Ryan Howard

[SendHelp]

my guess he'll be out the entire weekend series

[Justblaze]

I'm down with Howard leading off, Utley following him and then Rollins and Burrell

Charlie should experiment with everything. Maybe Gordon as a starter too.

[whoson1st0]

Why are teams so afraid of their players getting MRIs? So many times you hear "so and so showed no structural damage and will not need an MRI" or whatever. A week later they are still not healthy, they go for an MRI and are lost for a month or more.

On the bright side, I can't imagine Howard's injury could cause him to strike out any MORE.

[Oriole Way]

Any word on whether Howard will be back for tomorrow (Saturday) night's game against Cincy?

[The Big Train]

CINCINNATI - Ryan Howard walked with less of a limp yesterday at Great American Ball Park. Consider that progress.

"I'm feeling better," he said. "It feels looser."

Howard suffered a left leg sprain in Wednesday's loss to Washington. He did not play Thursday against the Nationals, but manager Charlie Manuel said the first baseman was available to pinch-hit last night against the Cincinnati Reds. There is a chance Howard could return to the starting lineup tonight.

"Hopefully," Howard said. "That's the goal. The next thing is to see how I run and take ground balls."

Howard, who took batting and fielding practice, has proven he doesn't need to be 100 percent to hit here. Last May, he spent a night in the hospital because of food poisoning. The next day he hit a pinch-hit, game-tying home run in the eighth inning and a game-winning homer in the 12th inning of a 2-1 victory.

"If we get in a spot and he feels he can get down to first base, I wouldn't be afraid to use him," Manuel said.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/sports/2 ... rning.html

EDIT: Just speculation on my part, but I should mention that the Phillies are facing left-hander Eric Milton on Saturday. He's as useless as the come and Howard is 3/6 with 1 HR against him lifetime, but he's still a lefty which might give the Phillies a reason to give him another day off.

[SirGrotius]

Any word on whether Howard will be back for tomorrow (Saturday) night's game against Cincy?

Local papers are saying he'll play tonight

[jdsun1]

Any word on whether Howard will be back for tomorrow (Saturday) night's game against Cincy?

Local papers are saying he'll play tonight

great news.

[The Big Train]

According to Yahoo, Howard is not in today's starting lineup. The Phillies have also apparently made changes to thier starting lineup:

"... with slugging first baseman Ryan Howard still sidelined by a sprained ligament in his left leg, the Phillies have altered their lineup. Here are the changes:

* Jimmy Rollins (.299) has moved from the leadoff spot to the No. 3 spot.

* Shane Victorino (.273) has moved from the No. 2 spot into the leadoff spot.

* Aaron Rowand (team-leading .352) has moved into the No. 2 spot.

* Slumping Chase Utley (.213) has moved from the No. 3 spot into the cleanup spot, and Pat Burrell (.333) has returned to the No. 5 hole.

The Phillies are batting .252 as a team but only .190 with runners in scoring position. Over the past four games, they're 5-for-45 with runners on second and third base."

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs ... 21005/1002

[Y`s Guy]

Damn you Sir Grotius!!

I bit hard on your piece of "news."

[Oriole Way]

So does anyone know when he's expected to be back in the starting lineup??