Howard could return Monday
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Howard could return Monday
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
Ryan Howard still doesn't know exactly what the Phillies' plan is for him. But he said this evening that he thinks Monday is a realistic date for his return to the line-up. Howard has been sidelined since Aug. 1 with a sprained ankle. He is walking better, and today did some agility drills in addition to work in the field. But the Phillies want to be cautious with him.
Manager Charlie Manuel said today that he would like Howard to get some at-bats in a minor league setting before he is activated. Howard said before batting practice that he was not aware of any definite plans yet.
Short stop Jimmy Rollins missed three weeks with a sprained ankle in 2008. A Monday return would put Howard at a full three-week recovery.
"I'd rather be safe than sorry," Howard said. "The competitor in me wants to be out there. But at the same time you don't want to rush it back, because then it's all for not. Come back too soon and go right back down and the next thing you know I'm done for the rest of September."
Ross Gload is in the starting line-up at first base tonight, his first start since straining his groin last week.
Comments (19)
Get him some minor league rehab. As he said, better safe than sorry.— P Even- Ryan Howard needs a "Chase Utley transfusion". He's really milking a very minor injury. Don't know if the team is being overly cautious to protect their multi-million dollar investment or if Ryan has a little wimp inside. From the beginning, the x-rays and MRI were negative, so the empirical evidence demonstrates no serious damage. It appears that Howard has a low pain threshold and no tolerance for minor discomfort! Can't imagine a gamer like Utley being shut down so long for an "ankle sprain". Suck it up Ryan and PLAY BALL!— Cornwall Citizen
- Cornwall Citizen: go back and troll on some other boards, as you are a complete moron. Ryan Howard is 6:4, 255 pounds who played 159 games in 2006, 144 in 2007, 162 in 2008, 160 in 2009, and, at the time he rolled his ankle, had played in all 103 games, plus he played in 32 post-season games. There is also a great deal of difference between a thumb injury where the thumb might not be used in the field with any consistency while a sprained ankle is taking weight throughout the game in the field and on the bases. Go back and root for the Mets. Non-athletes who pontificate on the wimp factor in professional athletes are laughable.— chuckw
- Yes, but bearing weight will cause nothing but some discomfort at this point and no further "damage". (There never was serious damage in the first place.) Utley obviously has a much higher pain threshold than Howard. That's a fact. By the way, I once sprained my ankle near the start of a marathon (26.2 miles) kept running and finished. Furthermore, after taking a day or two off to recover, resumed running despite the discomfort. I had pain on & off for a month but didn't miss a training run and eventually the discomfort went away.— Cornwall Citizen
- Cornwall, you are a total moron. Did you actually see the replay of Howard rolling his ankle? You tripping over a manhole cover does not compare. And yes, I have run a few marathons (and have a half marathon coming up in three weeks). It's so annoying when clueless people post on here.— phillyinsd
- He's "milking it." Hahahahahaha...Howard would rather watch the games than play in them? Did you ever play at any level, man? It's fun to play baseball, if he could, he would...aside from the all the honor and glory stuff. You would think he was avoiding hod carrying or working the fryer at Mickey D's...— BySaam
- are you kidding me Cornwall Citizen? did you see how he rolled it? have you ever turned an ankle inside out like that? howard was lucky he didnt tear ligaments on the outside or inside part of his ankle. problem is if u dont let an injury like that ride its course it hangs around for a while like a hammy injury. the big piece is 200+ pounds of power u gotta have good wheels at this time of the year hes not "milking it" knucklehead. howard is a gamer man and im glad chuck w pointed out the obvious points about the big piece. dont forget what a healthy big piece brings to the table and the guy flat out produces in sept so here's the real question. do u rush him back and run the risk of him really screwing his wheels up and lose him in the heat of the race or do u let him heal it out the best he can and have him healthy for the sept race? i dont know about u but looking at his sept numbers id rather have a healthy big piece than a banged up one— marknoll15
- The decision is in the medical staff's hands. If you're paying them for that advice, it makes sense to listen to them. We don't need Ryno going back on the DL during the stretch run.— OBLawyer
- Cornwall, Go back the last 4 years when they were both full time players. Howard, the "wimp" has started a total of 707 games including this year. Chase, the "tough guy", 674. If Chase is so-o-o-o much tougher than Ryan, how come Ryan has played more than 30 games total over the past 4 yrs? No disrespect to Utley, who came back as fast as he could, but stop with the Ryan Howard bashing. The guy has a history of playing everyday, and almost never gets hurt.— mjc1
- CC, Was this forum to bragg about your toughness or show how little you know about sports medicine? This man is a stud! Every sprain is different, depending on where it is. You have to be a Mutt's fan or just resent his contract. No serious man coulf fail to like this man. He isas good a power hitter as Schmidt, but very comfortable in his own skin. He also is continuing to improve his games. Go watch curling.
- Cornhole Citizen: Ryno is much tougher than your boy Jose Reyes who lost almost all of last year to an injury the Mets doctors where never able to quite diagnose. Talk about milking it!
- I tend to agree with CORNWALL, Ryan Howard doesnt play in the field at a very high level and his fielding has always been a joke, never thought he was worth the huge extention when ,Adrien Gonzalez was going to be a F.A. Gonzalez hits 40 HR a year at PETCO park,one of biggest in all of MLB, imagine him playing at CBP. Anyways, its obvious Howard doesnt have a HIGH pain threshold, I have played through many sprained ankles and really you just have to be aware of you limitations and not push yourself too hard and you should be fine. I am in no rush to see HOward comback because Gload plays Gold GLove calibre 1st, not in any hurry for Howard's daily errors on pop fly's,letting line drives fly by or his countless throwing errors. I like have contact hitters throughout line up, HOward strikes out in big situations all the time, he pads his stats in Phillies routs, for all his RBI's this year how many have been walkoff's. In that big comeback against Reds,Ransom got the big hit in my opinion,2 outs in 9th, he came through and tied game, when Howard came up in EXTRA's game was tied and he had no pressure. Look, Howard does have great numbers, but his Power numbers were way down this year and he strikes out ALOT and hits into alot of DOUBLEPLAYS and rally killers. If he doesnt hit HR's, then his contract is going to be a huge albatross for PHILS for many years to come, ESPECIAlly since they have 2 awesome 1st base prospects in SINGLETON and Rizzotti. GLoad and Sweeney are going well enough manning the fort and I am in no rush to see HOward's lazy play and poor fielding and watch him swing&miss on low strikes,diving sliders. I knew the Phils werent going to miss a beat without him, actually they look alot more complete without HIM!
- Overexposed: I am underwhelmed with your argument. You have NO idea what it takes to perform at a professional level. You playing bar league softball through a sprained ankle is not equivalent to playing MLB. Howard typically plays around 150 games a year. If you think he's not playing any of those games in pain then you are clueless. As far as Howard goes in the field, his fielding is slightly above average and his throwing is well below average; on the whole- he's average in the field. If your a Howard hater just come out and say it don't give anecdotal evidence- if Howard gets an RBI in the 8th to win a game to you it's padding his stats because it's not a "walk-off". Tell us, exactly, how many "walk-off" opportunities he's had this year. Yes, he strikes out a lot, you also get 140 RBI's a year and this year his strike outs are down. Just come out and admit it- you're a hater!
- Howard is a big boy-and probably needs more time to heal then the average guy--but having said that, i want him down at LHV for a week -swinging against left handed pitchers. I cringe every time he strikes out.— richweb
- Overexposed IS— mick314
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High Cheese is your place for the best Phillies coverage from the Daily News.
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