According to several reports, Ryan Howard's troubles at the plate during spring training may be more that just a slump:
For weeks now, Howard has been taking extra batting practice to hone his swing, but it turns out that all of that practice may have caused carpal tunnel syndrome.
Team doctors and trainers suspect that the hours of tightly gripping a bat, gradually tighter and tighter out of frustration may have brought the condition on. Treatments include wrist splints and anti-inflammatory steroids, which could present problems with testing for performance-enhancing drugs.
