Ryan Howard -- Possible Torn Achilles

[Bodhizefa]

Holy crap, that's a helluva way to go down in flames. I'll never forget Dan Marino's massive limp when he came back from his ruptured Achilles. And even if he doesn't have lasting damage, if it's torn, Howard would face a minimum of six months to recover (and it's generally longer than that).

Awful news for Philly fans if it is torn.

[harmon]

Incredibly weird that it would happen on the last play of the Phillie's season. From that perspective, I guess the timing could not be any better.

[Moonlight J]

And just think, only 5 more guaranteed years on his deal plus a buyout of the 6th!

5 yrs, 115M with the buyout of the final year

Dumb deals are dumb

[Hammer]

And just think, only 5 more guaranteed years on his deal plus a buyout of the 6th!

5 yrs, 115M with the buyout of the final year

Dumb deals are dumb

If thats the case, every long term deal is dumb because of the risk of injury.

[Bodhizefa]

If thats the case, every long term deal is dumb because of the risk of injury.

It was dumb because Howard isn't close to being the best first baseman in baseball like he will be paid. He's something like the 10th-15th best at the position (even when he was signed to the extension), and the deal was for obvious decline years for such a big dude. It doesn't take a genius to recognize it was a silly signing. It's now made even worse by the fact that both Prince Fielder and Pujols will be free agents going into the off-season -- two guys who are better hitters and who would have made Howard very expendable in Philly.

Don't get me wrong. I think Amaro has made smart moves (he's a very deft trader for the most part -- the Cliff Lee to Seattle deal being the exception), but he's also made some really dumb ones. Philadelphia's large payroll also helps him cover up some of his mistakes.

[onejayhawk]

And just think, only 5 more guaranteed years on his deal plus a buyout of the 6th!

5 yrs, 115M with the buyout of the final year

Dumb deals are dumb

The risk of this kind of thing is why the players sign. We know why they get offered.

It was dumb because Howard isn't close to being the best first baseman in baseball like he will be paid. He's something like the 10th-15th best at the position (even when he was signed to the extension), and the deal was for obvious decline years for such a big dude. It doesn't take a genius to recognize it was a silly signing. It's now made even worse by the fact that both Prince Fielder and Pujols will be free agents going into the off-season -- two guys who are better hitters and who would have made Howard very expendable in Philly.

Don't get me wrong. I think Amaro has made smart moves (he's a very deft trader for the most part -- the Cliff Lee to Seattle deal being the exception), but he's also made some really dumb ones. Philadelphia's large payroll also helps him cover up some of his mistakes.

Really? Cabrera, Teixeira, Gonzalez, Votto, Prince and Albert. Who else?

J

[Hammer]

onejayhawks list is about right to me. In a season where Philly's lineup was worse than last year and lengthy injuries to Utley, Rollins and Victorino, Howard still managed to knock in more runs than anyone in baseball. 9 more than Pujols in just 30 more ab's. 41 HRs too. Will the length of thd contract hurt? sure but so will CCs extension adnd a gazillion others around baseball Howard is a premiere run producer and actually might be a better hitter than Tex at this point.

[Long John]

And just think, only 5 more guaranteed years on his deal plus a buyout of the 6th!

5 yrs, 115M with the buyout of the final year

Dumb deals are dumb

I wasn't aware there were any SMART deals in baseball. All these guys are overpaid. How much they are overpaid is perception only.

[DMT]

I wasn't aware there were any SMART deals in baseball. All these guys are overpaid. How much they are overpaid is perception only.

Winner

[Erik]

He's paid more than what he's worth, but a lot of sabermetric types seem to belabor that point too much and sell him short. He is a premiere power hitter, and he carried the Phils offense for the first half of the season. I would only consider swapping him for one of the guys onejay listed.

[revo]

Yup, he ruptured it:

Ryan Howard has indeed been diagnosed with a ruptured Achilles tendon and will undergo offseason surgery.
Howard suffered the injury on the final play of Friday night's crushing NLDS Game 5 loss to the Cardinals. He's likely to miss the entire first half of the 2012 season, and could even be out the entire year. It's a major blow to the Phillies, who owe him $125 million over the next five seasons.
Source: Danny Knobler on Twitter
Oct 8 - 9:19 PM

[Bodhizefa]

The risk of this kind of thing is why the players sign. We know why they get offered.


Really? Cabrera, Teixeira, Gonzalez, Votto, Prince and Albert. Who else?

J

I'd take Hosmer, Konerko, Freddie Freeman, and possibly even Michael Morse over Howard for the next few years, too. Howard's basically a platoon bat at this point, and there's just no way you pay a platoon bat like that uberstar money.

[Judge Jude]

"onejayhawks list is about right to me. In a season where Philly's lineup was worse than last year and lengthy injuries to Utley, Rollins and Victorino, Howard still managed to knock in more runs than anyone in baseball."

these days, when a guy has the most hits, someone asks "in how many ABs?"

but RBI - never a context.
I agree that the RISP and total runners aboard this year may make Howard look good, which is fine.

But RBI without RBI opportunity context seems awfully shallow in 2011.

[OaklandA's]

In a season where Philly's lineup was worse than last year and lengthy injuries to Utley, Rollins and Victorino, Howard still managed to knock in more runs than anyone in baseball.

Except for Kemp, Fielder, Granderson, Cano, and AGonzalez.

The problem with Howard is that he doesn't get on base like the elite 1B (.346 OBP). Pujols, Fielder, and Votto have career OBPs around .400, and that's why they are more valuable than Howard. Sure, Howard racks up good RBI numbers, but the lower half of the offense would be a lot better if Howard had a better OBP. He's also a pretty poor baserunner and defender too. He's a good player, but he shouldn't be paid like one of the best in the league.

[Hammer]

Except for Kemp, Fielder, Granderson, Cano, and AGonzalez.

The problem with Howard is that he doesn't get on base like the elite 1B (.346 OBP). Pujols, Fielder, and Votto have career OBPs around .400, and that's why they are more valuable than Howard. Sure, Howard racks up good RBI numbers, but the lower half of the offense would be a lot better if Howard had a better OBP. He's also a pretty poor baserunner and defender too. He's a good player, but he shouldn't be paid like one of the best in the league.

yup. my bad. I looked at the 3 year avg.

My point still remains. All long term contracts look bad at the end of the deal or if someone gets hurt. Bottom line to me is the guy drives in runs at a stud rate and is getting paid for it. I am sure the Phillies had no illusions what they were getting. The injury is a shame but to say the contract is dumb because he ruptured his achilles (as J did) is short sighted.