No Howard forces Phils
to step to plate

In the Batter’s Box
By Matt Godfrey

So I was in Citizens Bank Park on Saturday night when the Phillies took on the Toronto Blue Jays in the second game of a three-game weekend series.
It was the first game I’d seen in person in more than three weeks. With the team’s road trip and all, I hadn’t been able to make it down.
It also was the first inter-league series of the season for your hometown squad.
Consequently, it also was the first game that the guys decided to get blown out of this month (the Phils lost, 13-2, if you weren’t paying attention).
All right, all right . . . I know they didn’t decide to get blown out. It was more like the Blue Jays decided not to be as bad as the Yankees for one night.
It was a tough game to lose, because both Atlanta and New York, the two teams ahead of them in the National League East standings, won their games, so the Phils lost some ground.
But the strangest part of the loss wasn’t Matt Stairs’ grand slam in the eighth inning or the fact that the Phillies marched out Yoel Hernandez, Francisco Rosario and Clay Condrey in that order to follow Jamie Moyer after his first bad start of the season.
The strangest part happened as I walked to my car after the game. I could hear the guys behind me talking.
"This is one of those games you just forget about. Come out tomorrow, score some runs early, and get back on track," one fellow said.
This probably should have gone under the radar, especially because it wasn’t even said to me, but it stuck out. Especially after hearing on the ride to the game that calls to the radio station actually were dropping since the Phillies started to play better baseball in recent weeks.
What that says is people would rather complain when teams are doing bad than offer praise when they’re doing well.
But that’s nothing new around here.
So after hearing that comment in the parking lot, I felt like there finally was some sense among some Phillies fans now.
Of course, I’m sure for each guy who’d said what I heard, there were a hundred guys walking out of the stadium and cursing such a lopsided defeat, but a turnaround is taking place on the field.
And many things are contributing to it.
Pat Burrell’s home-run rampage over the past eight or 10 days is helping.
The consistently steady performance of the starting pitchers over the last 12 or 14 games is certainly a huge factor.
And I’m starting to think there is one other very significant reason — Ryan Howard hasn’t been there to save the day.
Now, I honestly don’t think that anyone on the team was sitting back and waiting for a Howard miracle. I don’t want it to sound like I think these guys are a bunch of dead weight that Charlie Manuel must drag around.
I do think that having someone like Howard on the roster — even if he was still trying to regain his killer swing — takes some of the necessary pressure off others to perform, knowingly or unknowingly.
I think Howard’s slow start this year also has the fans in a lousy mindset. News of his nagging injuries and erratic production can weigh on the collective psyche of fans in this city, especially if they’re awaking in a sweat and wondering if Howard could be a flash in the pan.
The anxiety is misplaced. What’s good about all this is that because Howard has been recuperating and isn’t available to hit four or five times a game, every game, his teammates are seizing their opportunities.
Like Greg Dobbs, who has been getting more playing time and some key hits.
Or Abraham Nunez, now that Wes Helms is spending some time at first base.
Dobbs has 19 hits, including five doubles and two home runs, on the season. Much of that has come since Howard was moved to the disabled list.
The slugger is scheduled to make some rehab starts this week and possibly could return on Friday in Atlanta.
Let’s just hope that when Howard does make it back, hopefully soon and as his old self, the others keep playing with that sense of urgency.
It’s finally starting to make this team fun to watch. ••
Matt Godfrey can b e reached at 215-354-3113 or mgodfrey@phillynews.com