MLB | Howard’s departure no longer delayed … it’s cancelled

Jack Kerwin  |  [email protected]

Hilarious. Absolutely, positively, friggin’ hilarious.

If you wanted to come up with a more apropos, more stick-it-to-’em “so now what are you gonna do” stage setting Ryan Howard has presented the Phillies with Tuesday night’s home run, well, good luck.

On the down side of his career since 2010, in steep decline since 2012 and completely submerged this season, Howard and his bloated contract have been an albatross to the organization for quite some time – whether anyone cared to notice or chose to turn a blind’s eye to seemingly infinite weeks on end of whiffs and focus instead on solo shots that ultimately, mercifully would interrupt the ever-expanding stretches of ineptitude.

But him hanging in there, always hoping to turn things around, hey, understandable. Same thing with fans, always hoping for him to turn things around.

So, got some sympathy there.

For those running the club and affording Howard opportunity ad infinitum to turn things around? Sorry, no way.
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There is no excuse for a professional outfit’s managerial and executive brain trust to act like tweens at a kiddie-corps pop music concert, making decisions with stars in their eyes and manipulation at their core.

Just isn’t.

Yet the Phillies did it anyway. Repeatedly. For years.

Howard hasn’t deserved “another chance” for the last 2-3 seasons. What he has deserved is a benching, a new residence or an outright release. The Phillies have known that. But they’ve been afraid to do anything for fear.

Fear of change. Fear of upsetting fans. Fear of upsetting Howard. Fear of losing a single ticket sale … because, you know, people come to see Howard hit homers.

They’d be more “successful” in coming to see him strike out.

Yo, he K’s every 3.3 at-bats and goes deep every 24.1 ever since returning from Achilles tendon surgery. Nothing to debate.

But a proud man, and his loyal supporters, you can’t legitimately expect either to pull the plug on Howard’s career with the Phillies.

The team, though, is a different story.

Only its “leaders” played to their own emotions and preyed on others, which has led to one mind-numbing, three-way marital purgatory between player, his fans and their club.

Now this … the home run Tuesday night that will keep it going that much longer.

Yo, Phillies, you did it to yourselves – and everyone else in the process – by ignoring the expiration date on a “property” that no longer has any value.

Nice job.

Any anguish or bitterness or frustration that now follows with Howard firmly entrenched for the 2016 duration, hey, it’s on you.

Hilarious … in a morbid, sad, ironic sort of way.

Look at the bright side, though. Not only did we get to see the rise of one of our brightest sports stars to his zenith, but we’ll get to see him crash to his ocean floor.
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A classic Philly fall from grace – replete with mass confusion on the emotional and “what to do” fronts.
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On the down side of his career since 2010, in steep decline since 2012 and completely submerged this season, Howard and his bloated contract have been an albatross to the organization for quite some time – whether anyone cared to notice or chose to turn a blind’s eye to seemingly infinite weeks on end of whiffs and focus instead on solo shots that ultimately, mercifully would interrupt the ever-expanding stretches of ineptitude. But him hanging in there, always hoping to turn things around, hey, understandable. Same thing with fans, always hoping for him to turn things around. So, got some sympathy there. For those running the club and affording Howard opportunity ad infinitum to turn things around? Sorry, no way.