Phillies' Ryan Howard should get the rest of the season off

FOLLOWING yesterday's suspension, Antonio Bastardo will not pitch in another game for the Phillies this season.

Mike Adams won't play again this season, either, while waiting for his right shoulder to heal from surgery.

Roy Halladay will attempt to pitch again this season, only because he'd like a job next year, and his best marketing plan is to show off his surgically repaired right shoulder.

But for non-contending teams, the final 8 weeks of the season are often spent more on looking toward starting the next year off right, rather than finishing the current year strong.

With that said, the Phillies should officially add another player to their growing "out for the season" list. Ryan Howard, who underwent left knee surgery last month and hasn't played in a game since July 5, shouldn't play in another game in 2013.

No one benefits with him playing any games in the next 2 months, and everyone just might benefit if he does not play in that same time period. Even manager Charlie Manuel acknowledged as much on Sunday night.

"If he's not 100 percent healthy when he comes back," Manuel told the Daily News, "it'll defeat the purpose of what we're trying to do."

Howard's left leg needs ample time to heal, rest and gain strength again.

The idea of getting him back on the field as soon as possible is a bad idea, as we've seen in the past. Let's quickly revisit a Ryan Howard Left Leg Timeline that began so long ago, Jose Contreras got the victory and Brad Lidge recorded the save in the game that serves as the first entry:

* On Aug. 1, 2010, Howard suffered a moderate left ankle sprain while retreating to second base in the first inning of a Sunday matinee game at Nationals Park. He went on the disabled list a day later and missed 16 games.

* A year later, in the last 2 months of the 2011 season, Howard complained of soreness in his ankle. He received a cortisone shot in September.

* On Oct. 7, 2011, on the final play of the season, Howard collapsed to the ground in pain after grounding out to end Game 5 of the National League Division Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Howard suffered a complete tear of his left Achilles' tendon and had surgery later that month.

* On Feb. 22, 2012 - a little more than 4 months later - Howard jumped into a cage with Chase Utley, Jim Thome and Juan Pierre and took live batting practice for the first time since his surgery.

* Five days later, on Feb. 27, Howard was no longer in Clearwater, Fla., but in Baltimore, where he had a procedure to clean out an infection at the site of the surgery. The Phils avoided calling it a setback.

* Four months later, on June 28, Howard began an official minor league rehab assignment at Low Class A Lakewood. The rehab assignment, which took him from Lakewood to Triple A Lehigh Valley, lasted seven games.

* On July 6, Howard played in his first major league game of the 2012 season. Howard went 2-for-4 with a double that night. He went on to play in 71 of the 78 games remaining in the season.

* In February 2013, Howard reported to spring training ready for a full, healthy and productive season. He hit .322 with seven home runs and a .972 OPS. He played in 28 games in the 31 days the Phillies had Grapefruit League games scheduled in the exhibition season.

* On May 19, Howard had a cortisone shot in an attempt to combat an ailing left knee. He missed two games.

* About a month later, in the last week of June, Howard was out of the lineup twice in a 5-day span while continuing to battle left knee soreness. He had another cortisone shot in the first weekend of July.

* On July 6, 2013 - a year since he returned to the lineup from Achilles' surgery - Howard was placed on the DL with left knee inflammation. Four days later, Howard had surgery to clean out his left meniscus.

OK, so it was impossible to run through that "quickly," but it was thorough. And the seemingly never-ending list should drive home the point that Howard has been dealing with issues in his left leg long enough that there is absolutely no need for him to be on the field again in 2013.

Yesterday afternoon, the Phillies were tied with the New York Mets in the National League East standings, 16 1/2 games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves. With 51 games to play, the Phils were also 10 1/2 games out of the closest playoff spot, the NL's second wild card.

So there is no kidding anyone into believing Howard can provide a jolt to the lineup in September to lead the team on a late-season run. It was difficult not to chuckle after typing that sentence, frankly.

But if the Phillies hope to rebound from back-to-back lost seasons and return to being a playoff contender in 2014, they need the guy they signed to a then-franchise record $125 million deal four Aprils ago to be both healthy and productive. And you can't have one without the other.

In the 151 games Howard has played since returning from Achilles' surgery, he's hit .244 with a .752 OPS, 25 home runs and 194 strikeouts in 609 plate appearances. Compare that with his last healthy season, and it doesn't look great: Howard hit .253 with an .835 OPS, 33 home runs and 172 strikeouts in 644 plate appearances in 152 games in 2011.

If the Phils can get Howard healthy and strong again, perhaps he can come close to replicating those numbers in 2014.

"I'd say there's a 50/50 chance he'll be back by late September," Manuel said Sunday. "That's what I would say. I'm not saying he will be back this year or that he won't be back, but if he's going to play, it'd be mid-September [at best]. But even if he doesn't play, as long as he's healthy - I think it's about getting him healthy first, and then if he's healthy, getting him in top-notch shape, that's second."

The Phils owe Howard a minimum of $85 million in the next three seasons. Having invested that much for 2014, 2015 and 2016, it would be prudent to call it a season for Howard in 2013.

"I think that's something we definitely have to key in on," Manuel said of making such a decision. "He's got to get 100 percent healthy first."

On Twitter: @ryanlawrence21

Blog: ph.ly/HighCheese