Ryan Howard Injury: Slugger Proving He Is One of MLB’s Most Overpaid Players

Despite being at the top of the RBI and home run list every year, Ryan Howard doesn’t present much in the form of getting on base at a consistent race. He seemingly steps up and swings for the fence on every single at bat.

He is very inconsistent, and lacks a high on-base percentage. To make matters worse, he’s not exactly the best fielder in the game. At this point, all he brings to the table is power, and it’s not $135 million worth of power.

He is getting older by the year, and his game is bound to deteriorate over the next few years. Now, word has come down that  he has torn his Achilles’ tendon according to the USA Today.

The Phillies released a statement via the USA Today in relation to the process for handling the injury.

He cannot have surgery until the swelling resolves, and it has not been determined who will perform the surgery. Recovery time won’t be known until after the surgery is complete, and there is no guarantee he will be ready for spring training.

At this point, it is pretty unlikely that he is ready for spring training, and he will likely miss some regular season action as well.

There have been some concerns that he could miss nearly all of the regular season next year, depending on how long it takes for the swelling to go down, and how bad the injury is once they perform the procedure.

This injury is only going to speed up Howard’s deterioration, and he may just be widely regarded as the MLB‘s most overpaid player in the coming years.

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Ryan Howard Injury: Slugger’s Achilles Injury May Keep Him on Bench Until 2013

This is not good for Philadelphia Phillies fans. Ryan Howard collapsed to the ground after grounding the ball to second base on the final out of the game.

The Phillies were eliminated from the playoffs after holding a 2-1 lead in the series, and then one of their star players fell to the ground in clear pain.

After the game, Ryan Howard spoke with Nate Mink of MLB.com about what happened. “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.”

If this injury is as serious as it sounds, Howard may just miss all of 2012 according to NBC Sports.

As if Ryan Howard making the final out of the season for a second straight year wasn’t painful enough for Phillies fans, there’s a chance he could be sidelined when his five-year, $125 million extension kicks in next season.

Not many believed that Ryan Howard was worth the money when he signed this extension, including Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post.

The deal tethers the Phillies to a lumbering first baseman—at a staggering cost of $25 million annually (or a little less than one-fifth of its current payroll)—through his mid-30s, when players almost inevitably suffer significant declines in production. Such deals are how perennial champions turn themselves into bloated underachievers.

Sheinin is absolutely correct, and this injury makes the deal look even worse. Howard’s contract won’t end until he is 36 years old, and he is going to make $25 million sitting on the bench next year if this injury is as serious as initially believed.

Howard only hit .253 this year and has only hit better than .300 once in his career. He still had 33 home runs this year, and drove in 116 runs, but the simple fact of the matter is that Howard is not worth $125 million. He is without a doubt a great player, but this injury just reinforces that he is not worth the money.

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NLDS Schedule 2011: Why Philadelphia Phillies Should Fear St. Louis Cardinals

We all know the Philadelphia Phillies are the favorite to reach the World Series out of the National League, but they better be on their toes in the National League Divisional Series.

The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the hottest teams in Major League Baseball right now, and will certainly put their best foot forward against the Phillies in this five-game series.

The Phillies knew they would be in this position after acquiring Cliff Lee last offseason, but they can’t get too comfortable. Sure, they boast Lee, Roy Oswalt, Roy Halladay, and Cole Hamels. Of course it is the best rotation in baseball, of course they have a terrific lineup, so why should they worry?

Well, the Cardinals aren’t exactly putting scrubs on the field. Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, and Lance Berkman all give the Cardinals plenty of pop in the middle of the lineup. Holliday might miss some time due to a finger issue, but the Cardinals will be fine with Allen Craig in that spot, who hit .315 on the season.

The Cardinals appear to be making one extremely smart move by throwing Chris Carpenter in Game 2. LaRussa is going to be hoping that Carpenter can steal a victory in Game 2, and head back to St. Louis with a chance to close out the series at home.

The first game of the series really isn’t essential, and the team just needs to steal one of three games in Philadelphia, so bringing in a fresh Carpenter for the second game makes sense. If they save him until the third game it could be too late, and wouldn’t give the team an option of pitching him on short rest for the fifth and final game.

The rest of the pitching staff has been effective as well for St. Louis, so if the Phillies think they just have to show up and their pitchers are going to win the series for them, they are mistaken.

The Phillies better be on their toes, and they better show up to play, or they could find themselves in trouble against the Cardinals.

Full NLDS Schedule:

Sat, Oct 1	at Philadelphia	5:07 PM
Sun, Oct 2	at Philadelphia	8:07 PM
Tue, Oct 4	at St. Louis	TBA
Wed, Oct 5	at St. Louis	TBA
Fri, Oct 7	at Philadelphia	TBA

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