Ryan Howard, National League MVP.

Sounds crazy, huh? But is it that far-fetched?

Believe me, it's pretty easy to waive your hand dismissively at the suggestion. Howard was hitting below .200 when the Phillies visited Houston for a four-game series over Memorial Day weekend.

Here are his numbers since memorial day: .263, 29 home runs and 95 RBIs in 95 games.

If the Phillies somehow sneak into the playoffs, I'm pretty sure Howard's power surge, if it continues, will help get them there.

And if a player leads all of baseball in HR and RBI, which Howard does right now with 43 and 129, and his team makes the playoffs, isn't he automatically a top candidate for MVP?

That was my logic before the season, when I picked Howard as the NL MVP. I figured he'd lead the NL in HR and RBI and the Phils would make the playoffs. Easy enough, right?

But then Howard slumped big time, and his batting average hasn't recovered a whole lot (he's hitting .243 heading into Friday). He's also played shoddy defense for most of the season. And, yes, he strikes out quite a bit.

But he's hitting .307 with 81 RBIs in 166 at-bats with runners in scoring position this year.

My preseason pick may turn out to be true, again, if the Phils push their way into the postseason.



Just please don't ask me who I chose to win the AL MVP. Charlie Brown has a better shot at winning.