Somewhere the brass for the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees quietly noted the landmark $10 million payout to Phillies' slugger Ryan Howard and stashed away the information for later. After all, depending upon what type of season Howard puts together in 2008 it's not out of the realm of possibility that the slugger could wind up with one of those teams in 2009 and/or beyond.
Seriously, after the arbitration panel ruled on Thursday that Howard has earned a $10 million salary for 2009 after just two full big-league seasons, the big question is this:
How much longer will the Phillies be able to afford him?
Think about it - the Phillies and Howard will more than likely be back in the same position again next year, only this time the slugger won't be asking for a measly $10 million per season.
At least that's the way the trends skew. Howard not only has set precedents in terms of salary for a player with his limited Major League experience, but he's also operating in unchartered territory when it comes to prolific power statistics. In fact, his 105 home runs and 285 RBIs during the past two seasons could be the greatest debut power years (non-alleged steroid division) ever. Forget the first full two seasons, there aren't too many players in baseball history that have hit 105 homers in two consecutive seasons.
So where does that leave the Phillies now that Howard and his camp swayed arbitrators to break precedent? And what happens if the big fella clubs 60 homers and 150 RBIs for a playoff team in '08? Can the Phillies afford not to work out a long-term deal with Howard just so they can avoid record payouts in arbitration year after year until 2011?
Or, did Howard price himself out of Philadelphia? Though Howard won in arbitration, like a majority of the fandom thought was appropriate, have the fans really lost? After all, there is chatter out there that Team Howard is seeking a long-term deal in the A-Rod strata. Surely the Phillies can't be pleased with that development and where it could be the negotiations for here and beyond.
"This is too fresh in our minds right now to even start dealing with that kind of stuff," assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. told reporters in Clearwater, Fla., Thursday. "I think what we're focused on now is, one, it's over with. And two, we have to go play baseball now."
Howard wasn't sure, either.
"I'm not Miss Cleo, I can't predict the future," he said.
Oh, but even the omniscient Miss Cleo cannot gaze into a crystal ball and figure out this riddle. Because what she sees can't bode well for the Phillies - a team that has a recent history of allowing some high-priced talent to deal with other clubs. Sure, the Phillies were creative when they signed Pete Rose in 1979, they had Mike Schmidt when he was the highest-paid player in the game, and they signed Lance Parrish for (relative) big money when the other owners had been judged to have colluded against free agent players. But the Phillies have never dealt with something like Ryan Howard.
Not many teams have.
But the Phillies and Howard will be back to do it all again next year. Again they will row out into unchartered - and deep - waters with their greatest slugger ever. Only next year there's a good chance that Howard won't be alone when asking for a record payout.
Pitcher Cole Hamels could be there, too.
Who knows what will happen in another year. Maybe the Phillies will empty out their pockets and dig into the sofa cushions and find a $200 million check sitting around. Plus, there will likely be a lot of fans willing to shell out plenty of money for tickets to watch the Howard and his Phillies' teammates attempt to repeat as NL East champs in 2008.
A bake sale ain't getting this one done, folks.
Still, the important question remains:
Could Howard envision playing the rest of his career with the Phillies?
"It would be nice," he said. "It's one of those things we'll have to wait and see what happens."
It's sure to be eventful, that's for sure.