The first thing people are going to think, write and talk about concerning Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard is all the doom and gloom surrounding his Achillies’ injury.
Truth be told, there isn’t much good to talk about.
Not only did the Phillies lose the series and a chance at another World Series run, they lost their All-Star first baseman in the process.
This was a team that entered into the postseason hungry for another championship. Not only did they want it, but they had all the man-power to make it happen.
They featured a great defense, exceptional pitching and a powerful lineup filled with big-time bats.
The Phillies looked set to make a big run, or so we thought.
Not only did they lose, now their future is in question as well.
Ed Barkowitz of Philly.com reports on Howard’s injury:
The early prognosis on Ryan Howard is not good.
He’s being told that he might have a torn left Achilles’ tendon. An MRI is scheduled for later today.
Howard injured himself on the final at-bat of Friday’s Game 5 loss to the Cardinals. The Phillies slugger hit just .105 in the series and was hitless in his final 15 at-bats with six strikeouts.
“I was trying to run and I felt this pop and the whole thing went numb, like it was on fire,” he said. “It literally felt like I had a flat tire. I tried to get up and I just couldn’t go.”
The words “like it was on fire” have to be ringing through the minds of Phillies fans right now, and they will continue to dwell on that through the offseason.
He couldn ‘t have used a scarier illustration. Howard goes on to explain the situation:
“They think it might be torn, so we’ll see what happens; get the MRI to confirm it,” said Howard, who has had bursitis in the troubled ankle all season. He wasn’t sure if those problems contributed to what happened Friday night.
Howard swung hard on Chris Carpenter’s 2-2 pitch and grounded to second. He took three, maybe four steps out of the box and crumpled.
“I thought I hit the ball better than I did. I thought it was in the outfield,” he said. “I tripped and tried to get up. The adrenaline in me was kind of going. I looked up and saw (second baseman Nick) Punto had the ball and had thrown it and I couldn’t go. I couldn’t feel anything in my ankle. It sucks. It sucks.”
Howard said it best: It sucks, and there doesn’t seem to be much silver lining right now. Reports are out stating that Howard will be out until at least mid-May or June of next year.
This may not be any consolation, but at least it happened when it did.
Imagine if this happened the first game of the 2012 regular season rather than the last game of 2011, it would be disastrous.
At the very least Howard has a whole offseason to heal up, and I think the Phillies can hold on in the beginning of the 2012 season without him.
If there is a silver lining, that would be it.
There is never a good time for an injury, but that is about the only good news you could find in this situation.
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