Kuzul

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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The phrase “adding insult to injury” has never been more true than it is right now for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Friday night, the Phillies watched their record-breaking season come to an end in Game 5 of the NLDS in a 1-0 loss against the St. Louis Cardinals.

For the second season in a row the Phillies playoff run ended with slugger Ryan Howard at bat.

Howard cracked a grounder down the first base line and took off for the bag. Within the first couple steps he crumbled to the ground grasping his ankle.

He underwent an MRI early Saturday, and Philadelphia radio personality Howard Eskin reported the results via Twitter: “I was told MRI did reveal torn achilles. Out til at least may or june.”

Not very good news for a Phillies team that struggled offensively all season. The loss of their big bat raises a lot of questions entering the offseason.

Howard has been quite durable throughout his career, but battled ankle problems all through the 2011 season. He reached his limit on the final play.

Now, it’s unclear if Howard will be ready to go to start next the beginning of the 2012 season. That’s a big issue for a Phillies team that just lost 1-0 in the final game of their season.

Moreover, the Phillies already have plenty of issues to deal with this offseason.

Pitchers Ryan Madson, Brad Lidge, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels are all facing contractual situations, while Jimmy Rollins and Raul Ibanez could be on their way out as well.

Those are a lot of holes to fill. Now there is another major one that needs to be looked at due to the Howard injury.

Come the start of next season, the Phillies could have new faces at first base, shortstop, third base and left field.

It will be a crazy offseason in Philadelphia. Baseball’s oldest team needs to get younger.

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The final play of the Philadelphia Phillies 2011 season was tumultuous.

First of all, a ground out by Ryan Howard officially gave the St. Louis Cardinals a 1-0 win in a pitcher’s duel for a spot in the National League Championship Series (NLCS). Then, as Howard dug in to try and dart toward first base, he collapsed to the ground.

Howard was quoted on ESPN describing the injury.

“I was trying to run, and I felt a pop. It felt like the whole thing was on fire. It felt like I was on a flat tire. I tried to get up, but couldn’t go.”

Howard also passed along the fact that doctors believe he has a torn Achilles tendon. Howard is getting an MRI today, and the results will show the true severity of the injury.

Basically, it doesn’t look good for the Phillies slugger.

Instead of speculating on how long Howard could miss, I’m just going to cut to the chase. The question on everyone’s mind is how good the Phillies would be without their star first baseman.

The answer is they’d be just fine.

Obviously, Philadelphia would miss his 33 home runs and 116 RBI. What they won’t miss is his 172 strikeouts, which was good for fifth-worst in the MLB. The Phillies have multiple players that can pick up the slack in the hitting department for Howard.

Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino—need I say any more?

In terms of fielding, Howard has definitely shown improvement, but he’s not someone whose loss will collapse your defense. The identity of the Phillies is pitching, and they should be able to return their incredible rotation for next season.

The rotation includes Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels, and is one of the best in recent memory. If the Phillies can manage to keep their pitchers in Phillies uniforms, they’ll be able to overcome many struggles at the plate.

Rollins is a free agent, but it’s going to be hard for him to leave such a promising team like the Phillies. The Phillies have a club option on Brad Lidge, but it’s highly unlikely to be exercised.  

The Phillies have the best team in baseball, and one injury can’t curb their chances for a World Series in 2012.

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Ryan Howard‘s unfortunate Achilles injury, combined with his postseason ineffectiveness, has proven that the Phillies made a mistake by awarding him a $125 million extension in April 2010.

In the Phillies’ final at-bat of the season, Howard made solid contact with the ball before crumpling as if he got shot on his way out of the batter’s box. It was later revealed that he suffered a torn Achilles, although the severity won’t be known until an MRI is conducted.

Judging by Howard’s postgame comments, it doesn’t sound good at all.

“I was trying to run, and I felt a pop,” Howard said. “It felt like the whole thing was on fire. It felt like I was on a flat tire. I tried to get up, but couldn’t go.”

