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Monday May.06, 2013

By Chris Creighton (Phillies Correspondent via http://www.warrroomphilly.com – visit the website here) Follow @WARROOMPHLCHRIS

On Friday night, Phillies First Baseman, Ryan Howard, honored his favorite teacher as the Phillies celebrated Teacher Appreciation Night at Citizens Bank Park.

This is nothing out of the ordinary for “The Big Piece”, a nickname he acquired for obvious reasons other than its metaphor which tells us just how important he is to this team and this city.

After all, Ryan Howard is one of the team’s most charitable athletes and most visible volunteers in the community. His dedication to his adoptive city of Philadelphia has been felt through several charities such as Ryan Howard’s Celebrity Servers, his work with the Police Athletic League, and his pride & joy,The Ryan Howard Family Foundation.

The list of donations and events this charity has raised and participated goes on and on. Athletic equipment to city schools, scholarships to student athletes,Winter coats and warm meals for the hungry and indigent during the holidays just to name a few where Howard has touched the hearts of so many in our fine city, like this sweet, young boy this past Friday.

So how come when his name is mentioned among so many in the City of Brotherly Love, it would seem as if the guy is public enemy number one?

I understand that with charities and donations aside, the man is here to play ball in front of the most demanding fans in the nation, but it’s not like he hasn’t done a lion’s share to bring the team to levels it hadn’t risen since 1993.

Howard’s historical runs in September 2007 and 2008 would give the team–and the city–its first taste of playoff action in over a decade.

Without carrying his teammates on his capable back, we would have probably never witnessed moments like this or this. Subtract his 2009 NLDS MVP performance and the Phillies don’t play in their second consecutive World Series that October.

Ryan Howard / Career: September and October

I Split G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BA OBP SLG OPS BAbip Sept/Oct 239 817 152 238 53 5 67 199 .291 .403 .614 1.018 .339 View Original Table Provided by Baseball-Reference.com

Generated 5/4/2013.

But in a city that holds towards certain players a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately attitude, there’s little margin for error and no room for reward for Ryan Howard, even if he is showing signs of turning the corner in this young 2013 season.

CSN Philly’s own Reuben Frank did his best to post the positive vibe about Howard’s recent 13-game tear, only to see the immediate feedback which made sure there was attention to the negative.

A Tweet

Reuben Frank ✔ @RoobCSN

“Ryan Howard is on pace for 27 HRs, 97 RBIs and .291. And he hasn’t even gotten hot yet. Still ripping him?”

Replies such as “[but only a] .303 OBP, 5/1 K/BB” and other statistical cherry-picking opportunities to flip the kill-switch on any pro-Howard sentiment are unfortunately quite often the norm.

These are the same fans who somehow turn 40 Home Runs and 120 RBI per season into insignificant numbers. I’m a firm believer that strikeouts are much better than double plays and that sluggers would rather clear the bases than just get on, but I digress.

Overpaid or Under-appreciated?

However, the most common comeback from the most curmudgeonly critical will always make sure we are reminded daily about Ryan Howard’s salary.

Well thought-out gems such as, “only eight offensive players make more than him, he’s overpaid and overrated” –which was also found beneath Roob’s tweet–will live and breathe among the minds of the malcontent.

Try to create an air of excitement about Ryan Howard and I guarantee you’ll hear about “The Contract”, which is the casual fan’s carping crutch.

Ah, the contract. I’d venture an educated guess to say that among the order of the Negadelphian’s Creed, bashing Ryan Howard’s contract over the heads of his supporters is high on the list, if not numero uno. I’m not certain this document actually exists, but I can just imagine “Five Years, $125 million” emblazoned in bold, Phillies-red calligraphy.

Most people don’t care that this mega-deal was born of strategic inspiration by Phillies management and not due to a single demand from Ryan Howard back in April 2010. Like it or lump it, halfway down the above highlighted article, the truth reads:

“So they approached his agent, Casey Close…” – Jayson Stark, ESPN April 27, 2010



This should be important to even the most pessimistic of Philadelphians, because we all should remember there have been several lucrative, yet far more financially unsound contracts signed in Major League Baseball over the past few years which were free agent deals where it was the player who bridled the bidding.

