The Bitter American: No, New Yawk,...F**k <i>YOU!</i>

Utley's curse word overheard

By Todd Zolecki
Inquirer Staff Writer

NEW YORK - Chase Utley is not much of a fan of the limelight.

If there were TV cameras at one end of a tunnel and a fire, killer bees and Kimbo Slice at the other end, Utley might try to run through the fire and killer bees and fight Slice to escape.

But Utley inadvertently put himself into the type of situation he loathes when he uttered an obscenity as he was introduced before the Home Run Derby last night at Yankee Stadium. As Utley ran onto the field to stand next to Florida Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla, New York Mets fans lustily booed Utley.

To which Utley responded, "Boo? [Expletive]."

Utley isn't the first person to utter those words to Mets fans, but he clearly said them in jest.

He obviously did not realize that the ESPN wireless microphone he wore would put his words live on TV for millions to hear. It did, and it took about, oh, five minutes for the video to be posted on YouTube, where his words clearly are audible.

"I do want to apologize because it was definitely a poor choice of words," Utley said after he hit five home runs and failed to advance to the second round. "I really didn't mean anything by it. I was kind of just joking around with my buddy over there [Uggla], so again, I do want to apologize."

A Major League Baseball spokesman said networks are supposed to adhere to a delay on players, coaches and managers who wear wireless microphones. After all, this is baseball and players, coaches and managers have been known to swear from time to time. But something went wrong.

"It was an unfortunate mistake," ESPN's manager of communications, Nate Smeltz, said in a statement. "We apologize to our viewers.

"There was a five-second delay in place for the competition, though this took place during the introductions."

Seven of the eight players were miked for the event. Milwaukee's Ryan Braun was not.

Oddly enough, Utley had talked yesterday afternoon about how he is not a fan of being the center of attention.

"It would be tough being Alex Rodriguez, I'm not going to lie," Utley said during a session with the media at the Grand Hyatt. "Playing in New York, being the unbelievable player that he is, he gets a lot of attention, not only on the field, but off the field. It would be tough for me. I imagine it would be tough for a lot of people, but for me it definitely would be tough."

Minnesota's Justin Morneau beat Texas' Josh Hamilton in the final round for the Home Run Derby championship, five homers to three, although Hamilton clearly stole the show when he hit a record 28 homers in the first round. That broke the single-round record that Bobby Abreu set in 2005, when the outfielder, who was then with the Phillies, hit 24 on his way to the title in Detroit.