Tag Archive for 'Ryan Howard'

Umps Surprise Themselves, Get Call Right

Published
by
thesportsidiot
on November 1, 2009
in MLB, NL East, New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies
. 0 Comments
In Game Three of the 2009 World Series between the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies we witnessed the first ever use of instant replay in a WS game.  In the fourth inning, Alex Rodriguez sent a ball deep to right field.  At first, it did not look like it would have the distance to land in the stands, but the ball carried to the wall.  Upon first glance it looked like the ball drilled the top of the wall and fell back into play.  Upon further review it is clear that the ball bounced off of a television camera that was hanging a little bit over the field.  Due to pre-established ground rules, that is a home run.

Wait, what pre-established ground rules?  Umpire crew chief Gerry Davis told Phillies Manager Charlie Manual that when the crew took their tour of the field, they saw the camera and decided then that if any ball were to hit it, it would be a round tripper.  Fair enough, and that makes the correct call on this one a home run.

The problem that Phillie Fan is going to have with this is that the ball did not look like it would have cleared the top of the fence if the camera were not there.  The problem with Phillie Fans’ impending argument about being screwed is that this happened on their home turf.  While we are not sure who determines the location of the cameras and their clearance to the field, we are sure that if Chase Utley had hit this ball they would not have an issue with it. 

That sound you just heard was all of the Phillies Fans that were screaming about disrespect and how their Phils would either sweep on win in five throwing their remotes into their TVs.  I predicted Phils in six, but that prediction is looking shaky right now.  As I said Friday, this series will turn when either Ryan Howard or Alex Rodriguez does something other than generate electricity via the human windmill.  Unfortunately for the Phillies, it was not their guy who showed up first.  Rodriguez reached base four times, the homer, a walk and he was drilled by two pitches.  He also had a throwing error, for what it is worth, but did not strike out a single time. 

Howard, on the other hand, continues to look lost in the batters box while striking out three more times and not reaching base a single time.  Good thing for him the Phillies have a new super star in the mix in Jayson Werth.  The bad news is that it will take much more than Werth to win three more games this series.

Ryan Howard/Cole Hamels K Watch

Published
by
thesportsidiot
on July 23, 2009
in Cole Hamels, Fantasy Baseball, MLB, NL East, Philadelphia Phillies and Ryan Howard
. 2 Comments
You may have noticed that all season long there has been a poll asking who will rack up more Ks this season, Ryan Howard or Cole Hamels.  Just a quick update for you:

Howard: 111
Hamels:  90

While certain Philly fans will see this as “more Philly bashing” from me, it really is not.  I find it a fascinating question, but yet one that holds no bearing on anything.  My stance on strikeouts, which are wasted at-bats (for the most part) but no worse than grounding out of popping out (when you do not advance any runners), has evolved into one of annoyed acceptance at this point.

Looks Like Ryan Howard is Indeed Worth $18million

Published
by
thesportsidiot
on February 9, 2009
in MLB, Philadelphia Phillies and Ryan Howard
. 3 Comments

On Sunday Ryan Howard signed a $54 million contract “extension” with the Phillies.  Howard will bring home $15 million in 2009, $19 million in 2010, and $20 million in 2011.  Do the math and you will see that it equates to $18 million per year.  Todd Zolecki of MLB.com has a good breakdown of the deal, which is also incentive laden.

This move surprises me, because I am not really sure if it helps the Phillies.  Sure, they could have gone to arbitration and risked paying Howard the $18 million that he was looking for in 2009.  I do not think that Howard was going to win that case, so I think the Phillies have done themselves a disservice here.  Why sign Howard to this “extension” which only bought out his arbitration years?  It did nothing to secure Howard long term, as he will still be a free agent after the 2011 season.  The argument is that the Phillies could have saved money if he won all three arbitration hearings, which I just do not see as being realistic in the current economic envioronment.  Now Howard will be able to look for a pay increase from the $20 million he will make in 2011 when he looks for a long term deal before the 2012 campaign.

The good news here is that this preempts me from continuing to compare Howard to other top tier one baggers, as I compared him to Adam Dunn last week.  It should be noted that Dunn is shopping himself as an outfielder and not a first baseman.

Is Ryan Howard Worth $18mil?

Published
by
thesportsidiot
on January 30, 2009
in Adam Dunn, Albert Pujols, MLB, Philadelphia Phillies and Ryan Howard
. 5 Comments

Ryan Howard submitted a figure of $18mil for his arbitration number.  The Phillies submitted $14mil, which is still $4mil more than Howard’s record $10mil he won in arbitration last year.  The question, though, is whether or not Howard is worth the $18mil he is asking for.  More after the jump. Continue reading ‘Is Ryan Howard Worth $18mil?’

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