Jayson Werth, Carl Crawford, A-Rod and more recently, Josh Hamilton and B.J. Upton all signed ridiculous contracts as unrestricted free agents, each of whom took top dollar over any sentimental home discount with their respective incumbent teams.

Some of those deals even went uncontested as general managers in Washington, Boston, Atlanta and Anaheim opened their wallets wider than what the market would wager for the players they pursued.

Support is ok, but just not for

everyone

So who’s really to blame if one should feel the need to cast it towards anyone regarding Ryan Howard’s contract?

I guess you can’t boo Phillies upper-management as they never take the field, but I feel it’s too easy and extremely contradictory for fans to rake Howard over the hot coals while at the same time offering unwavering support for players such as Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay and even Chase Utley, each of whom cash similar paychecks but have had their fair share of under-performance against their own multi-millions.

For fans to hold the same, burning eternal flame for some players that’s held under Howard’s feet is somewhat hypocritical, yes?

I get that Halladay and Utley persevered through injuries, but so has Howard with a severe left ankle sprain in 2010 and a torn Achilles tendon suffered in the 2011 NLDS.

The latter being an injury that can often end a professional athlete’s career if not at least rendering it mostly impotent. Both injuries would strike the left foot and ankle, the very same he’d use to push off in order to generate his Ruthian power batting from the left side.

What hurt most in 2010 was that Howard was monster mashing as he hit the disabled list on August third batting .292 with 23 bombs and 81 RBI, giving us all no reason to doubt his super-salary worthiness.

Eventually suspected as a tie-in between the two injuries would be a team-ordered cortisone injection he received in September 2011 to treat an aggravated bursa sac in his left heel. Either way, the tendon may have been doomed from the moment he went down in the Summer of 2010.

“It’s possible Howard’s stressed left Achilles – the tendon that connects the heel to the muscles of the lower leg – would have burst even without the cortisone injection. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound first baseman, after all, had been having foot problems for more than a year after badly spraining his left ankle in August 2010.”

And in the case for Cliff Lee, fans steadfastly stand behind the little-to-no run support he received in 2012. Ok, fine. I can certainly get behind that reason as he was given as much support as a hammock made of Twizzlers.

But until this season, Howard also hasn’t had any consistent support of his own in the fifth spot in the lineup since 2010 when Jayson Werth sizzled .296/.388/.532 with a league-leading 46 doubles and 27 Home Runs. Werth would finish eighth in the NL MVP voting. The team would downsize behind The Big Piece in 2011 after Werth bolted for big bucks in DC.

2011 Phillies

Split AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BA OBP SLG BAbip Batting 5th 624 78 161 38 6 19 90 .258 .331 .429 .277 View Original Table Provided by Baseball-Reference.com

Generated 5/5/2013.

So, get a hold of yourselves (and over yourselves) and break free of the negativity held towards one of baseballs’ good guys. It’s the Fifth of May, 2013 and all indications are that Ryan Howard is heating up.

Take a chance and get on board his train, the one that could take this team into playoff contention because the minute you all got out of bed today, you found the Braves and Nationals still struggling to find ways to win.

What could it hurt if you offered your unconditional support for the Big Piece like you do others? Would you earn a dollar less at work or pay a dollar more for a ticket if he was paid less? No and no.

But you would certainly earn the right to jump and shout with us all when he launches his next missile into the South Philadelphia night. Ryan Howard deserves our support, win or lose. Because I think he’s earned our loyalty both on and off the field.

*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com or their partners.***

A big thank – you goes out to our Philadelphia Phillies Correspondent Chris Creighton for preparing today’s featured post.. Chris is a Phillies Phan, Baseball fan & player. He thinks that there is no better place for food and is a proponent of the city of Philadelphia. Huge U2 fan. Phillies writer at http://www.warroomphilly.com .

Chris says: “Follow a Web Show covering everything in the Philadelphia Sports Scene. Sit back and enjoy from the hearts of two die-hard Philly guys here ! You can follow Chris Creighton on Twitter Follow @WARROOMPHLCHRIS or the WarRoomPhilly Follow @WARROOMPHILLY

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