Ryan Howard Injury: Slugger’s Achilles Injury Will Not Cost 2012 Phillies

The final play of the Philadelphia Phillies 2011 season was tumultuous.

First of all, a ground out by Ryan Howard officially gave the St. Louis Cardinals a 1-0 win in a pitcher’s duel for a spot in the National League Championship Series (NLCS). Then, as Howard dug in to try and dart toward first base, he collapsed to the ground.

Howard was quoted on ESPN describing the injury.

“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.”

Howard also passed along the fact that doctors believe he has a torn Achilles tendon. Howard is getting an MRI today, and the results will show the true severity of the injury.

Basically, it doesn’t look good for the Phillies slugger.

Instead of speculating on how long Howard could miss, I’m just going to cut to the chase. The question on everyone’s mind is how good the Phillies would be without their star first baseman.

The answer is they’d be just fine.

Obviously, Philadelphia would miss his 33 home runs and 116 RBI. What they won’t miss is his 172 strikeouts, which was good for fifth-worst in the MLB. The Phillies have multiple players that can pick up the slack in the hitting department for Howard.

Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino—need I say any more?

In terms of fielding, Howard has definitely shown improvement, but he’s not someone whose loss will collapse your defense. The identity of the Phillies is pitching, and they should be able to return their incredible rotation for next season.

The rotation includes Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels, and is one of the best in recent memory. If the Phillies can manage to keep their pitchers in Phillies uniforms, they’ll be able to overcome many struggles at the plate.

Rollins is a free agent, but it’s going to be hard for him to leave such a promising team like the Phillies. The Phillies have a club option on Brad Lidge, but it’s highly unlikely to be exercised.  

The Phillies have the best team in baseball, and one injury can’t curb their chances for a World Series in 2012.

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Cardinals vs Phillies Video: Watch Squirrel Drive Roy Oswalt Nuts in Game 4

Philadelphia Phillies versus St. Louis Cardinals: The Return of the Squirrel.

If they were making a movie about this incident, that would be the title. Luckily for us, they’re not.

For the second straight game in the Phillies-Cardinals series, a squirrel made a cameo in Busch Stadium. This time, the squirrel ran right across the batter’s box just moments after Phillies pitcher Roy Oswalt had delivered a pitch.

Oswalt tried to argue the call, but to no avail. His arguing the call just goes to show you that almost any professional athlete would love to pull a fast one on an official of their sport. Nonetheless, Phillies skipper Charlie Manuel was out there a few seconds later arguing for his pitcher.

If this squirrel had decided to grace Fenway Park or Wrigley Field with its presence, the squirrel would have had an automatic impact on the game. Fate would be blamed. Even if the rodent had no affect on the game, the squirrel would be barred from the stadium, never to enjoy another Cracker Jack.

Regardless of the impact it had on the game, which should have been none, it was a candid moment to break up the seriousness of the game. The little critter would continue on into the crowd, causing some fans to act as if a bear was about to attack.

Watch as some fans pop out of their seats as if the squirrel is going to jump in their laps and eat their overpriced game-day snack. A win for the coverage team is the fact that the cameraman never took a spill on either occasion while tracking the squirrel.

The same can’t be said for the cameraman following Adrian Beltre to home plate, whose tumble was well broadcasted on sports shows and the Internet.

Because the squirrel ran between the mound and home plate, commentators brought up the infamous dove that Randy Johnson exploded with a fastball way back in the 1990s. One commentator even said the bird left more peacefully.

Wow.

The squirrel drama was eventually quelled and the game continued on.

Makes you miss the squirrel a little, doesn’t it?

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