You're Ryan Howard ...

...You're putting Geno's Steaks out of business.

 

... and you're wondering whether Pujols knew you went yard three times.

 

... and people better not call me the black Opie.

 

... and you wonder how long it's going to take for someone on SportsJournalists.com to question whether you're on performance-enhancing drugs. Oh, yeah ...

 

Outing alert: novelist_wannabe is really Jay McInerney.

 

He's not a rookie, KY.

 

I will say this for Howard: He's a big dude. Like when you think of Bonds, McGwire and Sosa, they were big guys with some cut to them, some muscle definition.

I didn't see that from Howard. He's just a big guy. I know that's hardly conclusive proof, but something worth pointing out, IMO.

 

Yeah, Howard's just big. Not musclebound, not fat, either. He's proportioned more like Thome or Brad Eldred (Pirates' AAA slugger) than Sosa or McGwire.

 

That didn't stop some TV talking head in my area from calling Howard a rookie yesterday.

Howard is a big guy who swings hard and can drive the ball out of any part of the park.

I've heard radio people already question whether or not Howard is clean. They also asked where Howard came from, like he was hitting a couple home runs here and there before going Brady Anderson in 2006. A little research will show he's hit a lot of home runs in the minors, too.

If you include 11 homers in 28 spring training games this year, Howard has 63 home runs in 163 games.

 

I was thinking Erica Sillius

 

In Major League history, only these rookie have hit 10 home runs during the month of Spetember: Ted Williams, Mark McGwire, Tony Clark, Pete Incaviglia, David Justice and Ryan Howard.

I'd say Howard is the real deal.

 

He has 52 HRs in his first full season, with time to play. I don't think putting him in the exclusive company of Clark & Incavaglia adds much credibility.