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Originally Posted by Cannon Shell
Ryan Howard cant hit left handers. I know this will cause much controversy among our Philly fans but they should consider platooning him against left handers (of course this assumes they would have a right handed possibility). Despite the HR's and RBI's he is not nearly the same hitter he was in 2006 and his stats against lefties are awful. Try .224 with a .294 OBP and .451 slg%. These are unacceptable numbers from a back up catcher let alone a supposed MVP who happens to be a liability in the field and is slow as sin. One very interesting number that you will never hear about from the stooges (Buck and McCarver) is that Howards intentional walks went from 35 and 37 the last 2 years to 17 this year in more at bats. It says that opposing managers were willing to pitch to him in important situations more than they used to be. That lack of respect and last nights when Utley was IBB'ed to face Howard is a big warning sign. It is laughable that anyone thinks that he is a better player or more valuable than Utley. Signing him to a big long term contract will be a huge mistake for them or really anyone else. See Mo Vaughn and Cecil Fielder in their 30's.
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He's too good with the leather to platoon him. We will see a different RyHo tonight against Shields IMO. He
has been swinging the stick like $HIT as of late, but he definitely sees righties better. If the Phils get ANY production from either him or J Roll (wtf does he swing at, does he even open his eyes?), it will be more than what they've been getting, and it could spell doom for teh Rays.
And that foul ball that he practically went into the stands for is a testament to how dossile Ray's fans are. Had that happened here, Pena would have not come out of that situation with either his glove or his hand, or both. The fans here would have made sure he didnt catch that ball. It's little things like that, that make this game so intricate and is fun to watch.
And I agree that the money it would take to lock him up could be better spent.