Howard’s bombs deep six Fish

Ryan Howard cranked home runs No. 55 and 56 to drive in all three Phillies runs in last night’s 3-2 defeat of Florida.

Howard’s historic run is putting the pressure on writers to come up with something remarkable to write about after every game. After last night, he joined Jimmie Foxx in 1932 and Babe Ruth in 1921 as the only players in history to hit at least 56 home runs in a season at age 26 or younger.

This is a campaign few others have matched, numbering perhaps five or six of the greatest single offensive seasons in the history of the game, none of which are attached to the name Barry Bonds. He’s projected to finish with 65 homers and 159 RBIs, all while hitting .311.

Howard is locked in, creating magic that’s scarcely been seen. Last night’s second home run would have translated to a hump-back lineout to right field for any other hitter. Instead, the ball exploded off Howard’s bat, negated physics and landed in the right-field porch. This was served up on an inside, low-90s fastball from left-handed pitcher Scott Olsen. Howard’s reaction was instantaneous. This was a pitch he was never supposed to hit.

In 16 games since Aug. 23, Howard is batting .464 (26-for-56) with 13 homers, 26 RBIs, 20 runs scored, a .569 on-base percentage and a slugging percentage of 1.214. The Phillies are literally riding his bat into October. They have now won 16 of their last 25 games and crawled back to within 1 1/2 games of San Diego.

Howard's heroic quest trumps mere standings in depth and national scale. He deserves his own press following comprised of the nation's best writers and columnists. Round up the gang from the glory days of BalcoGate and Barry's run at the Babe. This assignment is better for the soul.

Moyer and Conine
Jamie Moyer and Jeff Conine may turn into feather in the cap of Pat Gillick this season. Moyer baffled the Marlins over eight outstanding innings last night, while Jeff Conine went 2-for-4 out of the No. 5 hole. Conine went deep in Thursday’s game.

Comments

[Greg]

SF has Schimdt going and we have Myers. Phils need to win today and hopefully they'll be .5 out.

[dane]

words can't explain how exciting it is to watch ryan howard hit. every time up i hold my breath because of what he is capable of doing.

[Maria]

Everytime he comes up to bat I think he's going to hit a HR & he usually proves me right. He's exciting & he's the toast of the town.

[clout]

If the Wall Street Journal is smart they'll do a story on how much more national attention and endorsements Howard would be getting if he played in LA or NYC. Does he even have an endorsement deal yet?

[clout]

Fantasy vs. Reality.
RSB says Moyer is pitching great because Coste calls such a good game.
Last night on the Phillies broadcast they said Moyer called his own game. Coste didn't even give signals, simply moved his hand inside or outside.

[Alby]

Yeah, but could Lieby follow along as well as Coste did?

[J. Weitzel]

The point about Coste isn't how he's calling a game, it's how the pitchers are doing with him behind the plate - even if its unintentional. This was yet another 8-inning start. Lieber has been great ever since Coste took over his starts. Hamels has been sensational. I don't know if there's a concrete explaination for it, but something good is happening. Clearly.

[Lake Fred]

I watched ESPN Baseball Tonight last night and the three guys talked about Howard as the MVP. They didn't mention Pujols or Cabrera.

Just for grins I checked out Pujols' career record as he and Ryan Howard are the same age. Pujols record year after year is great and consistent for all his career starting at age 21. I would think that Pujols is the greatest threat to Hank Aaron's career HR record.

[Mike]

Sadly enough, Barry Bonds is the greatest threat to Aaron's record.