Thursday, July 10, 2008

He Gets Alot of Bang For His Buck


You can't come away from the last two Phils' game without having some hope that Ryan Howard has finally turned it around and is ready to go on a tear. Sure, it's easy to get on the guy because he is only hitting .234 and at times can look absolutely lost at bat, but damn is Ryan Howard productive. Currently, he's leading the NL in Home Runs and set a Phils' franchise record for most RBI's before the All Star Break with 83. Howard could end up with 50 homers and 150 RBI's yet not get his batting average may never get above .250. This could be the most schizophrenic season in baseball history.

It is downright amazing how Ryan Howard is compiling these stats since he looks completely over matched at times. I'm willing to bet that some left handers could tell him that a low and outside slider is coming and he still wouldn't come close to touching it. Why anyone throws him anything "middle in" is beyond me. At this point in his career, he's basically become a left hand hitting, American version of Pedro Cerrano. Unfortunately, I don't think even Jobu will help him hit a breaking ball.


Let's hope Howard continues to work out the kinks because his success is absolutely essential if the Phils want to hold on to the division lead.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

i would love to see his Avg when he puts the ball in play (ie. when he doesn't K).

He can handle a breaking ball and the stuff on the outer half of the plate are the balls that go out to Left Field. His hole is up and in as it is for most left hand hitters. The soft stuff on the outer half of the plate goes over the left field wall more times than not. He's still young, and dangerous.

Anonymous said...

" If you no help me now Jobu, then **** you!"

Classic.

TF