WASHINGTON - Ryan Howard wants to get paid.
He deserves it. The Phillies cannot overpay their 28-year-old slugger.
Not with the all the fannies he puts in the seats: fannies who pay to park their cars, then drink beer, eat Bull's BBQ and buy "Ryan Howard" jerseys for themselves, "Chase Utley" jerseys for their daughters.
If Howard wants to cash like A-Rod, Manny and Jeter, then he'd better start producing like them. He needs to start winning games, sometimes by himself.
You know. Like he did last night.
His RBI double to left-center off lefty Matt Chico in the first inning gave the Phillies the lead - a weak poke that flew 300 feet and three-hopped to the wall.
His solo homer in the fifth - a borderline low, flat, 0-2 slider from Chico - made it 4-0 and landed in the second deck.
His two-run shot in the sixth, a first-pitch, low, outside, 90-mph fastball off Jesus Colome, punctuated an eight-run frame and might have chipped one of the new seats in right-centerfield at Nationals Park.
"I was trying to hit 'em where they were pitched," Howard said. "Each at-bat, I was trying to get down, trying to hit it to leftfield."
On all three, he waited; on all three, he extended his mighty arms and snapped his thick wrists and watched 'em sail.
Finally.
The Phillies entered last night having lost seven of 13. They had scored nine runs in their last four games, one of which they won. With New York and Florida treading water, it was a fine time for the Phillies to stretch themselves back ahead of the Marlins.
The Phillies haven't made more hay, in part, because No. 3 hitter Utley and No. 5 hitter Pat Burrell – who carried the team through the season's first 5 weeks – have become human, and feared. With Howard fishing, they aren't seeing fastballs to crush.
Their strikeouts framed Howard's homer in the fifth.
But the Phillies haven't made more hay, mainly, because the guy hitting in between Utley and Burrell - Subway Jared's buddy, the face of "MLB 08 The Show" - was mired below .200.
Why pitch to Burrell and Utley when you can face a guy who has a harder time connecting than Hillary Clinton?
And, witness last night, that's all Howard needs to do: Make contact. Shoot it to the opposite field, or square it up to center, or get around on it, the ball just jumps: flick, smack, bam . . . fifth double, 11th homer, 12th homer.
