Thursday, February 23, 2012

Howard Swings in Cages; Feels “40 Percent Healthy”

Howard Swings in Cages; Feels “40 Percent Healthy” | Phillies Nation
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Posted by Pat Gallen, Wed, February 22, 2012 02:30 PM | Comments: 5
2012 Spring Training, Analysis, News, Opinion, Posts, Video

(Photo: Ryan Lawrence, Delco Times)

Ryan Howard joked during his press conference in Clearwater today that he’d done a lot of searching. For the remote.

Knowing that his surgically-repaired achillies would keep him on the couch, his fiancee, Eagles cheerleader Krystle Cammpbell, made him watch “Housewives” shows, as he put it. Unable to put up a fight, Howard actually took a liking to the reality TV programs that I make fun of my own girlfriend for watching. But I digress.

Howard said his time off was a good way to refresh his mind and body. With that, he’ll have a lot of recovery to do as he diagnosed himself at about 40 percent healthy currently, according to Comcast SportsNet’s Michael Barkann.

While taking random trips to the grocery store, Howard says he encountered many people who had the same injury. He’d even compare scars with those in the produce section.

From the way he spoke on Wednesday afternoon, he’s prepared for a long battle back, but does say he’s getting there. During morning BP, Howard took live swings for the first time since the injury. That mammoth strength was still apparent, as many reports said he hit a few balls out of the park at Bright House Field.

One thing Howard would not do is put a time on a return to the Phillies lineup. His manager, Charlie Manuel, believes he’ll be back before May, which is just about two months from today. Howard did say he didn’t think he’d be playing in any Spring Training games, so the team will continue to take a cautiously-aggressive approach with the Big Piece.

And that’s fine. There’s no need to rush him back. Sure, the division is stronger and teams are gunning to unseat the incumbent champions of the NL East. That’s no reason to push Howard past his limits. The Phillies know that, Howard knows that. Howard understands his full power might not be back until around the All-Star break in July. If he’s 100% for the second half of the season, look out.

I’m also interested to see how the fans will react to Ryan Howard once he returns. Will they give him leeway, knowing this is a serious and sometimes career-altering injury? Or will they continue to ride him hard as he enters year one of a five-year contract extension worth $125 million?

Video below is from Ryan Lawrence of the Delco Times:

5 Comments  View Comments: Newest FirstOldest First Expand AllExpand Newest  

Posts: 0 George

There’s no reason to think fans (except maybe a few) will cut Howard any slack, because they’ve never done so in the past. He’s been trashed consistently (and not just by Andrew from Waldorf) for being a lot of things which the stats say he isn’t, such as non-clutch and barely productive. Also, people seem to think that a person making his kind of money should be Ruth, Aaron, ARod, Pujols, and Ted Williams rolled into one, and should even be able to part the Red Sea.

 Reply to this PostFlag commentPosted: 02:43 PM on February 22, 2012

 

Posts: 327 Publius

As a Howard Hater let me say this is patently wrong. In 2009 and 2010 the good feelings of the recent WS were strong and his monster past bought him a couple of years worth of leeway, which he spent slowly declining. Then, once the extension came in, all leeway was gone. He is being paid to be a top 5 MLB player, and now that he’s not even a top 5 1B, the knives come out. Throw in a degradation into essentially being a platoon player and you’ve got the perfect (and justified) target of criticism.

 Reply to this PostFlag commentPosted: 03:04 PM on February 22, 2012

 

Posts: 32 schmenkman

The contract is horrible and it now looks like he will not come close to delivering enough value to make it palatable. However I just don’t see how anyone can put any of the blame for the contract on Howard instead of Amaro. Howard got the best contract he could, as anyone would, and is now (IMO) doing the best he can to deliver.

Also, I generally agree on your timeline, except it’s a year off. In 2009 he had a .931 OPS and generated 4.6 WAR, worth $20.7 million on the FA market. He also tied the record for consecutive postseason games with RBIs and was the NLCS MVP (“get me to the plate, boys!”).

 Flag commentPosted: 06:10 PM on February 22, 2012

 

Posts: 0 Jaron B

I’d see how they approach his rehab. If he spends more than 12 games in the minors, I would be very hard on him the second half but would be fine with him getting a day off like Utley did when he returned to the majors last year. It also depends on where those rehab starts were or, better yet, which starts he used to get back to a routine (I’d say 8-10 starts would be necessary, most likely at Lakewood or Clearwater) and which starts he worked on his swing with (I’d say up to 15 starts, hopefully at Lehigh Valley). As you can tell, I’m basing these numbers off of Chase Utley’s rehab last year. Some of Howard’s first 8-10 starts would take place every other day and would be limited to two AB and 5-6 innings at first – just like Utley went through last year. I also would say that his performance against the curveball would be a large factor, particularly how he works counts. He does walk a lot but that’s more directly a result of how pitchers pitch to sluggers rather than how Howard works counts. Also, I’d give him no more than a month of leeway; then, I expect him to really start hitting 2B & HR & RBIs. Regardless, my evaluations will be harsher the second half of the season, but I wouldn’t hold him continuing to get regular rest after the All-Star Break against him. That’s pretty much where I stand. Anyone else?

