buying for the writers."

In December 1975,

a federal arbitrator named Peter Seitz drove the caretakers out of baseball's asylum and gave both the money and the control to the inmates. Everything changed

forever when Seitz ruled that

unsigned pitchers Dave McNally and Andy Messersmith were free agents. The reserve clause was history. New York Daily News baseball columnist Dick Young called Seitz a "terrorist."

The inmates have been in charge going on 32 years now, not that the asylum owners have had to apply for welfare. Alex

Rodriguez makes $25 million a year. A career turkey named Gil Meche just got $55 million for 5 years from the small-market Kansas City Royals. Meche's

salary will be paid mostly by the Yankees, Red Sox and Mets, the teams most penalized by a luxury tax that subsidizes trailer-park franchises and teams with high stadium debt service like the Phillies.

Ryan Howard played on a split contract in 2005 and was the

National League Rookie of the Year. The Phillies renewed him last season at $355,000, a small raise over a minimum that has since been raised to $380,000. Ryan isn't even eligible for

arbitration until after the

coming season.

It is never hard to beat up the Phillies. They have screwed up enough over the years to be a permanent target of opportunity. But stiffing their stars has not been a failing of the Giles-Montgomery-Teflonics partnership. The Phillies have almost manically overpaid stars since the Curt Schilling and Scott Rolen

botchwork left them in a fog of paranoia and denial. But those notorious forced trades were more about lack of commitment to winning than actual money. Rolen wanted nothing less than an organizational makeover, starting with manager Larry Bowa and adviser Dallas Green.

GM Ed Wade overpaid the lukewarm market for David Bell and bid against himself to lavish a long, club-record contract on Jim Thome. Top prospect Gavin Floyd, who brandished a scholarship to South Carolina, scored $4.2 million in the amateur draft.

If Floyd, then 18, had put that $4.2 million in an annuity at 8 percent with a 50-year payout, he would be getting $317,888.89

a year until age 68. Nice no-work in case the pitching didn't work out.

Ryan Howard is on the verge of becoming Philly's most popular athlete since Doctor J. He

defines affability, geniality and getting-it.