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In another big game against the rival New York Mets last night, Howard was everything that makes fans wring their hands and clap their hands.
He struck out twice, adding to his commanding major-league lead in that ignominious category.
He committed an awful throwing error that opened the door to two Mets runs in the top of the fourth. Considering they had only one other run at that point, that was significant.
In the bottom of the fourth, Howard broke up John Maine's no-hit bid by lofting one of those picture-perfect opposite-field home runs to left. The three-run shot was as lovely as the throw into left field was ugly.
The home run tied the game and kept alive Howard's bid for one of the strangest seasons in baseball history.
He is hitting .224 - thanks to a recent hot streak that actually has raised his average from .213 just 10 days ago.
He leads the National League not just in whiffs, but in runs batted in. Howard has 76 RBIs, which puts him on pace for 140 over a 162-game season.
But he has only 74 hits, which puts him on pace for 136. That would accomplish the rare feat of finishing with more RBIs than hits, something that has been done just once at this level in major-league history.
Of all the players with 140 or more RBIs in a season - that would cover the top 100 RBI seasons ever - only Mark McGwire, in 1999, finished with more RBIs (147) than hits (145). And McGwire had 65 homers that year. Howard is on pace for a respectable but hardly historic 42 home runs.
We'll let the sabermetricians figure out what all this means. The number that matters most right now to the Phillies is an easy one to understand: eight. That's where Howard's hitting streak stands. In those eight games, Howard has four home runs and has driven in 12 runs.
That is a most welcome trend for a team that stumbled through June as if it were trying to give away its lead in the National League East. The Phillies plainly had no idea how to play from out in front. They have been stalking horses since this group began playing together.
Howard has been a big part of that. For his career, his batting goes up with each month of the season. His career average for April is .230, for May .251. It goes up the ladder to .308 by September.
If you graphed it, Howard's month-by-month average would look like one of those cell phone ads that show ascending "bars" to tout a strong signal.
But the home run and RBI numbers don't change all that much. Except for April, Howard's cruelest month, Howard's power numbers are fairly consistent. He may strike out a lot. He may slide into awful slumps at times. But he hits homers and drives in runs like a machine.
Howard really is in an unusual situation for a superstar. He has proven himself more than capable of carrying this team, a role that normally comes with stifling pressure. But Howard doesn't really have to carry the Phillies most of the time, not with Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins and, this year, Pat Burrell each picking up the load for long stretches.
That doesn't mean there isn't pressure on Howard. There is, and he clearly feels it. You can see that on his face when he falls short in a big at-bat or answers the 10,000th question about all those strikeouts. He wants to be The Man.
Last night's game against the Mets notwithstanding, the Phillies seem to have righted themselves after that tightrope walk through June. They swept the Braves in Atlanta and beat Johan Santana here Friday night. Howard hit home runs in two of those wins in Atlanta, singled home the first run against Santana, then got that 373-foot first hit off Maine last night.
This Phillies team is built on offense, and a hot Howard is a big part of that. At the same time, it becomes more clear every day that general manager Pat Gillick has to find another starting pitcher before the non-waiver trade deadline at the end of this month. The Phillies can compete as they are. They can win the division as they are. But they are a starter away from being a real championship contender.
The players have no control over that. But the best way to convince Gillick and, maybe more important, the owners that this is the year to go all-out for a difference-maker is for the offense to keep producing.
That starts with Howard, who is showing signs of going on one of his tears. If that means he finishes with more hits than RBIs, well, Phillies fans can live with the disappointment.
at 215-854-2844
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