Ryan Howard and the Phillies likely go to arbitration today, barring a last minute settlement. Jim Salisbury talks to three arbitration veterans to get an idea of what goes on in a hearing:

Arbitration hearings have been portrayed as battlefields, but all three men say that is overblown. Just as many are civil as are contentious.

Still, the player must be prepared to hear things he might not like. Howard might hear about his record 199 strikeouts last season. He might hear about his batting average dropping 45 points. He might hear that the team believes his salary should be comparable to that of Miguel Cabrera, who needed to win his case to get $7.4 million last season.

"In every case, the player will be looked at critically, and weaknesses will be spoken about," agent No. 1 said. "You have to prepare the player for that. Whatever can be looked up statistically - even what you didn't do as well as the year before - you should expect to hear.

"These are very competitive people - not just the players, but the lawyers, too. The object is to win. You're not going to hold back valid criticism. But it can be presented softly or harshly."

Probably the best way for Ryan to approach the hearing is that no matter what happens, he's going to be a rich man.