U.S.S. Howard
Charlie Manuel calls Ryan Howard a carrier. Yeah, that sounds about right.
U.S.S. Howard
Todd Zolecki
Charlie Manuel called Ryan Howard a "carrier" last night at Turner Field.
Yeah, that sounds about right.
"He's a carrier," Manuel said. "When I was in Cleveland, we had more than one carrier. He is our carrier. He's the guy that puts up the big numbers. He's the guy that knocks in 130 to 160 RBIs. He's the guy that's big in the moment."
Howard came up big in the moment last night in an 8-7 victory over the Braves at Turner Field, which gave the Phillies a half-game lead over the Mets in the National League East with 11 games to play. He hit a two-out, two-run homer to left field in the eighth inning to win it.
In 19 games since Aug. 26, Howard is hitting .403 (29 for 72) with 10 home runs and 26 RBIs. He has more homers and RBIs than any player in baseball in that span. He is ninth in batting average, eighth in on-base percentage (.469) and first in slugging percentage (.958). And here's something also noteworthy: he ranks 42nd in baseball with just 16 strikeouts.
Do I think Howard can be NL MVP?
Howard, who went 4 for 5 last night, leads baseball with 45 homers and 136 RBIs. That's huge. But he is hitting .249 for the season. That could hurt him in the eyes of voters that don't see him play every day. They might not be aware just how hot he has been. But I think if Howard maintains this pace and carries the Phillies into the postseason, his candidacy will continue to build steam and he could become a Top 3 candidate.
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Jim Salisbury writes about the remarkable opportunity the Phillies have in front of them.
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In the Phillies Notebook: more on J.A. Happ's start tonight. And more on Kyle Kendrick's struggles and Ned Yost getting fired.
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Think Howard might get pitched around a little more? Pat Burrell went 0 for 5 last night with five strikeouts. He is hitting .147 (11 for 75) with one homer and four RBIs in 19 games since Aug. 24. His .147 average is the worst in the National League and second-worst in baseball (Chicago White Sox outfielder Nick Swisher is hitting .121) in that span.
Let's start off this thread on an up beat note. I hope that the Phils start Happ, Kendrick and "E" in the last three games, after they have already clinched the division. Let's go Phirst Place Phils!!!— jeff gross- Howard is amazing. That HR was smooth. He's really dialed in, and the K numbers since Aug 26, (I love arbitrary date ranges), show just how well he must be seeing the ball right now. The Phils should consider putting Burrell in the six hole. I see it like this - Rollins-Utley-Victorino-Howard-Werth-Feliz-Burrell-Ruiz, though they are winning, so why mess with it. Pat had the "Golden Sombrero" last night, (I think that's the term for 0 for 5 with 5 Ks). Unfortunately, there's no one else on the team to plug in that's worth the damage it will do to overall chances of winning, as far as I'm concerned, unless they want to start using Dobbs in the outfield. Please no Matt Stairs. PLEEEEEEEEEEASE!— B in DC
- As I said in a previous post: those last three outs were the LONGEST outs I think I've ever watched! Nail bitter doesn't begin to describe it, but thank goodness Lidge was able to seal the deal! A bit of a shaky outting for Moyer (he looked really spent when they pulled him probably feeling the effects of his last start on three days rest). Howard, Victorino and Werth were all sensational last night. I hope Happ proves to be a wonderkid tonight and can give the Phils a solid start. GO PHILS!— KarenA
- I hope Jeff Gross doesn't nail me for tying six hole when I meant seven hole...I'm not a professional writer like Murph, Jeff...please cut me some slack.— B in DC
- I've always said that when Howard is on, there's no one better in baseball. Thankfully he's on right now, at the most crucial time of the season, to the tune of a ridiculous 1.448 OPS for September and .433 since Aug. 27 against lefties. I looked it up though -- no MVP has ever batted below .269 (Roger Maris). Some other thoughts ... if 4 strikeouts is the Golden Sombrero, what is 5 strikeouts? The Platinum Sombrero? Also, much credit last night goes to Ryan Madson, who has been by far the Phils' best reliever in Sept. (12 K's and 4 hits in 8.1 innings). Braves announcers were marveling at his nasty stuff (95 fastball, 91 cutter, 86 slider, 77 changeup, all thrown for strikes). Where are all the Phillies fans who wanted to run him out of town earlier this year? Conversely, Durbin needs to take a seat next to Eaton ASAP. That's 11 runs in his last 8 innings, and he's given up runs in 6 of his last 9 appearances (and two of the scoreless appearances were for 1 out each). At this point, I would use Condrey ahead of Durbin in the 5th or 6th. Finally, Lidge has GOT to stop his Mitch Williams impressions! Let's get back to "Light's Out," Brad!— Statman
