Jan. 28 -- HOWARD: LONG-TERM DEAL "WOULD BE BEAUTIFUL"

BY SCOTT LAUBER

So, I was talking with a friend the other day when we both wondered if there has ever been a Super Bowl with less pregame hype than this one. Not much buzz for Cardinals-Steelers, is there? Nevertheless, it is still Super Bowl week, and as you may expect, everyone who's anyone has begun descending on Tampa in advance of The Big Game.

That is where you might find Ryan Howard.

For three weeks, Howard has been training at the Phillies' facility in Clearwater. So, it was easy for him to make the short drive over the Courtney Campbell Causeway to fulfill his responsibilities as a pitchman for Subway (he's a big fan, apparently, of the $5 footlong subs). Anyway, The Big Man gave a brief interview to Comcast SportsNet today during which he said he doesn't know if his arbitration case will go to a hearing but that he would welcome a long-term deal with the Phillies.

"It would be beautiful," Howard said. "That would be something we would want to see happen."

But, as we've been writing in this space and in The News Journal, a long-term deal won't happen as long as Howard continues to seek the Alex Rodriguez-type contract that he's believed to be seeking. It's likely the Phillies would be willing to do a three-year deal in the $60 million neighborhood, a compromise that would give Howard some guaranteed financial security and the Phillies a measure of salary control during his remaining arbitration years. But it's hard to see Howard accepting a deal like that, especially when there's a solid chance he may make more than $60 million if he continues to go through the arbitration process.

Howard also told Comcast SportsNet that he doesn't believe the distractions from last year's arbitration hearing contributed to his poor April. I raised that same idea in a conversation with Ruben Amaro Jr. last week, and without being able to climb into his first baseman's psyche, he pointed to Howard's .313 average, five homers and 12 RBIs in 25 spring-training games as evidence that the hearing didn't have a negative effect. That said, it remains a reasonable hypothesis, considering Howard batted .168 in April. Howard wouldn't be the first player to put additional pressure on himself after getting a big raise, and nobody got a bigger raise in 2008 than Howard, who went from making $900,000 to $10 million.

Two points that have come up through my own reporting over the past few days:

-If the case does go to a hearing, the Phillies can invoke the economic climate, but only as it relates to baseball. For instance, the nation's growing unemployment rate isn't likely to influence a panel of arbitrators. But the fact that more than 100 free agents are still unsigned on Jan. 28, and that only the Yankees have spent big money this winter, may give the panel something to think about.

-Albert Pujols -- and his $16 million salary in 2009 -- can be used as a measure of comparison to determine Howard's worth. However, Pujols salary was determined when he signed a multiyear contract (seven years, $100 million) in 2004, and that deal was backloaded (he made $11 million in 2005, $14 million in 2006, $15 million in 2007, etc.). So, for comparitive purposes, a panel may consider Pujols and Howard as similar as apples and oranges.