunt for the 12th and final spot in the Atlantic 10 post-season, which would require a victory over Charlotte on the road. Not everyone thought they could do it. It has been a long, tough road for Phil Martelli and the Hawks prevailed. St. Joe's-Charlotte was an elimination game for real, a "Go Home Game", as Martelli called it. The Hawks finished 71-70 and got to George Washington. On the year, St. Joe's was 9 and 21, 4 and 12 in the Atlantic Ten. Maybe there's something to be said for that Hawks' slogan about refusing to die. This is the second straight year that St. Joe's has secured the final spot in the tournament on the last day and a freshman led them: Langston Galloway, with 27 points and a go-ahead free throw with 4 seconds remaining.

There are always surprises in these post-season tournaments but the regular season for the City Six has been as competitive as ever.