Ryan Howard

SAN FRANCISCO - Chase Utley found serenity here, at a baseball diamond named for a coach who accepted a $1 salary for 16 years to save his college's team from abolishment. Dante Benedetti Diamond is squeezed into the corner of a sleepy neighborhood at the edge of the University of San Francisco's campus. Large black netting prevents home run balls from littering Golden Gate Avenue. Two freshman dorms overlook the field from behind home plate. An undergraduate student stuck a cardboard cutout of Mitt Romney in the window, so the smiling politician is always watching baseball.

It was 4:47 p.m. Sunday when a beaming Charlie Manuel sauntered into his team's clubhouse. He found Freddy Galvis, shook the diminutive hero's hand, and disappeared to pack for an eight-game road trip. As Galvis described his elation upon hitting an unbelievable home run that sealed a 3-2 Phillies victory to a throng of reporters, Kevin Frandsen jumped up and down to make Galvis laugh. A few lockers away, Carlos Ruiz struggled to pull green shorts over his wrapped right leg. Across the room, Ryan Howard dismissed the notion that a left knee injury that apparently has afflicted him since spring training was serious.

A CROSSROADS is no place to get sentimental, and the Phillies have the mother of all of them looming on the horizon. Forget about whether they can claw their way back into contention. What happens on the field over the next couple of months will have little impact on the dire situation that will greet them come November, when they will no longer have three of their most productive hitters in the order under contract. Second base, third base and catcher: Good luck filling them.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Ryan Howard got married in 2012. As for the rest of the year, there wasn't much worth remembering. After undergoing surgery to repair a ruptured left Achilles' on Oct. 12, 2011, Howard didn't get into a major league game until the year was half over, on July 6, when the Phillies were in last place and 13 games out of first. He played in 71 games in 2012; in his six previous major league seasons as an everyday player, Howard never played in fewer than 143 games.

The darkness helped Ryan Howard see the light. Down and out, unable to do any sort of physical activity because he was in a protective boot after surgery to repair a torn left Achilles tendon last offseason, the Phillies first baseman decided to take inventory. "I decided I would take it and turn it into a positive," Howard said near the end of spring training. "Normally I'd be working out, and it sucked that I couldn't. But it made me relax, stop, and regain that appreciation for the game of baseball and everything that goes into it. " Even the grind of spring training, when most days begin early and end late, became cherished events for Howard.

MOB TURNCOAT Ralph Natale , recently released from federal prison, is working on a memoir. We hear that Natale, who is still under federal witness protection and lives within two hours of Philadelphia, has been looking for a writer to help him with the book. He's approached retired Daily News mob writer Kitty Caparella , and South Philly author and historian Celeste Morello . Caparella says she has seen Natale's manuscript. "It's a great project. It's his take on the Philadelphia mob from the very beginning.

The Phillies insisted before the game that revenge wasn't the motive, only the chance to get closer to .500. Afterward, Kevin Frandsen admitted that consecutive routs in Cleveland two weeks ago served as a motivating force. After being outscored by 20-2 by the Indians in two games, the Phillies earned revenge on Tuesday night with a 6-2 win at Citizens Bank Park. "They kicked our butt [in Cleveland] and I hope the guys would realize that and I feel like we did," said Frandsen, who got the Phillies going with a solo home run in the first inning.

Cliff Lee pitched and hit well enough to earn a win. He had to settle for being picked up by his teammates. Eighth-inning RBIs by Domonic Brown and Carlos Ruiz broke the tie and led the Phillies to a 5-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday at Citizens Bank Park. "A comeback win like this means a lot and shows the character of this team," Brown said. With the score tied at 3-3, Michael Young drew a one-out walk in the Phillies eighth. Ryan Howard, of all players, then reached base on a check-swinging bunt that reliever Sean Marshall couldn't handle.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The last month was uncomfortable, the last day infuriating. After a dozen years as a coach in the Phillies organization, Greg Gross said he knew his job security was in question when he read an early September comment in The Inquirer from manager Charlie Manuel that insinuated it would not be a bad idea to make some changes in the coaching staff. "We knew then that people were gone," Gross said last week by telephone from Scottsdale, Ariz. "We didn't know who or how many, but you knew some guys were not going to be back.

What? Ryan Howard, Mr. Phillies, finished fourth in a year when the Phillies won the World Series? Well, yes. So much is made of what Howard does too much of that sometimes what he does do seems underappreciated. It is appreciated exactly the right amount. In a two-horse race, Howard finished second in NL MVP voting, well behind Albert Pujols, mainly because Howard, the 2006 MVP, struck out 199 times and hit .251, lower than any MVP winner. Howard, in his third full season, led the NL in home runs and RBI, but with all the whiffs and the laughable .215 average through June, finishing second was justice served.

