"Ryan Howard walked gingerly across the Phillies' clubhouse, had short chat with Jimmy Rollins before continuing his tender-footed walk to his car. Howard has bursitis in his Achilles tendon, which is the reason for the Fred Sanford-styled stroll, but when he has to move, he can.

Take, for instance, the way Howard tracked down a drifting foul ball hit by Alex Gonzalez with one out in the fifth inning of Monday night's game against the Braves at the Bank. On that one Howard turned his back to the infield, sprinted to a spot near the front row of seats in short right field and then slid into the clay dirt warning track as if he were sliding into second base.

Instead of a routine slide, Howard kept his head on a swivel, watching for both the foul ball and the first row of seats. Nevertheless, Howard timed his slide perfectly as the ball landed into his first baseman's mitt for a sliding, over-the-shoulder basket catch."