Inside the Phillies: Howard begins Chapter 2 of a book with no sure ending

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Mention Ryan Howard's name in a Philadelphia barroom, then sit back and let the debate begin.

Passionate opinions about the Phillies first baseman will vary from one end of the spectrum - overrated and overpaid - to the other - undervalued and overly criticized.

The fact that Howard is one of the most decorated players in franchise history has not prevented him from also being one of the most polarizing. This is one of the few sports towns in the country where that can happen.

What's fascinating is that neither side is entirely right or wrong.

And now we're about to enter the second chapter of Howard's career. He had surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon in his left foot in October, turned 32 in November, and, at some point this season, he will begin playing in the first year of his five-year, $125 million contract.

Rest assured, there will be plenty more to discuss about Howard by the time he gets to the finish line of this contract.

Look back objectively at the first chapter of Howard's career and it's impossible to conclude that it was anything other than a smashing success. He earned every penny of his $62.255 million and did a victory lap with the second World Series trophy in franchise history, too.

Were there some failures along the way? Sure.

Stuck in some people's memory is Howard's making the final out in the last two postseasons. He struck out to end Game 6 of the 2010 National League Championship Series loss to San Francisco and grounded out to end Game 5 of the 2011 division series against St. Louis. The agony of defeat and injury meshed on that final out against the Cardinals.

"It sucks," Howard said Wednesday when asked about his dubious distinction. "I'm not going to lie. It sucks. And I know how it looks to everybody . . . having the season come down [to one out] and you're that guy."

Failure is the nature of the business. Go back and look at the best players in baseball history and try to find one that did not have a disappointing postseason series. Prince Fielder hit .200 (4 for 20) in the Milwaukee Brewers' six-game NLCS loss to St. Louis last season and has a .192 batting average in three postseason series. That did not stop the Detroit Tigers from giving him a nine-year, $214 million contract.

Reggie Jackson, a.k.a. Mr. October, batted below .200 in six postseasons, and Jim Thome is a career .217 hitter in the postseason.

"I figure I'm about due," Howard said. "I'd love to be in that situation again."

Howard's current situation is that of rehabilitating player, which has cast some doubt on his ability to play the game at the same high level that earned him the contract he is about to begin. Howard, after taking live batting practice for the first time since his October surgery, is convinced that he'll return as good as ever.

No one, not even Howard, can know for sure how he is going to recover until he starts playing games again, and that may not happen during the Phillies' six-week stay in Clearwater.

Charlie Manuel is also of the belief that Howard's best days lie ahead, although the Phillies manager would like to see his star slugger become a more selective hitter.

"I think it's just a matter of him doing all his homework and talking a little more about his hitting," Manuel said. "Talking about who's pitching that night, what he's got, what he's throwing, and how he's going to pitch you."

Howard hit .313 and drew a career-high 108 walks when he was the National League MVP in 2006, but he has walked more than 100 times only once in a season since then. The slugger admits that more walks might pump up his batting average, but he thinks he also should be graded on a curve because he constantly has to deal with the shift.

Thome has had to deal with shifts his entire career, too. Like Howard, Thome has struck out a lot. The biggest difference between the two star first basemen is the number of walks they take. Thome has walked more than 100 times nine times in his career, and that's why he has a .403 career on-base percentage. Howard, by comparison, has a .368 on-base percentage even though his career batting average (.275) is only two points lower than Thome's.

Howard had a couple of lengthy conversations with the 41-year-old Thome during and after his BP session Wednesday morning. He anticipates having even more.

"There are a lot of conversations you can have with different guys, but I would just say he's probably the guy who would be pitched pretty much the same way that they would pitch me," Howard said. "Just the experience he's had being around the league and facing different pitchers and teams, it's always good to pick somebody's brains like that."

If Thome, in the winter of his career, can help Howard as he begins the second chapter of his, it would be great for the Phillies. If Howard can come close to duplicating the amazing things he did in the first chapter of his career, that would be even better.