Ryan Howard benched after going 0-for-7 with five strikeouts and an ejection yesterday

Ryan Howard went 0-for-7 with five strikeouts last night before being ejected by third base umpire and instigator Scott Barry, and manager Charlie Manuel has benched him for tonight’s game. Toss in Howard’s pronounced platoon splits and sitting him versus left-hander J.A. Happ was probably pretty close to a no-brainer for Manuel. The right-handed hitting Mike Sweeney is starting in his place. Howard is no doubt facing a fine and possibly a suspension, although obviously neither would impact his availability tonight. Oh, and it’ll be interesting to see what type of reaction Barry gets from the Philadelphia crowd. And by “interesting” I mean “fun to hear that much booing directed at one person who deserves it.”