5 Predictions for Ryan Howard’s Comeback with the Philadelphia Phillies

Good news, Philadelphia Phillies fans. Slugging first baseman Ryan Howard is back.

The Phillies announced via Twitter earlier on Friday that Howard has been activated off the DL. The word from Todd Zolecki of MLB.com is that Howard is in the No. 4 spot in Charlie Manuel’s lineup for Friday night’s contest against the Atlanta Braves.

Howard hasn’t played in a major league ballgame since Game 5 of the 2011 NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals, when he famously tore his Achilles tendon on a groundout that clinched the series for the Cardinals. He’s been on the disabled list since the start of the season.

Howard’s power has been missed. The Phillies have only hit 83 home runs through their first 84 games, and they rank in the middle of the pack in runs scored. 

In a perfect world, Howard will provide the production that the Phillies have been missing all season. In an even more perfect world, he’ll help them make a comeback in the NL East. The Phillies enter the weekend 37-47 and 13 games behind the Washington Nationals, and the slightest breeze could push them towards a deadline season fire sale.

There’s no telling what’s going to happen, but I have a few rational predictions for how all of this is going to play out. Start the slideshow whenever you’re ready for some serious prophesying. 

 

Note: All stats come from Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

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MLB Trade Deadline: Where Do Phillies Need to Be on July 31 to Avoid Selling?

Ryan Howard returned to the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday.

They’ll need huge contributions from him between then and July 31, or else the reigning NL East champs—who currently stand at 37-48—will be sellers at the MLB trade deadline.

Unbelievable, isn’t it?

This franchise has achieved at least 85 victories in nine consecutive seasons (102 last summer). Not since 2006 has the front office moved effective players to build for the future.

However, that will be the only logical course of action if they can’t rise out of last place.

Despite his recent transactions, GM Ruben Amaro Jr. isn’t waving the white flag. Chad Qualls and Jim Thome—a mediocre right-hander and aging designated hitter, respectively—were never key pieces to the championship puzzle.

We’ll know that Amaro has given up when impending free agents Cole Hamels and Shane Victorino are dealt to contenders. But he will wait and see what transpires over the next several weeks before pushing the panic button.

The all-important non-waiver trade deadline passes at 4:00 p.m. ET on July 31. Mark it on your calendar, Phanatics, because that gives manager Charlie Manuel fewer than 20 games in the interim to rally your team.

Five of those six series will be against superior opponents, which is exactly what the Phillies need. There are opportunities to leapfrog the Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves.

The buyer-seller ratio is far above 1.0 this season, and the newly-expanded playoff format is responsible. Majorities of each league consider themselves alive for the second wild-card spot. Unfortunately, that sentiment does not extend to the Phils, whose aforementioned record is 12th among National League squads.

I don’t care how they get there, but the Phillies must reach 50 wins—and get within two games of .500—by deadline day. That should at least elevate them into the top 10.

If their mark is less impressive, they ought to restock the farm system and shift the focus towards 2013.

 

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Ryan Howard: Phillies Star Activated from Season-Long DL Stint

The Phillies are about to get a big boost in the form of a former MVP and a three-time MLB All-Star.

According to Major League Baseball’s official Twitter account, Ryan Howard will be back and ready for action on Friday night against the Braves:

 

BREAKING: @Phillies activate 1B Ryan Howard from the DL.

— MLB (@MLB) July 6, 2012

 

Howard hasn’t played since last October, when he tore his Achilles tendon in the National League Division Series against St. Louis.

The timing couldn’t be better for the last-place Phillies, who desperately need a spark as they gear up to make a post-All-Star-break push. Playing without Howard’s offense has been devastating for a team that currently ranks 14th in the league in batting, hitting a combined .265.

If Howard is fully healthy, he should be able to steady the team’s offense. In his last six major league seasons with the Phils, he’s never hit fewer than 31 home runs and registered less than 108 RBI.

