If Ryan Howard could get his bat going, the Phillies would have a much better chance at winning the division or wild card. At this point their 2.5 games back from both and Howard is hitting like .180 on the month. He does seem to come up big at certain times, like those 2 homeruns against STL, but really Howard needs to be consistent.

Without his bat, even if they do make the playoffs they won’t get very far. At quick glance, you might think Howard and Adam Dunn switched bodies. Howard is hitting .259 and has 40 homeruns and 189 strikeouts. He’s the complete opposite of what he was last year.