PHILADELPHIA -- Theres a reason why Ryan Howard was limping around the field. The Philadelphia Phillies slugger needs surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee and will miss at least six to eight weeks. An MRI on Monday confirmed the tear in his knee. A date for surgery hasnt been set. "It could have been much more significant damage," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "We dont want any of our players on the DL. But we know what it is and its treatable. Hopefully we can get him back in time to play this year." Howard, the 2006 NL MVP, went on the disabled list Saturday. The three-time All-Star was hitting .266 with 11 homers and 43 RBIs. He was noticeably hobbling during games before he was shut down. He said he continued to play through the pain because he thought he could perform. "We have to take care of it," Amaro said. Howard played his first game last season on July 6 after tearing his left Achilles tendon making the final out in the 2011 NL division series. The 33-year-old first baseman has been on a steady decline since signing a $125 million, five-year contract extension on April 26, 2010. Howard averaged 50 homers and 143 RBIs between 2006-09. He hasnt hit more than 33 or driven in more than 116 runs since then. Darin Ruf, who hit 38 homers at Double-A Reading last year, replaces Howard. Ruf had been playing left field in Triple-A. Howard is the latest star player to land on Philadelphias disabled list. Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz missed significant time and Roy Halladay remains out after having shoulder surgery. Backup catcher Erik Kratz had surgery for a torn meniscus on June 12 and already has started a rehab assignment, so hes ahead of schedule. "Hopefully we will have the same sort of time frame, but everyones knee is different," Amaro said, comparing Howard to Kratz. "We can only speculate the length of how long it will take to get him to rehab. Well shoot for the conservative one and hope he comes back faster." Brook Lopez Jersey . -- Jimmie Johnson held off a teammate, passed a pair of Hall of Famers, and dominated once more at Dover. Khris Middleton Bucks Jersey .Y. -- Canadas Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse have another World Cup gold medal after winning the two-women bobsled race on Saturday in Lake Placid, N. http://www.nbabucksproshop.com/Authentic-Ray-Allen-Bucks-Jersey/ . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. Donte DiVincenzo Jersey . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. Glenn Robinson Bucks Jersey . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. After a successful spring carnival, Racing Victoria has announced additional funds have been allocated for prize money increases.RV announced on Friday prize money for two and three-year-old races and open handicaps at Saturday metropolitan meetings will increase to $100,000 from February 1.The increases are stage one in a review of prize money in Victoria after Racing NSW introduced minimum stakes of $100,000 at Saturday metropolitan meetings in October.Outgoing RV chief executive Bernard Saundry said RV was pleased with results from this years spring carnival which saw increases in turnover and attendance.As a result we are in a position to reward a broad range of stakeholders for their valuable contributions, Saundry said.The increase ensures that owners and trainers are both rewarded for campaigning their horses in Melbourne and have confidence to invvest at the upcoming yearling sales.ddddddddddddThis announcement marks the commencement of a strategic review into our prize money model which will continue through the first quarter of 2017 and ultimately inform our decisions on further prize money increases for the 2017-18 racing season.In total RV announced $5 million in additional funding with $3 million going towards prizemoney.The three metropolitan clubs will split $1.5 million based on their percentage of metropolitan turnover while $500,000 will be paid to Country Racing Victoria to assist in important capital projects.Our metropolitan and country clubs play a central role in ensuring the spring racing carnival is a showpiece event for Australian sport, Saundry said. ' ' '