 

What It Means

Nobody is realistically expecting Howard to act as the savior for the Phillies—not with 13 games separating them from the Nationals, who sit atop the NL East—but there is still hope that he might be able to infuse some life into the team’s offense. 

His ability to knock one out of the park will strengthen the middle of the order, making life easier for the guys hitting ahead of him. 

 

What Comes Next

This is it for the Phillies. The stretch immediately following the All-Star break will be critical. Either they start playing significantly better or they turn into sellers at the July 31 trade deadline. If Howard and the Phils cannot right the ship, many pieces of this team will be sent packing. 

Howard is not going to be able to fix this team’s offensive woes all by himself, but he can certainly give the Phillies an indication of where they’re headed.

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Odds of Every Phillies Player Having a Dominant Second Half

Dominant.

It hasn’t been a word used to describe the Philadelphia Phillies season. This is a club entering unfamiliar territory, at least compared to the last five seasons or so. Entering play on July 4, the Phillies are 36-46. They’re 10 games under the .500 mark, 12 games out of first place in the National League East, and nine games out of a Wild Card spot.

The only teams with a record worse than the Phillies are the Minnesota Twins, Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, and San Diego Padres.

If you’re looking for a word to describe the Phillies through the first half, “dominated” is more like it.

But there’s hope for this club. They played the first half without the help of three All-Star players: Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Roy Halladay. All three will be on the field for the second half of the season. It may be too little, too late to make a real difference, but at least there’s hope.

So as the Phillies teeter on the periphery of being sellers or being buyers, we’ll take a look at the chances of each roster player having a dominant second half. Will the odds be high enough to keep this team in the postseason race?

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Philadelphia Phillies Drop a Heartbreaker

This just in: The Major League Baseball season is long.

Very long.

I’m talking back-to-back screenings of My Big Fat Greek Wedding long.

One-hundred sixty-two games, plus another potential 15-plus games looming in the postseason, it makes the notion of “every game matters” seem a bit silly.

But as I sit here now, typing between fits of F-bombs, contemplating eating my keyboard instead of finishing this column, I can tell you every game matters.

In 2007, when I watched Brett Myers strike out Willy Mo Pena on the final day of the season to complete one of the most improbable comebacks in major league history and give the Phillies their first division title since ’93; that game mattered.

When Cole Hamels teamed up with J.C. Romero and Brad Lidge to close out Game 5 of the 2008 World Series, that game mattered, even if it took two games to finish.

And in 2011, when Chris Carpenter channeled Bob Gibson and threw one of the greatest games in playoff history to eliminate the 102-win Phillies, that game mattered.

And yesterday, when the Phillies lost 6-5 to the Mets, that game mattered.

Johnathon Papelbon, the highest paid closer in the league by the way, blew the game in the ninth, and in effect ended the Phillies’ season.

A win by Philly was going to put them back on the map.

A victory over Mets All-Star R.A. Dickey, followed by a series against the very beatable Braves, and suddenly, the Phillies are back in contention. With Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and the Doc finally healthy again, who wants to play that team in October?

Turns out it didn’t matter.

The ‘Phightins’ gave away their season in a series of events that were completely depressing, yet entirely believable to anyone who has watched the team this season.

‘Paps, (can I still call him ‘Paps when I want to punch him in the face?) allowed a leadoff double, a sacrifice, walked a terrible hitter to load the bases, then tried to play hacky sack with a potential double play ball that ended up tying the game.

One pitch later, David Wright won the game with an awful bloop in front of the silently disappointing Hunter Pence.

Game over.

Now the Phillies are 13 games back in the NL East, and 8.5 games back in the Wild Card. Their biggest hope is that when Ryan Howard comes back he will turn into Roy Hobbs for a few months. The only problem with that is that Howard is coming off a torn Achilles’ tendon and seems to be carrying more weight than Shaq right now.

So yes, things aren’t golden right now. But never forget this is the team that has won five straight NL East division titles, so maybe the dream isn’t over yet.

(That’s what I keep telling myself.)

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Philadelphia Phillies: Can Chase Utley Have a Vintage Second Half?

