Ryan Howard does not think the Phillies are old, and that you should ignore them at your own peril
An energetic Ryan Howard said he is back to normal after a year spent recovering from Achilles surgery. And he disagrees with the public perception about the Phillies.
Ryan Howard does not think the Phillies are old, and that you should ignore them at your own peril
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
The Big Piece sounded more like the Big Aristotle. Or, rather, the Big Tony Robbins.
An energetic and optimistic Ryan Howard labeled himself back to normal after a year spent battling the effects of Achilles surgery, and he labeled the Phillies a contender that is being unduly downgraded by the public.
"First, I want to address this 'old' thing, because that's all I keep hearing," Howard said late Thursday morning. "People keep talking about older, and older and older. There's a guy in this league in Jamie Moyer, who I'm sure people told him he was old and this and that, but Jamie Moyer would go out every year and show people that he can play and get it done. I don't buy into the whole old thing. It's about how young you feel inside. It's all about how well you take care of yourself.
"Everybody in this clubhouse goes out and works their butt off. Everybody goes in the offseason and we train and we do what we need to do. If people want to call us old, that's fine, but I think going out there this year we're going to show people that we're not old. As far as the Nationals and the other teams in the division, it's going to be a great division, it's going to be a fun division to watch. They had a great year last year, but once again, we had a lot of injuries.
"So call us old if you want to, that's fine if you want to sweep us under the rug, just don't be surprised. Don't be surprised."
Howard said that last season he was essentially playing on one leg because he had not redeveloped the muscles in the left leg that was operated on and immobilized after surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles in October of 2011. This year, he says those muscles are back, and the mental block that is often associated with traumatic injuries is gone.
"It's one of those things where you just weren't 100 percent confident in it," he said. "You can't do all the things that you would normally do. Sometimes you might try to make a cut or do something that you would normally do and you might feel something. Yeah, there's always going to be that little bit of fear in that back of your mind that you might rupture it again or what not, but now it's not even a second thought in my mind."
Howard missed the first three months of last season, then struggled when he returned.
"You don't realize how important spring training is until you don't have one," he said. "Being able to be here, create the chemistry with my teammates, just being healthy, just being ready to go."
Howard was particularly bad against lefties, hitting just .173 against them. He said he is focused on improving his performance in those situations, and believes he has the ability to hit lefties like he did in 2006, when his average was over .270 and his OPS over .900 against southpaws.
"I think (the problem is) a combination of listening to the noise, trying to please people, trying to go out there and people saying, oh, he can't hit lefties, I have to show them that I can hit lefties," Howard said. "Obviously, to get to the big leagues you have to hit lefties and righties. Like I said, putting all that aside and trusting in my ability. I know I can hit lefties, it's just a matter of going up there, being relaxed, having good ABs, getting good pitches and putting good swings on them."
Howard said his surgically-repaired leg is a non-issue.
"I want to go out and play 162 games and every game in the playoffs and the World Series," he said.
Is that realistic?
"Yeah, why not," he said. "That's what the offseason is for. That's why I train. That's why I do what I do, to go out there and try to play 162. I'm not the kind of guy who just wants to come out here and play 150 games and be cool with that."
The Big Piece had better re-learn how to hit lefties; we can't afford any automatic outs this year. Howard's best when he's hitting to left center -- then you know his stroke is right— misterhman- The players are in their own little world so I really don't listen to them or the manager. They always think everything is great and this year will be the year.— Phillies2008WSChamps
- Howard's "Don't count the phillies out" gives me as much confidence the girl had when her date said "for a fat girl you don't sweat much".— stoky
- Cholly has said he wants to get his starters regular rest so why not rest Ryan when a tough lefty is pitching? Keeps him fresh and if his replacement(Ruff gets my vote) bats over 200 that is a big improvement over Howards average against lefties— bmayer1865
- To cynic al.. I'll bet there are at LEAST 15 teams and Gm's that would pick up Howards contract and would LOVE to have him.....Maybe 20-25!!!— jfarm
- Okay, would all you negative naysayers please wake up and realise just how good we have it? This team is loaded with talented and LIKABLE players. They are going to win a lot of games and give us a great summer of baseball. I've been watching the Phillies since 1962 and believe me these are times to be savored not dumped on. When this core is gone we'll be longing for this era. Can't wait to see these guys take the field again! Go Phillies!— sumtime08
- The core is gone already. They left 2 years ago and aren't coming back.You need to face the facts that Phillies are in rebuilding years until the big money from players like Howard are off the books. (HTML deleted) — fmMD
- I love the confidence which he is displaying. Although, he has to say this because there is a man by the name of Darrin Ruf who is more than capable of playing first base. Let's cheer for Howard this year and see what he can do for us. I will never forget when he screamed "Get me to the plate!!," while in Colorado in the NLDS in 2009. Confident Howard = Big piece in the Phillies lineup.— Anything_Philly_is4me
- Howard should have spent his off season working with a hitting coach instead of Jared from Subway.— CT Phil Fan
- Having Ryan completely back will be great. If he's becoming a vocal clubhouse leader that's even better.— burholme
- We'll see a 2010 year from Howard. Something like .255, 30 HR, 95 RBI. That's why Amaro got M. Young, hoping to add some power during the last contract year of his career. We have to get lucky with Brown, Ruf or D. Young to really contend. They are three guys with the ability to do something similar to what I just said Howard would do. One of them has to grab the everyday job and do it.— therealeman
- Atta baby, Ryan! Howard carries the team when he doesn't feel like he has to carry the team. I'm hoping he has some help in the middle of the lineup. He'll have 30/100 regardless but if he has help then you're looking at 40/120. Fingers crossed that Ruf is a pleasant surprise in LF hitting 5th.— vafan
- Will you please stop with the "atta baby" stuff when you're referring to a man? Of course you won't. You know it rubs me (and most other men) the same way. Regarding your "baby" Howard. Talking the talk is great. When he walks the walk like he did in his first two years in the majors, I'll be right there in his corner. But you can be sure I'll never refer to him as "baby".
- I like RH a lot. He seems to be a good guy with a good attitude and good work ethic. That being said, he can be downright maddening to watch when he's at the plate especially against lefties. I hope to see some improvement this year in his approach at the plate. I'm not going to hold my breath, but I'm also not going to bash him before the season even starts.— Penfold18
- And yet the man can't hit LH pitching.
Sounds more like instead of the "The Big Piece", he's "The Big Pizza".— fmMD