Obviously hindsight is 20-20, but Howard’s injury is just the latest piece of evidence in the ever-mounting case that his massive contract extension was a mistake.

The 31-year-old first basemen’s production has been steadily declining the last two seasons.

Howard averaged 49.5 home runs from 2006-2009, but hit just 31 and 33 in the two years since his massive payday.

He’s also had dramatic drop-offs in batting average, RBI, slugging percentage and on-base percentage since ’09.

Howard was somewhat terrible in his five playoff games this season. After hitting a three-run homer in Game 1 of the NLDS, Howard had just one more hit in the series, finishing 2-for-19 with six strikeouts against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Achilles injury aside, these are not good numbers for a man that will be making $25 million per season through 2016. Philadelphia has little to no financial flexibility over the next half-decade, with a ton of money tied up in a poor defender whose offensive production is on the decline.

Now add in the possibility that Howard may miss the entire 2012 season and it’s undeniable that Howard’s huge extension was a mistake on the part of the Phillies.

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Ryan Howard‘s Achilles injury appears to be serious, and if he is forced to miss a big chunk of the 2012 season, the Philadelphia Phillies will have to find a way to replace him.

Here are three reasonable options not named Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder that could fill in for Howard.

John Mayberry Jr.

Whenever Howard would have a day off or play DH in an American League ballpark, it would be either Mayberry or Ross Gload who would replace him at first base.

Mayberry is not only eight years younger than Gload, he hit much better than him in 2011. Mayberry is the clear internal option here.

In 104 games, the 27-year-old hit 15 homers with a slugging percentage of .513. Oddly enough (or not so oddly, depending on who you are), that’s a higher slugging percentage than Ryan Howard’s .488 this year. It was a career low for Howard, but impressive for Mayberry nonetheless.

Not only did he out-slug Howard, but Mayberry had a much better strikeout rate and even walked at a decent rate. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say Mayberry was a better overall hitter than Howard this season.

David Ortiz

He hasn’t actually played first base full-time, since, well, since ever. But it’s first base and Ortiz has played there on occasion. It shouldn’t be that bad of a transition with a full round of spring training games.

For those wondering where this puts Howard when he’s back to full strength, it’s only a short-term solution. Ortiz is 35, and a one-year contract would be the only way to do this. Signing him to anything longer would be a mistake.

But in Ortiz the Phils would be getting a year-long replacement who just hit .309 and slugged .554 with 29 homers in 146 games. 

He’s a good fit for the middle of that lineup if the team thinks he can handle first well enough.

Michael Cuddyer

If the Phillies wanted to stay away from a short-term signing yet still find a way to fill Howard’s spot, this might be a way to do it. 

It doesn’t have to be Cuddyer, but signing a left fielder would be smart. Players often make the transition between left field and first base much easier than any other two positions. Cuddyer has even played a little first base in his career.

After Howard comes back, the Phillies wouldn’t have to worry about having two first basemen signed to long-term deals. Cuddyer would move back to the outfield. They would have a bit of a log-jam there, but that’s a more flexible situation.

Cuddyer hit .284 with 20 homers last season.

Follow @t_keen

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The Philadelphia Phillies are going to have to replace Ryan Howard’s production, and that will ultimately lead to them being a stronger team in 2012.

Howard and the Phillies are still awaiting the results of an MRI to determine if his Achilles’ tendon is indeed torn, but all indications point to that being the case. That will almost certainly shelve Howard for the entire 2012 season.

With Howard out of the Phillies’ plans for 2012, the Phillies will have no possibility hiding under the false illusion that their weak offense is enough to win the World Series in 2012.

They will have to be aggressive in the offseason to replace Howard’s prodigious production. Howard hit .253 with 31 home runs and 108 RBI this season.

His home run and RBI totals led the Phillies. He had 23 more RBI than the next closest Phillie.

The Phillies will have to scour the free-agent market for a good bat. This will not be enough, though, and this is where the injury will benefit them the most.

In order to replace that production, the Phillies will likely be forced to trade one of their big four starting pitchers.

