4 down.  1,402 to go.

With a steal in the 8th inning of the Phillies 4-3 win over the New York Yankees on Sunday, Ryan Howard has already set a career high for stolen bases in a season (two) and is now on pace for an unimaginable EIGHT steals in 2009.

As John Mayberry, Jr. stood at the dish with two away and Shane Victorino on second, two of the speedier Phillies executed the double-steal to perfection.  But unlike the last time Howard was involved in the double-steal, the catcher actually disregarded the runner going to third in order to try and gun down Howard.  Obviously, Yankee backup Francisco Cervelli made the wrong decsion as Howard beat the throw and the tag with relative ease to move into scoring position.

If Ryan continues thieving bags at this clip, Rickey Henderson’s stolen base mark will be broken sometime during the 2184 season.

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