- I agree Howard's bat is as exciting as any other phillies past or present. But with his terrible defense, his long slumps and the fact I believe he'll be on the first free agent train outta philadelphia. He should be traded for major league proven talent and alot of it this off-season. Nobody with his few years with a club should be making 10 million a year, and god knows what he's going to command next year, and how much is that going to take away from the phils upgrading things? Unless the phils are going to be will to have a 200 million salary base, his salary is going to hurt the phils.— shibe
- Statman: Great stuff. I was thinking the same thing about Madson as he was pitching last night... all the criticisms earlier in the year about how he "never pitches a perfect inning" (he pitched two last night), and he "never pitches a scoreless inning in a big spot" (does it get any bigger than coming in down 3, pitching staff hemorrhaging, game slipping away? he not only kept the Braves off the bases and the scoreboard, but he did so commandingly, getting the Braves back in the field and the Phillies bats back to the plate quickly, so the offense could establish, and MAINTAIN, some serious momentum), how his "stats are empty because they come in meaningless spots" (no stat more meaningful than 2 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 4 K, just when the team needed it MOST). Ryan Madson was just as responsible for that win as Howard and Werth (maybe not JUST as much, but darn close...).— RollinsWasRight
- Maybe Jenkins can provide a lift. Now that he is back and healthy. The guy has produced in his career— ktdb05
- Saw on ESPN that Howard is hitting something like .380, 8 HR, 22 RBI in just 14 games in September, with 5 HRs that have given the Phillies the lead, and 1 more that tied the game (that makes at least 6 of the 8 VERY meaningful). That is some serious clutch production. Also, he leads the world in HR and RBI in Sept/Oct the last 3 years, and it isn't even close. If Reggie Jackson is Mr. October, can Ryan Howard be Mr. September?— RollinsWasRight
- He Statman, great post. I'm sure all the sloppy performance is due to fatigue. Unfortunately, it's crunch time and we've to grind through whatever they have left. Not sure if it is fatigue for Lidge though. I'm not sure if he is used every night. Maybe he needs to go back to the head guru to figure things out :)— roque32
- shibe: I agree that Howard is going to command way more than the Phillies are going to be willing to pay, and that means that he will have to be traded at some point while he still has value, but there is no rush. He can't be a FA until after the 2011 season, so after next year or 2010 will still bring back a fair return. What they cannot do is wait until the 2011 trade deadline. His salary arbitration number this year will likely be AT LEAST $14M, and possibly closer to $16M, and that is a big number, but for one year, I don't the Phillies will bat an eye at that. It just means there is very little chance Pat Burrell comes back, and Jayson Werth has, IMO, earned an everyday job. The question then becomes, is Jenkins our everyday RF? But those are questions for another day. The question for today is, can JA Happ pitch well enough to keep the Phils in tonight's game? Because Jair Jurrjens is real tough. Let's go Phils!— RollinsWasRight
- Funny Statman mentioned Mitch Williams...that is exactly what I was thinking and the way I felt in the 9th last night. Once correction, though...there was one MVP, who had a lower BA than Marris, it was in the .260's...Ken Rosenthal mentioned it yesterday on DNL.— phillybob
- Genkins is one of 8 people to have a Titanium Sombrero (6 Ks) in his career. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_sombrero I suggest you look elsewhere for a hero. It'd be nice to have Burrell from earlier this year back.— Sully
- B in DC: here, have some slack. I never got on anyone's case for a mistake--just for sloppy writing. I was looking at some Sept stats, just now, and Pat has a 360 OBP at home. Perhaps put him 3rd, so Howard can bring him home. I sent Zo the info as I couldn't post it here in a form that was readable. Great analysis statman.— jeff gross
- a note to all you stat freaks: Dobbs and feliz are both batting in mid 250's this month. The funny thing is, is that Dobbs is batting over 300 on the road and feliz over 300 on the road. Do I smell platoon??— jeff gross
