By FRANK WARD
DailyPhiladelphian.com Editor

As much as I love the fact that the Phillies locked up Ryan Howard for the prime of his career, a part of me wishes that David Montgomery and Ruben Amaro were a little less mature. Seriously, why did they wait until today to announce the five-year, $125 million extension with the potential Hall of Famer?

This obviously didn’t happen overnight. The parameters of a deal were likely in place a week or two ago.

The Phillies should have gotten this agreement signed last week and announced it, oh, say Thursday night. Around 8 or 9 at night. Just before the Eagles picked Brandon Graham.

The Phillies maturity may be one reason they've done the White House thing.

Call it payback for the Eagles dealing McNabb on the eve of the new baseball season. You remember. It was Easter night that McNabb was shipped to the Redskins, knocking Roy Halladay and baseball off the front page, and out of the lead spot on SportsCenter. Oh, and then the Eagles held a news conference with new starting quarterback Kevin Kolb a half hour before Halladay took the mound.

Me? I announce this deal last Thursday, or the start of mini camp. Or, hold off and announce it in July, one hour before eagles training camp starts.

But the Phillies are more mature than the Eagles or myself. That’s why they’ve had the parade the Eagles desperately seek.