The Zo Zone

I see a possible big year from a HEALTHY JW. I like the way he plays the game and is a good piece to the puzzle!

What are the Phillies waiting for with Ryan Howard. Give him thecontract that he deserves. If not we will lse him in the future

Arnold--

Be patient-it's January.

The Phillies have all the leverage with Howard. He can't be a free agent until, what, 2011? By then he'll be 32. Anything they give him over arbitration right now is charity and a good will gesture.

Just consider me cautious when it comes to handing him a huge contract, with his body type and defensive shortcomings.

If Werth can perform like he did last season, this deal will be a deal.

jason werth is a beast!

jason is a beast!

Werth will be healthier than last year and will have a better season. He has the tools, now he needs the stamina for high performance all year long.

Love the outfield! The only one guaranteed to be an everyday player in '08 is Victorino. Charlie has Burrell and Jenkins but if they aren't getting the job done Werth and Taguchi are there who will be hot on their heels for every at-bat they can get. More importantly there's flexibility going in to the next off-season if things don't go as expected this year.

With Howard he's a Philly and he's not going anywhere and won't be thinking about going anywhere for a few years. The organisation will do whats best and no he's getting to the age that arbitrations going to be expensive they might go beyond what they want to pay to keep the clubhouse free of off-the field issues.

Remember we got burned by having Burrell locked into a long-term deal when trying to trade him and the same with Abreu who was just as much as a fan favourite.

This one will play out just fine

Regarding Howard:

They're probably waiting for Burrell's terrible contract to go off the books after 2008. I think you'll see them sit down with Howard and at least broach the subject of an extension after that.

It doesn't hurt to wait one more season to see which is the real Howard... a .270 hitter or a .313 hitter. That's a significant variance in batting average that would greatly affect his final contract numbers.

Not to mention that Howard only has something like 2.8 years of major league service. That means he's not eligible for free agency until after 2011. (Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.) So there's no need to rush.

There is absolutely no rush to sign Howard to a long term deal until he makes a commitment to the Philadelphia Phillies team not just to himself. Never have I seen a player so loved who is so engrossed in his own stats over the results of the team.

Countless numbers of time this season he comes up to the plate with the Phillies down 2 runs and proceeds to take three wild hacks and produce an out. Hey Ryan you see that giant gap down the third base line because the other team is shifting you? How about you lay a bunt down the third base line or shorten up that swing for this at bat and get an oppisite field base hit (ala David Ortiz). Not only would this benefit the team but it would force teams to stop over-shifting him which would help his own stats because the holes on the pull side of the field would re-open.

As soon as Howard makes a commitment to the Phillies the Phillies should make a commitment to him.

Hey Pinto, thats a good call on howard. I was thinking the same thing last summer - i love the guy, but i wish he would just go for the hit sometimes instead of trying to crank every single ball.

I disagree Pinto. Howard just needs to concentrate some more and cut down on the K's He does hit to the opposite field enough,and if he tries the stuff your saying, that might just set him back some in terms of him getting a good stroke down and in a groove. And he just doesn't get paid to bunt, and I think many people would agree!

No, he doesn't get paid to bunt, but the bunt makes the other team do what it doesn't want to do. Isn't that why they announce a pinch hitter than call him back after forcing a pitching change. You don't bunt him a lot, but you put the idea in their heads and the holes will open.

Pinto: I'm with Clinton on this...have you ever tried to place a ball down the 3rd base line? Go to yur local batting cage and try it, it ain't that easy. And no way do I take the bat out of his hand to lay down a bunt. I agree he need to cut down on his swing, especially when he is struggling. Think back to Schmidt, I don't remember him bunting and he rarely went opposite field (cause he couldn't).

Remember that when Howard is in his healthy groove, he hits many of his homer runs to deep left center.
An occasional bunt down the third base line would keep the defense honest but to lay it down, he needs a pitch either down the middle or to the outside of the plate. Those are the pitches he salivates on and hits 450 feet.

"No, he doesn't get paid to bunt, but the bunt makes the other team do what it doesn't want to do."

...umm, wouldn't Howard be doing what the other team wanted him/the Phillies to do by laying a bunt down?

I think people are overthinking it a little...does he need to cut down on his strike outs? Sure. Does he need to occasionally lay a bunt down b/c the other team is shifting him? Absolutely not.

...and to say Howard is more interested in his stats then helping the team win is asinine. If he was that interested in his own stats, he wouldn't have played hurt for about a month in the beginning of the season when he was hitting about .220. This guy is one of the premier HR hitters in baseball and some of the fans in the city can't appreciate it. It's unbelieveable.