I'm proud to announce a new themed segment: the Ryan Report. Once a week -- it's starting on a Wednesday this week but I'll move it to the weekend -- I will report where Howard's strikeouts total ranks among Major League starting pitching, and I'll project how many he's on pace to get, along with a brief analysis of his performance at the plate. Hat tip to Lethal at the Phillies forum Back She Goes for the idea, I hope he doesn't mind if I steal it.

Good news for National League pitchers, particularly those in the NL East: Ryan Howard couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat in the middle of the Atlantic. While the Phillies have had exemplary production from Chase Utley and Pat Burrell -- who may steal votes from each other for the Player of the Month award -- Ryan Howard isn't getting anything done, as he's hitting below the Mendoza line at .190. With another 0-for-4 performance on Tuesday night, Howard's OBP/SLG dropped to .316/.367, and his two strikeouts brought his total to 30 for the season.

He's not hitting left-handers, either. In 2006, his MVP season, Howard had a .926 OPS against left-handed pitchers. So far this season, he has a .432 OPS against them. Howard isn't getting done anywhere on the diamond.

Without any further adieu, let's take a look at his strikeouts.

Howard, 2008: 21 G, 90 PA, 75 AB, 30 K.

2008 Pace: 681 PA, 568 AB, 227 K.

Major League Baseball Strikeout Leaders

John Smoltz, ATL: 23 IP, 31 K

Ryan Howard, PHI: 75 AB, 30 K

Johnny Cueto, CIN: 26.1 IP, 29 K

Aaron Harang, CIN: 35 IP, 29 K

Jake Peavy, SDP: 36 IP, 29 K

Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS: 28.2 IP, 28 K

Johan Santana, NYM: 27.1 IP, 28 K

Will Howard finish the season with more strikeouts than the game's best starting pitchers?