MIAMI - The Phillies know they will be without their starting catcher for approximately a month. They are less certain about their slugging cleanup hitter. Both Carlos Ruiz and Ryan Howard underwent MRI examinations Monday in Philadelphia, and the news was not welcoming for the Phillies. Ruiz will miss three to four weeks with a right hamstring strain. Howard received a cortisone injection Sunday for inflammation in his left knee. His examination was troubling. For now, the team is labeling him "day-to-day.

MIAMI - After missing most of the first month of the season while serving a suspension, Carlos Ruiz might miss another month because of an injury. The All-Star catcher had an MRI exam yesterday that revealed a Grade 2 right hamstring strain. Ruiz, who will be placed on the disabled list before tonight's game in Miami, is expected to miss 3 to 4 weeks. Ruiz left Sunday's game against the Reds after he was hurt running the bases in the second inning. First baseman Ryan Howard also had an MRI yesterday in Philadelphia.

MIAMI - Ryan Howard is not a fatalist except when it comes to matters of health, those of which are generally beyond the $125 million first baseman's control. He will take his chances. A cortisone shot reduced the pain from inflammation in his left knee. A doctor examined it and proclaimed him fit for action. So manager Charlie Manuel inserted Howard into his customary cleanup spot Tuesday after a two-game absence. In the short term, the injection did its job, as Howard delivered three hits and three RBIs in a 7-3 victory.

CONFESSION IS good for the soul, we are told. Besides, there is no realistic alternative, seeing as how the words written in 2010 will live forever in cyberspace. Every time I write about Ryan Howard, there probably should be this acknowledgment, right up front. So: "The debate will begin in baseball circles if it hasn't begun already: does it make sense to commit at least $125 million to Howard in the years 2012-16? Does it make sense to commit that kind of coin to a 30-year-old power hitter, who will be 36 when the guaranteed part of the deal is over?

MIAMI - Among the items littered on the desk in the visiting manager's office at Marlins Park: three packages of Tylenol and a can of Sierra Mist. The cold beverage was open, a refreshing treat for a pleasant night at the ballpark. The pain medication, however, was unopened. Apparently it wasn't a necessity for Charlie Manuel following a rarity of a game for his team in 2013: a stress-free victory. The manager and a legion of heartburn-heavy Phillies' fans got a rare treat last night, when Ryan Howard returned to the lineup and led his team to a 7-3 win over Miami.

MIAMI - The Phillies played the first 76 games of the 2012 season without the services of both Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. And everyone knows how that turned out: The team missed the postseason for the first time in 6 years. It took 7 weeks into the 2013 season, but the grim thought of the team again trying to play without its two longtime, middle-of-the-order cogs returned this week in Miami. While Howard returned to the lineup after missing two games with a left knee injury, Utley was a late scratch from yesterday's lineup after experiencing pain in his right side during pregame batting practice.

MIAMI - When Charlie Manuel entered the dugout at Marlins Park a few hours before a 7-3 Phillies win Tuesday, the 69-year-old manager was unnoticed. He yelled in a high-pitched voice to call attention. "Ta-da!" After 7:11 p.m., when the first pitch was thrown, it was as if Manuel snapped his fingers and everything went right for the Phillies. They scored seven runs, their most in a game in 19 days. Their 15 hits tied a season high. They pitched with efficiency, led by Tyler Cloyd.

Today on PhillyDailyNews.com: Check out David Maialetti's photo slideshow from yesterday's come-from-behind win. THE MADNESS unfolded as Jonathan Pettibone sat in a chair in the Phillies' clubhouse, his right arm wrapped in ice after another impressive outing. The rookie who pitched the first seven innings against the Reds had just watched Freddy Galvis foul off a 1-0 pitch in the ninth when he felt the crowd roar. "There was a delay" on the television in the clubhouse, Pettibone said, "so you could hear the screaming.

It was 4:47 p.m. Sunday when a beaming Charlie Manuel sauntered into his team's clubhouse. He found Freddy Galvis, shook the diminutive hero's hand, and disappeared to pack for an eight-game road trip. As Galvis described his elation upon hitting an unbelievable home run that sealed a 3-2 Phillies victory to a throng of reporters, Kevin Frandsen jumped up and down to make Galvis laugh. A few lockers away, Carlos Ruiz struggled to pull green shorts over his wrapped right leg. Across the room, Ryan Howard dismissed the notion that a left knee injury that apparently has afflicted him since spring training was serious.

IN ADDITION TO righting their ship, the Phillies also must avoid taking on more water, a task that became more challenging yesterday when a couple of their stars were sidelined with injuries. Carlos Ruiz and Ryan Howard will both undergo MRIs today as the Phillies prepare to start a three-game series against the Marlins in Miami. At least for the moment, Ruiz' injury appears to be more significant. The catcher suffered a right hamstring strain while moving from first to third on a single in the second inning.