Comments on: Phillies, Victorino Agree To 1-Year Deal

By: hamels' left hand

hamels' left hand — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 02:25:09 +0000

isn’t it howard’s right to ask for as much as he possibly can?

his run production numbers over his MLB career are practically without parallel.

such vitriol here.

By: JSmith

JSmith — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 06:59:37 +0000

oh yea…..glad to hear about victorino……he deserves every penny.

By: JSmith

JSmith — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 06:57:00 +0000

I still think more quality starting pitchers would be smart. We wouldn’t need so many runs if we held teams to only a few. Only problem with great pitching is that most people are not interested. People would much rather see a guy smack a ball out of the park than see strikeouts. That is why Blanton gets my vote. I think Blanton will finish the season with at least 28 homers. You’ll see. The guys a monster.

By: Phil

Phil — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 04:15:52 +0000

Ryan Howard isn’t even the best position player on the Phil’s, let alone the best in baseball. Utley is better than Howard, and you don’t see him trying to get ridiculous amounts of money. He took a modest contract because he just wants to play the game. Utley is a top 10 position player in the game and isn’t making top 10 money.

By: Whisky Priest

Whisky Priest — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:19:40 +0000

Another thing to keep in mind is that Howard’s presence probably accounts for an extra 100,000 tickets sold per year (if not more), additional nationwide broadcasting, promotional gear purchased, etc., etc. These are all big bucks, and while they don’t contribute anything to the back of a baseball card, they definitely affect Baby Huey’s value to the Phightin’s

By: christopher

christopher — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:04:20 +0000

anyone who boos howard is a buffoon.

By: Georgie

Georgie — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:29:21 +0000

Hey Richie, I can’t believe you would actually boo Ryan Howard next year, they’re the World F*ckin’ Champions for Christ sake, what is wrong with you? No wonder Philly fans get a bad rap, that’s just an ignorant statement you made before.

By: Frank

Frank — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:37:13 +0000

no we couldent have howard light it up in september

By: Manny

Manny — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:50:55 +0000

I agree NJ. We couldn’t have gone to the postseason without Howard… but same goes for Utley, Lidge, Hamels, Moyer… should I keep going?

And Justin…”his parents are keeping him grounded”??? VERY FUNNY.

By: NJ

NJ — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:28:45 +0000

To those who say Howard got us into the post-season we should appreciate his effort but lets not overstate it, he had one good month and change and had he impacted the team more during the season especially in the teams slump, we would have won an equal amount if not more games.

By: Pat Gallen

Pat Gallen — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:26:27 +0000

Thank you Mark Teixeira.

By: Don M

Don M — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:24:47 +0000

The problem here is that Howard is asking for such a high amount, that chances are, he won’t get… and then even while getting paid $14 M this season, he’s pissed off and bitter all year…

I thought the two sides would say $12 M and $15 M and Howard would win the $15 M…..

He’s got balls asking for $18 M.. and thats fine, I guess its good for him if he gets that much, but he’s not A-Rod, or Pujols… and Soriano, Tex, Carlos Lee, Beltran and whoever else aren’t “worth” anything close to the amount they steal in thier paychecks.

By: NJ

NJ — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:24:34 +0000

“Things could be worse, he could have an agent like Scott Boras and be asking for 20-25 mill this season, he’s not and his parents are keeping him grounded.”

Not really… The Boras figure comes next in his free agent years, his daddy is demanding for more than is reasonable for a player in his situation, he might have more power but so does Marcus Thames and Howard’s regressing in many areas of his game including his fundementals at the plate.

By: Don M

Don M — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:20:54 +0000

If it wasn’t for Howard, we don’t make the playoffs last year…. actually the same goes for Jamie Moyer too.

But Howard is what he is… leads the league in HRs & RBIs/ Erros and Ks…. they need to balance out too… In “win shares” he doesn’t rank anywhere near what the $18 M per season player shoud.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/thtstats/main/?view=winshares

By: Justin

Justin — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:20:48 +0000

Everybody honestly complaining about Howard asking for what he’s asking for is as Howard Eskin would say an “idiot”. How many players in MLB baseball are making more money than Howard and do less or slightly more in the power number categories? Not many A-Rod and Pujols may be the only ones with Manny possibly entering the race. Pujols never went to arbitration St. Louis gave him a contract before he reached arbitration. Yea i don’t think you’ll find any person that will say theres a person in the world that deserves 20 mill a season, but when other players are getting it it’s kind of hard not to ask for it. Howard deserves to be in the 14-18 mill range if a player like Teixiera can get it, Tex’s glove may be far superior and so may be his batting average but Howard has the power and the rbis over him. And I gotta agree with Dennis earlier if it wasn’t for Howard we may not have made the playoffs as he single handedly got us there offensively.

Things could be worse, he could have an agent like Scott Boras and be asking for 20-25 mill this season, he’s not and his parents are keeping him grounded.

By: Frank

Frank — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:16:52 +0000

What the hell would the Phillies be without Howard think about it…..damb u guys would be pissed if they got rid of him and our offense would be 20 times worse get over it stop sayin u dont want him here cause if he was gone the team would absolutley suck.!!!!!!!!!!!11

By: Mike B.

Mike B. — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:13:02 +0000

This is so complicated. On one hand, I appreciate what Howard’s done. I really do. But on the other hand, I’m struggling to pay rent while this guy’s asking for an 80% raise over last year, even though his BA dropped 17 points and his OBP plummeted 53 points. See, in my experience, you don’t GET a raise for doing a worse job without being Lehman Bro’s CEO.

Viscerally, I do want to pay him. That part of me is tempted to give him that $8 M because he really did step it up for us in September – which is why I think he’ll win arbitration – but then I take a step back and look at his OBP. I’d pay him if he turned in a respectable .276 BA and a .360 OBP like he did in the second half. I just hope that he doesn’t let these contract things go to his head and feel like he has to hit 80 HR just to prove that he was worth the $18 M he asked for. Because that’s when he pulls the ball too much and gets in trouble.

By: Richie Allen

Richie Allen — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:09:53 +0000

This is why I’m sick of the current system…after a certain point……….
Good players go directly to the Yanks or Red sox who can afford to overpay them.
14 mil for him is plenty..Were talkin 14 MILLION PER YEAR.I’m sure you can live on that,what’s another 4 mill extra ,it probably all goes to taxes anyway.

By: Geoff

Geoff — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:07:48 +0000

I agree Manny…

By: Richie

Richie — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:06:45 +0000

Gabriel, let me ask you a question, by beast you mean over-sized, clueless defensively, free-swinging strikeout specialist right?