The Philadelphia Phillies’ Ryan Howard is preparing to play a pivotal role in the NLCS, starting tonight against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Accustomed to being the focus of attention, Howard brushes off the fact that the Dodgers may avoid pitching to him in order to avoid giving up a homerun.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard is learning to accept the fact that as a perennial 40-homer threat, opposing teams will usually do anything they can to avoid pitching to him. Aristotle believed patience to be a virtue.Continue reading on L.A. Times

As one of the league’s best power hitters, Howard should always be pitched to carefully, but opposing teams need to remember that he’s also one of the worst strikeout hitters as well, so there is a high chance he’s going to strikeout. His batting average is pretty low for what most people would consider as a “good hitter”.

My suggestion for the Dodgers is to go at him early & hard. Put the pressure on him to deliver, especially on the road. Get him out on a couple strikeouts early in the game and allow that to get into his head later in the game, as well as future games.

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