Phillies lose Halladay for 6-8 weeks

After leaving the game early on Sunday, you knew this was coming: the Phillies have placed Roy Halladay on the 15 day disabled list due to a strained lat.  The early word is that Halladay hopes to only miss 6-8 weeks.

While losing Halladay for two months is never a good thing, the injury could have been much, much worse.  Halladay expects to be back by August, just in time for the Phillies to (hopefully) make a playoff run.  Since he has been dealing with shoulder issues all season, if he comes back at full strength, the time off could even be a good thing for Halladay.

With Vance Worley also out, the Phillies rotation suddenly has a hole.  Could this mean the Phillies sign Roy Oswalt?  Since he is apparently about to sign with the Rangers, barring a trade, the Phillies will have to look within for their 5th starter.

Phillies eliminated as offense fails

That was certainly a disgusting way to end the season.  Once again, Ryan Howard made the final out to end the Phillies season, this time grounding out and injuring himself as he ran up the line.  The offense failed to do anything against Chris Carpenter, picking up just three hits as they looked completely over-matched.  Roy Halladay did everything he could but his one "bad" inning just couldn't be overcome by the Phillies pathetic offense.

I have plenty of other thoughts on the game and this team but I don't have the energy to write them out tonight.  The pitching will still be there for the next few years but something has to be done to shore up the bats.  With several veterans already locked in and Jimmy Rollins possibly leaving via free agency, its hard to see how things get better.  Add in that Ryan Madson is probably gone and its even more depressing.  In Ruben we trust, I suppose.

With the Eagles in disarray the city now turns their hopes to the revamped Flyers.  It's going to be a long offseason, Phillies fans.

Phillies-Cardinals NLDS Game 1 Thoughts

One down, 10 more wins to go.  After a sluggish start for both Roy Halladay and the offense, the Phillies woke up in time to pound the Cardinals, 11-6, and start off the 2011 playoffs with a win.  Here are some of my thoughts on the game:

-Who else had a sinking feeling in their stomach after Halladay gave up the 3-run homer in the first inning and when the Phillies offense looked impatient and inept against Kyle Lohse in the early innings?  You had to figure that Halladay would settle in and he certainly did, retiring 21 straight and looking dominant from the 2nd inning on.  Take out that one swing by Lance Berkman and we'd be talking about another amazing Halladay playoff outing.

-With one swing, Ryan Howard already has more homers and RBI than he did in the entire 2010 playoffs.  We've all seen Howard come up small with runners on in close games before but he stayed patient and waited for Lohse to make a mistake.  If that's the Howard we get for the next few weeks, another title is just a formality.

-The rumors of Raul Ibanez's demise have been greatly exaggerated.  These could be his last few games with the Phillies and Ibanez has already made a huge impact.

-The bullpen still might be something to worry about.  The fact that they had to turn to Ryan Madson just to put the Cardinals away was disheartening.  Although the starters can be expected to go deep in nearly every game, someone besides Madson has to step up and get batters out.

-Albert Pujols is good and all but how about they don't basically intentionally walk him in the first inning?  Berkman and Matt Holliday (when he's healthy enough to start) can really rake so there is no reason to give them extra runners to drive in.

-Hunter Pence looked comfortable in the playoffs, picking up a big hit before Howard's homer as well as the single that put the game out of reach in the 8th inning.  He continues to be exactly what the Phillies needed to add to the lineup.

With Cliff Lee going against Chris Carpenter tomorrow, Game 2 should be a great matchup.  Expect the first team to get to 2 runs to win.

It was a rough night for Roy Halladay

Roy Halladay isn't a machine after all. The usually unflappable Halladay had a rough night in Chicago, laboring through just 4 innings of work before having to exit due to heat. With game time temperatures in the 90's, Halladay was visibly struggling with the heat, sweating and turning red as he tried to work through it. With the Phillies fearing exhaustion and dehydration, they removed their ace pitcher after he gave up a single in the 5th inning and then threw two pitches to the next batter.

In all, Halladay gave up 7 hits and 3 runs in his 4 innings of work. His streak of lasting in at least 6 innings in his last 63 consecutive road starts is over. That's a pretty arbitrary stat, anyway.

After the game, Halladay already made it clear that he wouldn't miss his next start. While it didn't look pretty for him, this can probably be chalked up to a one night thing. Expect Roy to come out with a vengeance against the Padres in his next start this coming weekend.

Roy Halladay will start for NL in All-Star Game

Even though basically everyone in baseball has made the All-Star team at this point, at least the best pitcher in baseball will be starting: Roy Halladay has been named the starting pitcher for the National League. Expect him to pitch an inning or two before exiting the game.

