Brendan Ryan and The Howard

The Howard- the feat accomplished by a player who hits a homerun, commits an error, and strikes out all within the same game.

Seattle Mariners shortstop Brendan Ryan is one of the finest defensive players in the game.  He's a regular on Web Gems and has one of the highest Defensive Wins Above Replacement (aka- DWAR) over the past four seasons (12.4 DWAR).  His bat on the other is atrocious.  He's currently batting .193/.553 and is only a career .244/.633 hitter.  However, when he has connected for the long ball this season, he's regularly turned it into The Howard, which is ironic considering his superior fielding. 

Yesterday Ryan hit only his 3rd homerun of the season and committed only his 9th error, yet it was his 2nd Howard.  That's noteworthy.

Phillies Stuff:
*How much does Halladay's 4.40 ERA and 2012 performance overall with lengthy DL stint worry you?

*The Phils have to win 5 out of the last 9 games to ensure their 10th consecutive winning season.  The Phillies have not had a losing record since moving into Citizens Bank Park.

*14 homeruns and 55 RBI in 67 games is pretty good.  However, when you're paid like one of the best players in baseball, your defense is horrible, base running is even worse, your OBP is below .300, you're batting .225, and you have a negative -1.0 WAR, that isn't good at all, that's bad.  That's Ryan Howard.