Starting pitching is always at a premium in baseball. The Phillies have an excess. While having a pitching staff with that depth does wonders in the regular season, it is not as big of an advantage in the postseason. Pitching rotations are shortened. Three quality starters is enough to carry a team to a title.

If the Phillies can trade one of those starters and bring in a couple of good bats, then they will become a better team in the process.

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From an immediate perspective, the most important storyline from Friday’s Cardinals vs. Phillies game was the end result. Philadelphia was favored by most people to win the World Series, but they will be watching the NLCS and World Series from home.

The second most important storyline was that Phillies’ slugger Ryan Howard suffered what appeared to be a very serious injury on the game’s final play.

Now, we don’t know the extent of the injury just yet. Still, Achilles’ injuries are very serious. Howard himself believed that it was a torn Achilles, which could have him sidelined for a year.

Since his first full season in the league (2006), Howard has averaged nearly 44 homers and and 133 RBI. His production has tapered a little bit in the last few seasons, but he is still one of the game’s premier sluggers.

If the injury is as bad as expected, Howard will miss anywhere between six and 12 months. That would have him missing some or all of the 2012 season.

Still, Philadelphia will be okay, and they are still the favorites in the National League East.

If you don’t believe me, take a look at the pitching rotation: Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt, and Vance Worley. While the bullpen could use some work, that is a vaunted pitching rotation that will keep them in any game they play.

Offensively, they still have stars like Chase Utley, Hunter Pence, Shane Victorino, and possibly Jimmy Rollins to produce runs. Even if Rollins goes, that’s not exactly a lineup with a lot of easy outs.

Lastly, first base is a position with some depth. You can pick up a first baseman for relatively cheap in free agency that will go a long way in making up for some of Howard’s lost numbers.

Any way you slice it, Howard’s loss is going to hurt. Even if his playoff production has been less than stellar, his offensive numbers are just massive, even in down years. In his six full seasons, Howard has never failed to hit 30 home runs or drive in 100 runs.

But even without Howard’s presence in the middle of the order, Philadelphia is still a playoff team in 2012.

Of course, the hot stove season could change that, but it’s hard to see a division rival improving enough to scare the Phillies.

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If Philadelphia Phillies star first baseman Ryan Howard indeed has a torn Achilles tendon, it’s unlikely he’ll be back for the start of the 2012 MLB season.

And that’s going to be a huge loss for the Phillies.

When you have Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt (if Philly picks up his option) and Vance Worley as your starting rotation, you’re pretty much guaranteed to be a contender, so perhaps the title is misleading.

The Phillies’ problems became evident in this year’s NLDS. They lack the offensive firepower to be a title contender. After Game 1, they scored a meager 10 runs in four games. Even with their star-studded pitching staff, that won’t get it done.

Next year looks even worse.

Table-setter Jimmy Rollins is likely gone and the Phillies likely won’t want to invest a ton of money in Jose Reyes as a potential replacement. 

Wilson Valdez, Michael Martinez or a cheaper free agent will likely replace Rollins. Downgrade. Maybe Freddy Galvis even makes an appearance, but it won’t be Jimmy Rollins.

Raul Ibanez is also likely on his way out. He’s getting old and has been declining, anyways. Domonic Brown could take over in left. 

And now if Ryan Howard is out for an extended period, this lineup is seriously thin. $20 million to someone in rehab makes it tough to go after a big-name free agent, too.

Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino are suddenly the heart of this lineup. Those are two talented hitters, but can either of them hit cleanup?

Pence is the only one with any experience there, and he has one home run in 30 games from the No. 4 spot. Not exactly the type of power you want to see from a playoff team.

Chase Utley might be another option, but he didn’t look the same this year and he’ll be 33 next year. 

The pitching will continue to carry this team, but at this point, the offense just isn’t good enough anymore.

And now, injury problems coupled with large contracts might just prevent them making a big splash in free agency.

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The short answer to the question posed in the headline is very simple: Because he plays in Milwaukee.

So why write an entire opinion piece on the subject? Because Ryan Braun should be a superstar.