Halladay could end up being the only Phillie to play in the game. Placido Polanco and Shane Victorino are injured and won't play and Cole Hamels has already been replaced after pitching yesterday. There is a chance that Cliff Lee will pitch in the game but he did just pitch Saturday and would likely prefer to rest.

Even though this game "counts", it's nice to know I can turn it off after the second inning and likely not miss any of the Phillies in action.

Four Phillies named to 2011 All-Star Game, Victorino needs our help

The best team in baseball is sending four players to Arizona for the All-Star Game: Placido Polanco, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels. Polanco was voted in as a starter while Halladay, Lee and Hamels were no-brainer additions to the NL pitching staff.

Polanco was the only Phillies hitter named outright to the team, and probably justifiably so. With Chase Utley missing a large chunk of the season and Ryan Howard not having a great year by his standards, it's hard to make a strong case for any Phillies hitter. Shane Victorino has a shot at making the All-Star team but, just like in 2009, he is a part of the Final Vote, so he will need our help! Click here to vote and get Victorino to the All-Star game.

As for other Phillies pitchers that could have made the team, Ryan Madson certainly has a case to be there, though his recent injury could have kept him out. Antonio Bastardo has had a great season but probably doesn't have the name recognition to earn an All-Star nod.

Click here to see the full rosters for both leagues.

Halladay "loses" duel with Josh Johnson

Apparently Roy Halladay has to be perfect if he wants to beat Josh Johnson.

In a rematch from last season when Halladay threw a no-hitter against the Marlins, two of the best pitchers in baseball lived up to the hype, each mowing down the opposition and going deep into the game. In the end, an unearned run given up by Halladay was the difference as the Marlins edged the Phillies, 2-1.

Despite getting hung with the loss, Halladay was his usual dominant self, striking out 9 Marlins and giving up only 1 earned run. He basically made only one mistake, a walk to the opposing pitcher (Johnson) that set up the Marlins first run of the game. The second run was unearned after a Jimmy Rollins error allowed the first batter to get on base in the 8th inning, a play that triggered another Marlins tally.

The Phillies offense, which scored its only run on a Ryan Howard homer, couldn't be faulted for not producing against Johnson. While they had no problem getting guys on base in the early innings, they couldn't capitalize after Johnson bore down and went for the kill. If Roy Halladay is the best pitcher in baseball, a case could be made that Johnson is right behind him.

The best thing about the Phillies is that, whenever they lose, they have another ace taking the mound in short order: Cliff Lee will look to follow up his 16 strikeout performance tomorrow in the series rubber match. It should only take a run or two from the offense to get a win.
(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Late rally helps Phillies salvage Opening Day win

Well, that was a fun way to start the season. After it slept through the first 6 innings, the Phillies offense woke up just in time for some late heroics, knocking off the Astros, 5-4, on a John Mayberry walk-off single.

Brett Myers shut down his former team for most of the game, only allowing three hits and one earned run in the 7th inning. The Phillies offense looked as bad as many feared it would be early on, failing to work the count and barely threatening to score. Once the Astros turned to their closer Brandon Lyon, though, the offense ignited with a string of singles, culminating with Mayberry's game winning single to center.

Roy Halladay was his usual dominant self early in the game, mowing down Astros hitters with relative ease. He hit a few bumps here and there but only gave up 1 run in 6 innings of work.

Phillies fans who spent the last few weeks worrying about the offense likely cringed through the early innings in this one but were rewarded with a thrilling late victory. While it wasn't pretty, the Phils are certainly happy to start the season with a win. Oh, and some guy named Cliff Lee will look to make it two in a row tomorrow.
(AP PHOTO)

Phillies aces on cover of Sports Illustrated

In an extremely smart decision, Sports Illustrated has decided to put the Phillies Four Aces (and Joe Blanton!) on the cover of their baseball preview issue that comes out this week. Before you get too worried about any kind of curse, remember that Roy Halladay was on the cover of their baseball preview last season and he did just fine. Try not to get drool all over the cover.

3 Phillies in the Top 10 MLB jersey sales

The Phillies are well-represented in the MLB Top 10 jersey sales list:

1. Derek Jeter
2. Joe Mauer
3. Roy Halladay
4. Chase Utley
5. Cliff Lee
6. Albert Pujols
7. Josh Hamilton
8. Dustin Pedroia
9. Alex Rodriguez
10. Tim Lincecum

The Phillies as a team finished 4th in licensed product sales in 2010. With all the Cliff Lee love going around Philly, don't be surprised to see him move up this list.