You might have heard that Chase Utley is back playing second base for the Philadelphia Phillies. When you are a 33-year-old man rolling a soul patch out, it sure helps if you are professional baseball player. That thing looks absurd. 

Regardless, in this interminable, hot, and mostly dull first half of the 2012 season, there has not been much to be excited about. Utley’s return is at least that. Phillies fans are looking for a big second half from Utley, and his reputation is that of a player who rises to the occasion as the games become more meaningful. So can Chase Utley have a “vintage” second half? 

It probably depends on how you define “vintage.”

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Philadelphia Phillies Trade Rumors: Latest Updates and Reaction

The Philadelphia Phillies are on their last leg, and every other team in the MLB knows it.

Right now, this is a team running low on options, morale and hope, kind of like the analogy of a man stranded in the desert with just a drop of water left in the canteen. He knows that’s his only hope, and the Phillies know that the returns of Roy Halladay and Ryan Howard could give them a spark.

But make no doubt about it, the vultures are circling. If the Phillies were to mail it in on the 2012 season and become sellers, general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. would be a popular man.

Contenders would drool over the opportunity to add legitimate difference-makers like Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, Hunter Pence or Shane Victorino. They’re all the type of players that evolve a team from World Series “contender” to “favorite.” 

The Phillies have their motives as well. Those players would each bring in a pretty piece in a trade, and the Phillies farm system is lacking in quality positional prospects. They’ve had their eyes on third basemen and outfielders for quite some time.

So as the July 31 trade deadline comes into focus, we’ll be keeping our eyes on the Phillies like a hawk, watching to see if they can overcome seemingly impossible obstacles to become buyers and make a run at the postseason or if they succumb to the circumstances and wind up selling. 

Either way, we’ll be keeping track of all of the latest rumors and deals right here and provide in-depth reaction on each.

Stay tuned!

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Midseason Report Cards for All 25 Philadelphia Phillies

Well, it hasn’t been pretty.

The Philadelphia Phillies are now more than halfway through the regular season, and it has been a horrendous one for a club that came into the 2012 season with World Series expectations.

They’ve been riddled with enough injuries and inconsistent players to make any holey comparisons, like to afghan blankets and Swiss cheese, seem too kind.

If you’re looking for a bright side, I’m struggling to find one. Is the fact that this team still has another half season to play really any more comforting? Is this a team that can truly leap over at least three good teams in their own division to even have a shot at making the postseason?

I’m not so sure.

But one thing I am sure of is what needs to change. In this slideshow, we’ll take a look at the first half of each Phillies’ player and slap a grade on them. They’ll either have to stay the course or get better to make a difference. 

Can it be done? Well, only time will tell.

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MLB Trade Deadline 2012: Philadelphia Phillies in Unfamiliar Territory

The Philadelphia Phillies have won the NL East pennant in each of the last five seasons. Last year, they were the only team to win more than 100 games, but in 2012, it looks as though they won’t even win 80.

Philadelphia knew this would be a tough season after Ryan Howard tore his Achilles in the final out of the 2011 NLDS, but the demise of the bullpen and the additional injury to Roy Halladay has thrown the Phillies off the tracks.

The Phillies are currently 11 games back of the NL East-leading Nationals, and nine games back of the NL’s second wild-card spot. 

Their 36-45 record is the sixth worst in the MLB, meaning that for the first time in a long time, the Philadelphia Phillies need to sell at the July 31 deadline.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Top 10 Shocking Numbers at the Midway Point

The 2012 Philadelphia Phillies have had an extremely disappointing first half. 

It hasn’t been all that shocking considering the loss of stars Chase Utley & Ryan Howard.  Also, Roy Halladay went down and the team really went south from there. 

They have since welcomed Utley back and celebrated by losing six straight.  Not the type of season most Phillies’ fans or players envisioned.

GM Ruben Amaro has his hands full this month and it might be the last month Cole Hamels and Shane Victorino play as Phillies. 

Here are the top 10 most shocking numbers of the first half of the Phillies’ season.

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