Marcus Hayes, blowhard journalist who writes for the Daily News, has long held a grudge against Chase Utley for reasons unknown to anyone in this city. Hayes criticized Utley for his use of profanity in the 2008 World Series Championship Parade and for his declining play. In addition, Hayes felt there was a lack of “criticism” directed at Utley from the Philadelphia fan base, when, in his opinion, black players such as Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard were criticized on a daily basis.

Hayes, to the surprise of nobody, continued his criticism of Utley after Saturday night’s incident that saw Utley break Ruben Tejada’s leg during a double play turn. For the past 24 hours Hayes has taken to his Twitter account to denounce Utley’s “dirty” play.

Can it be because Utley is white? Can a columnist writing for a Philadelphia newspaper legitimately use that as an excuse to write article after article in the past decade urging the fan base to stop loving the second baseman?

Well, new information is coming to light and details are trickling into The Coggin Toboggan newsroom that shows why Hayes may hold a grudge against Utley.

These reports are preliminary, but apparently Hayes was working on a fairly negative piece in 2007 for The Daily News about Phillies manager Charlie Manuel. Hayes, who was attempting to drag a negative quote out of Shane Victorino at his locker, was suddenly taken out at the knees with a high slide from Utley.

Clubhouse attendants claim Utley silently sprinted at Hayes from across the locker room and took out the back of his knees with a textbook takeout slide, sending the portly reporter crashing to the floor. Utley picked up Hayes’s notebook and ripped out every page, before showering him with the pieces of paper.

Hayes reportedly crawled out of the locker room to the laughter of the entire roster.

Hayes never did publish the piece, but could this be why he holds Utley in such a negative light? Unless it is confirmed by Hayes, the city will never know.