The Official Ryan Howard Bandwagon Thread

[Mr Irrelevant]

Your right. Im changing it to 180K's. Thome had 183Ks in 578 ABs back in 03 and this guy is just as bad.

[hybrid]

If he gets 500 ABs, I say 130 Ks.

He'll get 130K in less ABs than that I would think.

Deiantly would K that many times in less AB's

In 485 AB's between AA & AAA last year, he K'd 168 times. This year he K'd 29 times in 79 AB's, pretty awful.

He reminds me of McPherson a lot, and I'd venture to say he would do the same as him. A pretty low AVG. with some power.

[thehat]

Howard looked just fine in his initial trial last year. He'll likely sit vs. lefties, by the way.

Good pickup as long as you're not dropping anyone who can play, as there's clearly no guarantee he stays and plays even if productive.

[Dawgpound 1613]

As he's unable to play the OF, and when Thome returns, I read a rumor somewhere that he might be packaged with Polanco for a stud - but for some reason they'd have to wait until 6/15 (something to do with Polanco's contract?). Not sure.

Anyway, if I had a place to play him, I would have picked him up, not that I had the chance as I was beat to the punch. I would expect about a .250 average and 1 HR/15 AB or so while he plays.

[d18Mike]

So what folks are saying here that he is Dallas McPherson on the opposite side the diamond?

I'd like to pick him up (and dump McPherson) but I'm curious as to why folks think he is going to get a full season of play. Isn't his call up just a stop gap until Thome get back in the lineup?

[stumpak]

He will get some decent PT, I think he is only up to showcase him for a trade. Otherwise, the smart thing to do would be to slide Utley to 1B and play Polanco full-time at 2B. I would be much more comforable with this then rolling the dice with some guy who may be a human fan until he gets adjusted. Actually, the really smart thing to do would be to put Bell on the pine since Howard could hardly hit worse than him.

The fact that Lofton is on the DL opens up OF PT for Polanco there as well.

My bet is that all this stuff will be day to day to neither Polanco, Utley, Michaels of Howard stand a prayer of seeing 100% PT, althoug all should be featured prominently.

[swyck]

One reason that he may stay up is that the Phils are really high on him. He just doesnt have a spot to play with Thome at 1b and apparently can't play anywhere else.

We already moved Burrell to LF to make a spot for Thome. Shame either of them can't play 3B. Guess they can't make the throw cause otherwise it's the same distance to home.

As a Phils fan I hope THome comes back quick and is healthy, but I am curious to see what Howard does. I picked him up on one team to replace Thome (dl), and on another deep league.

[Yoda]

One reason that he may stay up is that the Phils are really high on him. He just doesnt have a spot to play with Thome at 1b and apparently can't play anywhere else.

We already moved Burrell to LF to make a spot for Thome. Shame either of them can't play 3B. Guess they can't make the throw cause otherwise it's the same distance to home.

As a Phils fan I hope THome comes back quick and is healthy, but I am curious to see what Howard does. I picked him up on one team to replace Thome (dl), and on another deep league.

Back injuries are scary to begin with... Thome has a violent swing that requires tremendous amount of torque. The fact that he hasn't improved since he hurt it in ST has to be of concern. Also the fact that he has been struggling due to this injury is also a huge concern.

In any case, maybe resting it for two weeks will cure his back but there is a chance that he may be hampered by this all season. I think that if Howard is going to be a star, he will come up and produce right away. I can't wait to see what happens.

[BigBobE]

I'm hoping that Howard perfoms well.

I've offered a trade to the Thome owner in our league. Offered him Hillenbrand for the DL'ed Thome. I picked up Howard to fill in until Jimbo comes off the DL.

Could work...

[skibum]

I've got Thome, so i am very interested in picking up Howard, who is still available in my league. I would be interested in people's thoughts -- to start Howard, I would have to bench either Bagwell at 1B, my current 1B/3B, which is Castilla, or my U, which is either Craig Monroe or Shannon Stewart, depending on the match-ups for the week.

I am one of the few Castilla believers around these parts, and am very confident he will produce strong numbers.

Would you start Howard over Bagwell, Castilla, or Monroe/Stewart?

16 team H2H keeper league.