Frustrated Ryan Howard staying positive

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- For the last 10 years, Ryan Howard has been a big piece of the Phillies lineup, but that may not be the case anymore.

Manager Ryne Sandberg refuses to use the word platoon, but he won't guarantee that Howard will continue to play every day.

The Phillies first baseman is having one of the worst seasons of his career. He's hitting just .224 with 15 homers and at $25-million a year, that's not cutting it

Howard admits Wednesday he had been carrying the weight of his $125-million contract and putting too much pressure on himself.

But the former MVP is not ready to give up nor is he ready to think about playing for another team in another city.

"A lot of frustration. There's frustration in the fans. There's frustration period. I have my own personal frustrations as well. But you try to stay positive. For me, I know people are going to put a lot on how much money I make or what I'm doing on the field or this or that or whatever, but at the end of the day, you go out there, you try and do what you can," Howard said.

Howard continued, "Is this a low point? This is baseball. I know a lot of people may misconstrue this comment, but baseball's a game. I get paid a lot of money to play it, but it's a game."

Howard was on the bench for tonight's game versus the San Francisco Giants.