Ryan Braun does everything you want a superstar to do. Does he hit for average? .312 career, .332 this season. Does he hit for power? More than 30 homers a season every year except 2010, when he hit 25. His career OPS is .933; did you just read that? .933!

Do you know who has a lower career OPS than Braun? Jason Giambi, Ryan Howard, Carlos Delgado, Mike Piazza, Ken Griffey Jr., Joe Mauer and even his more-famous teammate Prince Fielder.

But Fernando, you might say, I don’t like your old school “Joe Morgan” stats. What’s his WAR?

In 2011: a preposterous 7.8 WAR. He’s averaged five WAR in his career. The kid is freaking good.

So why isn’t he on the cover of any baseball video games? Why doesn’t he have a lucrative paper towel endorsement? Come on, the Braun-y paper towel guy? This stuff writes itself.

He’s even got a cool nickname (according to Wikipedia): The Hebrew Hammer. Fear his mighty hammer, and his, er, Judaism? Anyway, awesome nickname!

Braun also isn’t the Darryl Strawberry type. He doesn’t get into any trouble, no drug problems, or DUIs or arrests (that we know of). He’s got those wholesome good looks, and he appears to be a nice guy; in April, a female fan made a marriage proposal to Braun via a stadium sign, even including her phone number. Even though Braun has a girlfriend, he called the number and tried to leave a voicemail, but the mailbox was full.

What more do you want from him?!

The East Coast bias in sports coverage is obvious to everyone who lives west of the Mississippi. ESPN refuses to acknowledge any team outside the East Coast (except for the Dallas Cowboys), so our sports knowledge suffers. Can you even name three players on the Indiana Pacers? I know they have Danny Granger, and…um…I’ll get back to you on that.

If Braun played for the Red Sox or Yankees, you’d be sick and tired of him. You’d hear his name 10 times a day, every day, and Buster Olney or Ken Rosenthal would be writing sonnets professing their love for the mighty Braun.

Instead, Braun’s not even the most famous guy on his own team. Instead it’s Fielder and his enormous waistline that get all the publicity.

In fact, the only people who seem to give Braun any attention are the employees in Milwaukee’s front office—because he got paid.

Milwaukee was facing a tough decision a few years ago: You have two offensive monsters (Braun and Fielder), both in their 20s, but you can’t possibly afford them both. So who do you choose? You choose the Hebrew Hammer.

So first the Brewers signed Braun to a $45 million extension in 2008. Then they saw that Braun continued to hit a baseball really, really far, and now he’s signed through 2020 for about $145 million. That will buy you a lot of beer and brats.

Milwaukee clearly understands the kind of superstar it has on the roster—so why don’t you, America? 

Fernando Gallo promises he is not a publicist for Ryan Braun. Find more foolish analysis, along with the occasional witty comment, on his  feed.

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Yet again, the Philadelphia Phillies’ hitting does not show up, only this time, it resulted in a 12th inning 2-1 loss at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on Friday night.

Throwing eight innings, allowing only one run and one hit, Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels continued to show why he is a reliable starter for the team.

But although Hamels pitched a terrific game, he, along with other Phillies pitchers this season, didn’t receive the run support needed to capture the win.

Jimmy Rollins acquired two of the Phillies’ minuscule six hits, and he obtained the only Phillies run of the night.

The Phillies have averaged four runs per game so far this season, which seems pretty favorable when you consider that the Phillies have four aces in their starting pitching rotation who, when healthy, shouldn’t need more than four runs in support to win.

However, if the Phillies’ season up to this point is dissected, it is evident that if the Phillies could have compiled at least four RBI a game, they could have an additional 10 wins instead of losses.

The team has had unfortunate run-ins in the past with hitting slumps and cold streaks, so the team not generating run support isn’t anything new.

The Phillies have not scored more than two runs in three straight games, including this game.

If the Phillies’ hitters and pitchers don’t get on the same page and become a formidable cohesive unit, then the Phillies could see another team hoist the championship trophy for the second consecutive year.

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