Howard, Phillies Strike $54 Million Deal
Ryan Howard, the Philadelphia Phillies slugger who has made it clear that he wants a salary to match the giant bat he’s been swinging over the past few years, got his wish on Sunday. The 29-year-old team homerun leader signed a three-year, $54 million contract, avoiding a nasty arbitration hearing. Under the agreement, Howard will earn $15 million this season, $19 million next year and $20 million in 2011. “The things that have happened prior with Ryan, it was really nothing adversarial, although I know with some people it was depicted that way,” Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. “We just agreed to disagree. It didn’t make us love Ryan any less, and it didn’t make Ryan love us any less.” Last season, nobody got more homeruns than Howard’s 48 or more RBI than his 146. Although he batted just .251, had a humongous 199 strikeouts and made 19 errors at first base, he was still just a notch off the league MVP award, and he led his team to its first World Series since 1980.

Is A-Rod Just One of Many ’Roid Users?
As the sports world chews on the news that New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez allegedly tested positive for steroids a half-decade ago, former Boston Red Sox hurler Curt Schilling said Sunday that he’d like to see everybody outed who’s suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs. “I’d be all for the 104 positives being named, and the game moving on if that is at all possible,” former Boston ace Curt Schilling wrote on his blog Sunday of the list of players who failed drug tests. “In my opinion, if you don’t do that, then the other 600-700 players are going to be guilty by association, forever,” he wrote. “It appears that not only was it 104, but three of the greatest of our, or any, generation appear to be on top of this list.” The sports world was rocked late last week with news that perhaps the top player in the Majors once tested positive. Rodriguez’s agent Scott Boras, said, “Alex has been out of the country. I expect him back later today and want to confer with my client before saying anything.”

TAGS: $54 million, A-Rod, Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan Howard, steroids

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