There is just something about the cool, autumn weather that just heats Ryan Howard up. And this year is no different. The Big Guy usually owns August and September and last year, kept up the tradition into October and the Postseason. Usually a quiet guy, Howard likes to pile the team on his shoulders and ride out the season. In the past two seasons, it has been lugging his teammates down the E Division Blvd, via Choke Ave at Shea Stadium. This year, however, has been a bit different. Ryan and his teammates have been carpooling together with a five game lead in the division for over six weeks now.
Back to Ryan. Before this year, The Bopper is a career .317 hitter with a .714 slugging percentage, 44 home runs and 147 RBIs during September. That is by far above and beyond the best stats he has per month. I am not sure why, but he does save his best for last.
What do you think the reasons could be? Maybe he is still a kid at heart and waits for school to get out to turn up the heat. He is from St. Louis, so maybe waiting for that summer heat that he is so used to is the key to his success. Maybe he looks forward to the choking of the arch rival New York Mets so he "kicks it up a notch" to finish off the team that has declared themselves as "the team to beat." Or maybe there is truth to the rumor that Ryan has a small perception problem and it takes a few months to get back into the swing of things, literally, to get in the groove. Whatever the case may be, we are sure thankful in Philadelphia that he turns it on when he does. How awesome would it be to have him this hot in April and May?
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