Inside the Phillies: Howard begins Chapter 2 of a book with no sure ending

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Mention Ryan Howard's name in a Philadelphia barroom, then sit back and let the debate begin.

Passionate opinions about the Phillies first baseman will vary from one end of the spectrum - overrated and overpaid - to the other - undervalued and overly criticized.

The fact that Howard is one of the most decorated players in franchise history has not prevented him from also being one of the most polarizing. This is one of the few sports towns in the country where that can happen.

What's fascinating is that neither side is entirely right or wrong.

And now we're about to enter the second chapter of Howard's career. He had surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon in his left foot in October, turned 32 in November, and, at some point this season, he will begin playing in the first year of his five-year, $125 million contract.

Rest assured, there will be plenty more to discuss about Howard by the time he gets to the finish line of this contract.

Look back objectively at the first chapter of Howard's career and it's impossible to conclude that it was anything other than a smashing success. He earned every penny of his $62.255 million and did a victory lap with the second World Series trophy in franchise history, too.

Were there some failures along the way? Sure.

Stuck in some people's memory is Howard's making the final out in the last two postseasons. He struck out to end Game 6 of the 2010 National League Championship Series loss to San Francisco and grounded out to end Game 5 of the 2011 division series against St. Louis. The agony of defeat and injury meshed on that final out against the Cardinals.

"It sucks," Howard said Wednesday when asked about his dubious distinction. "I'm not going to lie. It sucks. And I know how it looks to everybody . . . having the season come down [to one out] and you're that guy."

Failure is the nature of the business. Go back and look at the best players in baseball history and try to find one that did not have a disappointing postseason series. Prince Fielder hit .200 (4 for 20) in the Milwaukee Brewers' six-game NLCS loss to St. Louis last season and has a .192 batting average in three postseason series. That did not stop the Detroit Tigers from giving him a nine-year, $214 million contract.

Reggie Jackson, a.k.a. Mr. October, batted below .200 in six postseasons, and Jim Thome is a career .217 hitter in the postseason.

"I figure I'm about due," Howard said. "I'd love to be in that situation again."