Ryan Howard walked gingerly across the Phillies clubhouse, had a short chat with Jimmy Rollins before continuing his tender-footed walk to his car. Howard has bursitis in his Achilles tendon, which is the reason for the Fred Sanford-styled stroll, but when he has to move, he can.
Take, for instance, the way Howard tracked down a drifting foul ball hit by Alex Gonzalez with one out in the fifth inning of Monday nights game against the Braves at the Bank. On that one Howard turned his back to the infield, sprinted to a spot near the front row of seats in short right field and then slid into the clay dirt warning track as if he were sliding into second base.
Instead of a routine slide, Howard kept his head on a swivel, watching for both the foul ball and the first row of seats. Nevertheless, Howard timed his slide perfectly as the ball landed into his first basemans mitt for a sliding, over-the-shoulder basket catch.
The catch drew a standing ovation from the fans in the ballpark and it was all Howard could do to suppress a smile on his way back to his position.
I dont know what happened, Howard said after the game. I just tried to follow it and once it starts coming down it starts going back and forth, so I just tried to put myself in position to make a play. How I held onto it, I dont know. I guess it looked alright.
Certainly Howard has added that Willie Mays style of catch to his repertoire, but the glove work isnt what hes known for this time of the year. When the calendar flips over to September, Howard mashes like no one else.
Bad feet and all.
MLB
Howard belted another home run on Monday night in the 9-0 victory over the Braves for his 31st of the season and his fifth blast in the last nine games. More notably, Howard smashed his second home run since September began and just like clockwork, all of his other slugging and hitting numbers have jumped as soon as the month began.
In five games headed into Tuesdays rainy night at the Bank, Howard is 7 for 16 with seven walks and four RBIs.
Its September and Im trying to finish up strong, Howard said.
Thing is, a strong September has always been the most consistent part of Howards career. As a rookie in 2005, he hit 11 homers in the final month of the season to join Ted Williams, David Justice and Mark McGwire as the only rookies to hit 11 homers in the last month.
Howard also hit 11 homers in September of 2007 and 2008 and has batted .310 during Septembermore than 40 points higher than his next best month.
How good is Howard in September? Check this out:
Sixty-one of Howards 284 career homers have come in the last month of the season. Add in August and the total jumps to 114, or 40 percent of his career homers. Meanwhile, 327 of his 859 career RBIs have come in the last months, too.
That means Howard feasts on pitching late in the season when the games take on added significance. It also means Howard gets stronger as the rest of the league slows down. However, Howard had his 30 homers and 100 RBIs before September began, so hes not exactly piling on the stats at the end of the season. In fact, the Phillies have been in a pennant race in every season Howard has been with the team.
Only two of Howards home runs have come after the division had been decided. Both of them came during the 2009 season.
In other words, when Howard hits them, they count.
For now, Howard will temper his movement. With those barking dogs giving him a tough time, manager Charlie Manuel said he wouldnt be averse to giving his big slugger a day off every now again.
You just have to play through it, Howard said. Its not going anywhere. Well just treat it, stretch it and keep it loose.
Still, when the calendar reads September and Howard is on the field, look out.
E-mail John R. Finger at jfinger@comcastsportsnet.com.