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A Ryan Howard homerun (his 37th of the year) helped the Phillies defeat the Braves last night.
The Phillies are now 5 games out of first place in their division, but only 3 games out of the Wild Card lead. Time is running out. They really need to have Howard find a grove and mash a few more homeruns. RBIs are key at the end of the season.
Ryan Howard rocked a nasty homerun two days ago to rally the Phillies to only 3 games behind the Mets for the NL East division lead. This is an amazing comeback for the Phillies who were all but out of it midseason. If the Phillies complete the sweep tonight, they’ll only be two games out.
Howard is still struggling at the plate this month, batting in the .260s, but he’s coming up with hits when the team needs them.
Only 4 non-pitchers since 1900 had more plate appearances then Ryan Howard without grabbing a stolen base. That all ended last week when Howard successfully stole second base. Ryan Howard wanted to hoist second base over his head and exclaim, “I am the greatest!” He just knew better.
“I didn’t want to get drilled my next time up,” Howard said, with a laugh.
How would you like to be the pitcher to give up that stolen base? When you’re on the mound you really have to be standing there thinking ‘there’s no way in hell this guy is stealing”.
What happened to our MVP Ryan Howard? I guess sophomore slumps are real!
During the six-game road trip against the lowly Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates, Howard went 3-for-24 (.125) with two RBIs and 12 strikeouts. He also didn’t have an extra-base hit, as his batting average plummeted to .258.
“It’s a day off. Any day off is good,” said Howard, whose 149 strikeouts have him on pace to break Adam Dunn’s single-season major league record of 195 set in 2004. “You get to relax and hang out a little bit.”Howard doesn’t need any days off! He needs a trip to AA to get his swing back.
I know it’s been awhile since I posted, but I wanted to let you guys know why I’ve been so busy. I’ve added another website to my network. It is a general sports blog that features multiple posts a day. The sports blog is called Mugdish. Catchy name huh? Mugdish features daily posts from all areas of sports and entertainment.
I promise to get back into my usual swing of things on this blog next week once Mugdish is completed! Check it out!
The Courier Post wrote an interesting article on how Ryan Howard needs to have more patience. Below is an excerpt, or you can read the entire article here.
Ryan Howard worked his way through the cramped quarters of the visitors’ clubhouse at Wrigley Field.
He knew the question that was coming.
He knew deep down that any struggles he faced after that Thursday in late July would be put under a microscope.
He knew it but that didn’t mean he had to like it.
“Nah, it’s not Chase Utley,” Howard said in an exasperated tone. “I’m just not seeing the ball.”
Amateur psychologists could have a field day with this one.
Utley went out with a broken hand on that Thursday and since then, Howard has struggled.
Even with his denials, Howard has to have seen this as a time for him to take charge — to put this team on his back and carry them until Utley returns.
Howard is the reigning National League MVP and did just that at the end of last season, but then he had Utley in the lineup ahead of him.
Congratulations Ryan!
Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard has been named the National League player of the week for the week ending July 22.
Howard led the NL in several offensive categories as he hit for a .500 average with five home runs, 13 RBI, 27 total bases, 10 walks, a slugging percentage of 1.227 and an on-base percentage of .636.
This is the second time in Howard’s career he has won this honor.
Ryan Howard has 3 homeruns in his last 10 at bats. He still isn’t swinging the bat like he was last season, but this could be the start of a hot streak.
Howard is batting .316 for the month of July and has 6 homeruns. With 10 days left in the month, he could get the homerun total up to 8-9, or 28 on the season.
He’s easily on pace to reach 40 homeruns, which is nothing to be ashamed of. As Howard matures in the league, he will become more settled and hit for power and a higher average.
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