 Reply to this PostFlag commentPosted: 02:54 PM on February 22, 2012

 

Posts: 606 Manny

I’ll give him some leeway at first. But after a few weeks, I’ll be expecting at least top-10-type performance from him. He’s supposed to be the anchor of our lineup and he needs to step it up after a couple of very sub-par years.

 Reply to this PostFlag commentPosted: 04:01 PM on February 22, 2012

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Wolever Takes Assistat GM Post with Phillies Howard Swings in Cages; Feels "40 Percent Healthy" Prospect Nation 2012: #9 RHP Jonathan PettibonePierre, Pineiro Were Top-3 Minor League SigningsClearwater Notes: Halladay & Snakes, Qualls in CampDe Fratus Diaries: J-Bone Zone Goes to ClearwaterShane Victorino on "Hawaii Five-0"The Turnover of a Championship Team

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schmenkman commented on the blog post Howard Swings in Cages; Feels “40 Percent Healthy”   7 minutes ago · View

The contract is horrible and it now looks like he will not come close to delivering enough value to make it palatable. However I just don’t see how anyone can put any of the blame for the contract on Howard instead of Amaro. Howard got the best contract he could, as anyone would, and is [...]

tommysensenig commented on the blog post Prospect Nation 2012: #9 RHP Jonathan Pettibone   25 minutes ago · View

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Pat Gallen wrote a new blog post: Wolever Takes Assistat GM Post with Phillies   46 minutes ago · View

A statement from the Phillies:
Marti Wolever has been promoted to Assistant General Manager, Amateur Scouting, Senior Vice President & General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. announced today. Wolever had been the Phillies’ director of scouting since October 2011.  Prior to this role, he served as the club’s national cross-checker and scouting coordinator for nine years. “Marti [...]

schmenkman commented on the blog post The Turnover of a Championship Team   51 minutes ago · View

They don’t rely on the home run to score like they used to.

We’ve touched on the fact that they were the highest-scoring team in the league after Utley returned.

That’s despite being only 6th in HRs in that period.

Subscribe and Share Minor League NewsProspect Nation 2012: #9 RHP Jonathan PettiboneDe Fratus Diaries: J-Bone Zone Goes to ClearwaterProspect Nation 2012: #10 OF Jiwan JamesPhillies Prospects Biddle & Schwimer Ready for SpringProspect Nation 2012: #11 OF Tyson GilliesProspect Nation 2012: #12 RHP Lisalberto Bonilla Recent Commentsschmenkman: The contract is horrible and it now looks like he will not come close to delivering enough value to makeschmenkman: They don't rely on the home run to score like they used to.We've touched on the fact that they wereManny: I'll give him some leeway at first. But after a few weeks, I'll be expecting at least top-10-type performance fromPublius: As a Howard Hater let me say this is patently wrong. In 2009 and 2010 the good feelings ofJaron B: I'd see how they approach his rehab. If he spends more than 12 games in the minors, I would beGeorge: There's no reason to think fans (except maybe a few) will cut Howard any slack, because they've never doneEricL: When Shane retires he's got a job ready made.No, not acting.He could be an auctioneer. Dude talks faster thanBrooks: Starting in LF - Dominic Brown - has a nice ring to it. He was deemed the "chosen one"Chuck A.: Just read that article, BigDaddy. It didn't sound too inflammatory to me. Stuff like that goes on allBigDaddy.com: How about Brad Lidge badmouthing the Phils front office ( Ruben ) in today's Phila. Inquirer.RSS

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2012 Phillies Salaries 

Charlie Manuel

$3 million

 

Cliff Lee

$21.5 million

 

Ryan Howard

$20 million

 

Roy Halladay

$20 million

 

Chase Utley

$15 million

 

Jonathan Papelbon

$11 million

 

Jimmy Rollins

$11 million

 

Cole Hamels

$9.5 million

 

Shane Victorino

$9.5 million

 

Joe Blanton

$8.5 million

 

Hunter Pence

$6.9 million

 

Placido Polanco

$6.25 million

 

Ty Wigginton

$4 million

 

Carlos Ruiz

$3.7 million

 

Jose Contreras

$2.5 million

 

Kyle Kendrick

$2.45 million

 

Jim Thome

$1.25 million

 

Laynce Nix

$1.15 million

 

Dontrelle Willis

$850,000

 

Brian Schneider

$800,000

 

John Mayberry

$414,000

 

Vance Worley

$405,000

 

Antonio Bastardo

$405,000

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