by Jon Paul Morosi

MLB Playoff Central

	Phillies vs. Yankees Yankees win 4-2
Game 6: Yankees 7, Phillies 3 Rosenthal: Yanks cash in with title Kriegel: This title was all business Morosi: Phillies will be back Klapisch: Pettitte shows his worth Matsui's 6 RBIs win him MVP Photos: See the best from Game 6 Video: Rosenthal, elated Yanks chat

Clint Hurdle was the last manager to figure it out — with the Rockies in 2007 — and he was fired earlier this year. Howard batted .250 in that series. His only extra-base hit was a solo home run. Colorado swept.

But the scouting report has changed since then. Howard has fewer weaknesses. His average is up. His strikeouts are down. Now, there is only so much a manager — or a pitcher — can do.

"More complete and more mature," Hurdle said Tuesday in a telephone interview. "That's a tough combination. And he's earned it through fire. There's a lot he expects from himself, and he's shown up and produced.

"There are a handful of guys in both leagues who can carry clubs in October. And he's one of them."

At last, the same description applies to the other cleanup hitter in this World Series: Alex Rodriguez, who has gone through his own maturation this year at the age of 34.

A-Rod said Tuesday that the Phillies and Yankees "mirror each other," but the same words apply to the comparisons between Howard and himself.

The left-handed slugger and the right-handed slugger. The former National League MVP and the former American League MVP.

The man who reached 200 home runs faster than any other player, and the man who was the youngest to reach 500.

The big bat in the offense that scored the most runs in the National League, and the big bat in the offense that scored the most runs in the American League.

The guy who tied Lou Gehrig's record earlier this month by recording an RBI in eight straight postseason games, and the other guy who tied Lou Gehrig's record earlier this month by recording an RBI in eight straight postseason games.

Then there is the major difference between the two: Howard won a world championship last year, at the end of his third full season in the majors. But Rodriguez, with more than 15 years of service, will make his World Series debut in Game 1 on Wednesday night.

The storyline is both very obvious and very important. The team that sprays champagne after the final game may well be the one whose cleanup hitter had the better series.

Hurdle believes Rodriguez will outperform Howard over the next nine days, chiefly because Howard must face tough left-handed starters CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte. I agree. Howard doesn't have a good career average (.167) against right-hander A.J. Burnett, either.

But there is danger in relying too much on past numbers as a predictor of performance. More than anyone else involved in this postseason, Rodriguez knows all about that.

Entering this year, Rodriguez had a .148 batting average and only three RBIs in his last 17 postseason games. Now, he's the toast of New York. He's hitting .438. He's slugging .969. He had more home runs (five) and RBIs (12) than any other player in the AL playoffs.

After hitting "rock bottom" (his words) in spring training — with the steroid admission and hip surgery — Rodriguez said he has found "another way."

"I've definitely rediscovered the joy of playing baseball again," Rodriguez said.

So much so, in fact, that only one player has driven in more runs than Rodriguez this postseason. Howard, of course. He has 14.

That's not surprising. Howard won the National League RBI title in three of the past four seasons — including this year, with 141. And he's shown that he can perform in October, with a .319 batting average and 22 RBIs in his last four postseason series.

Howard can cover both sides of the plate better than most sluggers — a major reason why he batted .279 this season, up from .251 last year. When asked how he's able to hit pitches across such a wide area, Howard replied, "Maybe having long arms?" Whatever the reason, the holes in his swing are small and scarce.

Rodriguez has noticed.

"His improvement the last three years has been phenomenal," A-Rod said. "I don't remember seeing one player improve so much over time.

"I see him in very limited action because he's in the National League, but I think he's no longer the slugger Ryan Howard. Now, he's the great hitter with the great power, which is pretty scary for all of us."

The two superstars haven't yet developed a friendship, largely because they play in different leagues. But Howard expressed gratitude when told of Rodriguez's remarks, saying he has studied A-Rod in the past.

"Our approaches this postseason, as opposed previous postseasons, are a lot better," Howard said, when asked what he shares in common with Rodriguez. "Both of us are more patient, more relaxed. I'm out there having fun. It looks like that's what he's doing, as well."

I suppose it's easy to relax when you hit in the American League's best lineup — or a lineup that many believe belongs in the American League. But their common success has more to do with sheer talent.

In many ways, Alex Rodriguez is Ryan Howard's mirror image. (Jim McIsaac / Getty Images)

Even when a pitch is on the outside corner, even when a pitch is low in the strike zone, Rodriguez and Howard have the power and precision to send it over a faraway wall.

Think about Rodriguez's biggest home runs in this postseason — the game-tying shots off Joe Nathan, Carl Pavano and Brian Fuentes. All of them went to right or right-center.

Howard did something similar with an outside pitch in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, smacking a loud, opposite-field home run at Dodger Stadium.

Why is Howard having such success now, two years after the Rockies kept him from becoming much of a factor in the postseason?

"We threw strike one a lot, and the left-handers we had really challenged him, hand-high and in," Hurdle explained. "We tried to put him away high and tight. But he's a very good hitter, and if you make a mistake, he can hit it."

One National League scout suggested that Howard and Rodriguez need to be jammed with inside pitches more often than they were in the first two rounds. A-Rod looks too comfortable at the plate, the scout said, and Howard has seen a number of pitches in his wheelhouse: up and out, where he can drive them to the middle of the field.

It all sounds so perfect, doesn't it? Pound them in, off the plate. But when it comes time to execute, the ball will be cold, the crowd will be on its feet and the tying run will be on second base.

There is a simple solution to all of this, and Phillies lefty J.A. Happ identified it on Tuesday afternoon. I asked what he would do in a hypothetical confrontation with Howard, his teammate, if the tying run was on base with the game on the line.

He smiled.

"Walk him," he said.