Back to the Philadelphia Phillies Newsfeed

Is Ryan Howard becoming a distraction for Phillies?

In the ongoing melodrama that is Ryan Howard's twilight in Philadelphia, Tuesday appears to be an important day. Howard will start at first base, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said, for the first time in more than a week.

"I'm going to get a look at him, see how he looks," Mackanin said. "Then, I'll probably make a decision with how I'm going to handle the whole thing in the near future."

That decision, Mackanin said, is in his hands and not the front office's. Howard's mere presence Monday attracted several TV cameras inside the Phillies clubhouse after Saturday's incident when a man threw a beer bottle at Howard.