Roy Halladay

 Roy Halladay, Justin Verlander, and Phil Hughes, like Jimenez, each gave up a couple of hits and Jonathan Broxton, who earned the save all showed they are not untouchable. 

How ‘bout that?

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How about the Blue Jays?  Despite the public’s exceedingly low expectations after Roy Halladay was traded in the offseason, the Jays are tied with the Red Sox at 31-24 and trail only the Yankees in the Wild Card race.  The only team left north of the border has been hitting home runs left and right; they have 91 in 55 games and their nearest competitor – that team in Boston – has just 74 in the same number of games.  If Toronto continues to play good baseball for the next few months, perhaps we will finally have a postseason that features neither the Yanks nor the Sox.

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How ‘bout that?

How about Roy Halladay?  In his first four starts, Halladay is 4-0 with a 0.82 ERA and a 0.879 WHIP.  He has thrown two complete games – including one shutout – and in 33 innings pitched, has struck out 28 while walking three.  The ace of the Philadelphia pitching staff has more wins than walks, and has collected as many hits (three) in the batter’s box as he has allowed earned runs.  With a strong team playing behind him, Halladay has a real chance to become baseball’s first 25-game winner since Bob Welch, who in 1990 won 27 of his 35 starts.

Continue reading "Oh, what a night!"

ting career bests in innings pitched (238.2) and strikeouts (217) – more than CC Sabathia and Roy Halladay.  He also lowered his WHIP from 1.385 in 2008 to 1.135 – meaning he allowed 2.25 fewer baserunners per nine innings pitched.  He tied for the A.L. lead with 19 wins, and his 2.49 E.R.A. was second only to Zack Greinke.  Along with recently acquired Cliff Lee, Hernandez will provide the Mariners with a very strong top of the rotation.

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How ‘bout that?

How about Roy Halladay?  In a classy move following his trade to the Phillies, Halladay wrote an open letter to Blue Jays fans in a full-page ad in the Toronto Sun, thanking them for their “overwhelming passion and devotion.”  Halladay, the longest-tenured member of the Jays, will remain in the team record books for quite some time.  He is second to Dave Stieb in wins by a Blue Jays pitcher with 148, and during his big-league career, which began in 1998, he represented the Jays in six All-Star games, came within one out of a no-hitter in his second major league start, and set a single-season franchise record with 22 wins in 2003, when he won the Cy Young Award.  He also threw 49 Complete Games, including 15 shutouts, good for third and second, respectively, in Blue Jays history.  Halladay’s good-bye makes me feel good as a baseball fan.

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that the Phillies were even listening to offers for their ace.  But when the chance to acquire Roy Halladay comes around, I suppose any team would be crazy not to listen.  Before I knew it, Halladay was a Phillie and Lee was heading to Seattle, where he’ll join his third club in the span of four and a half months.  How often does that happen to the defending Cy Young Award winner?

Continue reading "Phillies take a Halladay"

and WHIP (1.073 to 1.271).  He was also second in the majors (to perennial Cy Young candidate Roy Halladay) with six complete games and three shutouts.  In 33 starts, Greinke surrendered 11 home runs – the same number as allowed by Yankee pitchers in the six games of the World Series.  The Royals tied the Indians for last-place in the A.L. Central, winning 65 games, but on a first-place team, Greinke would likely have been a 20 game winner.

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Dear God I love the Blue Jays. After all, what’s not to love? Sure, they may blow crucial games in crucial series, 90% of the time they can’t get a hit in extra innings to save their lives, they don’t steal bases and have never been able to beat the Rays (Devil or not), but after that, what else? Oh yeah, they can never seem to beat rookie pitchers, take advantage of bases loaded situations and every pitcher not named Halladay seems to start every at-bat with a ball. But still, every day I try to catch the opening pitch and every night check the standings… What’s wrong with me?

Continue reading "Why I watch the Jays"

o ($14.5M)Chris Carpenter ($10.5M)Vincente Padilla ($11M)Kevin Millwood ($10.3M) AJ Burnett ($13.2M)Roy Halladay ($10M)

Except for some well-published mistakes (Hampton, Pavano, Schmidt, Morris), look at all the guys making a fraction more than Jarrod, like perennial Cy Young candidate Halladay, top-line starter Josh Beckett, or CC Sabathia. 

Continue reading "Washburn's Farewell"

OK, that title was irresistible, but in fact I'm going to say that Chien-Ming Wang's foot injury should force the Yanks hand in a trade, especially when combined with other injuries this season. Funny how little things can combine to lead to something even larger, accumulating momentum gradually until it becomes irresistible, as it has with the murmurs about a trade for C.C. Sabathia, which is really more the point of this blog.

Continue reading "Off On the Wang Foot"

It's the ninth inning of a scoreless game between the Red Sox and Blue Jays. Roy Halladay and Jon Lester had both pitched brilliantly, holding the other team scoreless through eight innings. Papelbon came on to help Lester, but with the shay back end of the Toronto pen--closer B.J. Ryan coming off TJ surgery, setup man Jeremy Accardo with an ERA over 8--the game was Halladay's to win or lose.  Three times already, he'd gone the distance, but had lost two of those games when Toronto failed to muster enough offense to give him the win. Would this time be the charm?

Continue reading "Roy Halladay's Heartbreak"

g this year, especially with a healthy Vernon Wells who struggled last year with shoulder problems. Roy Halladay anchors a rotation that will be one of the strongest in the game when AJ Burnett is healthy. Shaun Marcum and Dustin McGowan proved to be solid starters and should be strong in the 3 and 4 slots in the rotation. Closer BJ Ryan says he will be ready for opening day after missing most of last year following Tommy John surgery. In his absence, Jeremy Accardo emerged to save 30 games and should be a great set up man to help the Jays shut the door in the late innings.

Continue reading "American League East is a Beast of a Division"