Ryan Howard

CLEARWATER, Fla. - From the moment he crumbled to the ground in South Philadelphia 16 months ago, Ryan Howard has longed for comfort on a baseball diamond. The $125 million slugger worked at overcoming a ruptured left Achilles tendon and subsequent infection only to resemble a shell of his former self for 71 games in 2012. "I know it's in there," a gregarious Howard said Thursday. "I just have to let the inner me come out at the plate and be relaxed. I have to trust myself, trust my ability, and let it fly. " He smiled because there are no walking boots or infections to speak of this spring.

NEW YORK - As Ryan Howard charged after a foul pop, made a sliding over-shoulder-catch, and banged his right foot into a wall in the second inning of the Phillies' first game on Saturday against the Mets, you could almost see a lump form in manager Charlie Manuel's throat. Fortunately for the Phillies, it was Howard's right foot that took a little punishment, not the left ankle that required an injection Monday to the bursa sac to alleviate pain. "I jammed my right big toe into the wall a little bit but played it out," Howard said after the Phillies lost the first game of a day-night doubleheader to the Mets, 2-1. "My ankle's fine.

Ryan Howard has gotten his wish. After Friday's 5-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs, Howard said he hoped to convince the Phillies to allow him to head to Clearwater to resume baseball-related activities. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said before Saturday's game with the Cubs that Howard will depart Sunday and begin working out on Monday. Howard has been limited since Feb. 27, when he required a procedure to clean an infection from his original Achilles tendon surgery wound.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - A day after general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said manager Charlie Manuel had miscategorized a "setback" in Ryan Howard's recovery from Achilles surgery, the Phillies permitted their head athletic trainer to make public remarks regarding Howard. Howard's visit to foot specialist Mark Myerson is scheduled for Monday in Baltimore, and Scott Sheridan said the team planned to send the first baseman for a follow-up visit even before a postsurgical problem surfaced in recent days.

DENVER - Albert Pujols celebrated with his St. Louis Cardinals teammates immediately after Ryan Howard grounded out for the final out on Oct. 7, sending the Phillies home for good in the decisive fifth game of the National League division series at a stunned Citizens Bank Park. It wasn't until later that Pujols realized that Howard, his counterpart at first base and offseason workout partner, had ruptured his left Achilles tendon on the groundout to second base. The Cardinals' 1-0 win, which sent the Phillies on a downward spiral they still haven't pulled out of, was bittersweet for Pujols.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - This was not something manager Charlie Manuel devised on a whim. Each morning this spring, Ryan Howard would saunter to the bulletin board in the middle of the Phillies clubhouse to look for an answer he already knew. For 14 straight days, Howard's name appeared in the lineup. The streak will end Friday. "I decided that about two weeks ago," Manuel said Thursday. "I wasn't going to tell you guys. " He did not tell his first baseman, either. Howard never condemned the idea.

NEW YORK - The Phillies are running out the infield pop-up now. The baseball is descending, and there is a 99.9 percent chance it will end up being squeezed into a glove that sucks out the final breath of life from a team that has been battling uphill since arriving in spring training. And still the Phillies keep running. That's why Chase Utley played second base instead of third base in the second game of the Phillies' series against the New York Mets on Wednesday night.

Ryan Howard doesn't have an explanation for his hot Septembers. He just knows he likes them. "Why even question it?" he said. Good point. Why question it? Just know that Howard hit .352 with 11 home runs and a franchise-record 32 RBIs in September to lead the Phillies to their second consecutive National League East championship. The Phillies play the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League division series beginning tomorrow afternoon with Game 1 at Citizens Bank Park, and expectations are high that the Phillies advance to the NL championship series next week.

IN 3 MONTHS, Ryan Howard will get away from it all. He'll find an escape from a year like no other in his professional career. Howard will wed longtime girlfriend Krystle Campbell, a schoolteacher and former Eagles cheerleader, in Maui this December. More than a year removed from a serious, possibly career-altering surgery on his left Achilles', Howard will have a chance to bask in the sun in a place that might as well be the polar opposite to Philadelphia. "All your cares go away," Howard said of Maui.

Football and basketball rule the world of athlete endorsements. Baseball seems a distant third. Ryan Howard is trying to change that. He already has been seen in his share of national TV commercials, and he said recently that fans can expect to see more spots in the near future (Subway, anybody?). He is on the cover of magazines and video games. He is a perennial National League MVP candidate. We asked readers of The Inquirer's Phillies blog - The Phillies Zone (http://go.