Commercial: Roy misses Chooch

MLB 2K11 may not be the best baseball video game on the market but they have pulled off the best commercial of the season. Watch below as cover athlete Roy Halladay pines for Carlos Ruiz in the offseason to help him make decisions:

Via The 700 level.

Roy Halladay wins the 2010 NL Cy Young Award

As expected, in a unanimous decision, Roy Halladay has won the 2010 NL Cy Young Award. Halladay was the obvious choice in the NL as he led the league in wins (21), complete games (9), shutouts (4), innings pitched (250) and also had the best strikeout to walk ratio. Add a perfect game and a playoff no-hitter to those statistics and you clearly have the best pitcher in the game.

Congratulations to Roy Halladay on a season for the ages. While I'm sure he would gladly give back all of the individual accolades for a World Series ring, if it wasn't for what Halladay was able to accomplish, the Phillies wouldn't have had such a successful regular season. Rarely does a superstar player acquired in the offseason live up to all of the hype that surrounds him but that's exactly what Roy Halladay did in the 2010 season. Just think, we get to watch this guy for at least three more years.

Lincecum outduels Halladay as Giants win Game 1

As Phillies fans, we're used to seeing the Phillies, who had won 7 straight Game 1's heading into the series, taking an early lead in every playoff series. It didn't happen in Game 1 of the NLCS this year, however, as the Giants edged the Phillies, 4-3.

The game was hyped as a showdown between the two best pitchers in the game but it didn't quite live up to that billing. While both Tim Lincecum and Roy Halladay went deep into the game, each pitching 7 innings, neither was particularly sharp, with Lincecum finding himself in several early jams and Halladay uncharacteristically giving up a pair of homers to a very average player. In the end, Lincecum was just slightly more effective than Halladay, as he gave up fewer hits (6 to 8), struck out more batters (8 to 7) and ultimately gave up fewer runs.

Halladay started the game right where he left off in the first round, mowing down the first 7 Giants batters he faced. He quickly lost his no-hitter and even his shutout from there, however, as Cody Ross drilled a ball over the left field wall. Halladay did manage to settle down nicely, at least until Ross shockingly took him deep again in the 5th inning. How a journeyman like Ross, a former Marlin castoff, managed to hit two blasts off of Halladay is perplexing to say the least.

The Phillies offense all came from the longball tonight as Carlos Ruiz hit a solo homer in the 3rd and Jayson Werth hit a 2-run shot in the 6th. As they have been for more of the postseason, the Phillies bats were mostly quiet, as Shane Victorino, Jimmy Rollins and Raul Ibanez all went a combined 0 for 12 with 6 strikeouts. I wondered if we should be worried about the Phillies offense after their anemic showing the first round and nothing that happened tonight makes me feel more confident about how the team is swinging the bats.

While it's an unfamiliar position for the Phillies to trail in a series after Game 1, it's important to remember that it's just one game. Sure, Lincecum didn't pitch like an ace, but when he gets any kind of run support at all he doesn't lose. The Phillies are postseason veterans who will regroup and will put this loss behind them. They know that a win in Game 2 against Jonathan Sanchez erases the sour taste from Game 1.

Still 8 more wins to go for the Phillies and I still believe.
(Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Halladay makes history with Game 1 no-hitter

Welcome to October, Roy Halladay. Making the most of his first playoff appearance, Roy Halladay thoroughly dominated the Reds, pitching the second no-hitter in postseason history in a 4-0 Phillies Game 1 win. Everything about his outing was a masterpiece, from the fact that he threw first pitch strikes to 25 of 28 batters to how he barely allowed the ball to leave the infield even when the Reds made contact. Halladay's efficiency was also remarkable as he simply cruised all game long, needing only 104 pitches to complete the game as he got 0-2 counts 11 different times and only went to a 3-ball count 3 times. The only blemish all night for Halladay was a walk he surrendered in the 5th inning to Jay Bruce, otherwise it was the best pitching performance I've seen in my lifetime.

As for the Phillies offense, they scored 4 runs in the first two innings and then put the bats away for the rest of the game. Shane Victorino scored the first run of the game when Chase Utley sacrificed him home in the first inning and Halladay even got into the offensive act, singling in Carlos Ruiz and later scoring in the second inning.

As exciting an epic of a performance as Halladay put together in Game 1, it's important to remember that it was just one game and the Phillies only have a 1-0 lead in the series and will still have to win 2 more games to get back to the NLCS. Luckily, we know that this team has been here before and they know not to get too high or too low in the playoffs and they will have their eyes on the bigger picture when they take the field for Game 2.

October 6th, 2010 is now a day that all Phillies fans will remember forever. To think that Halladay was able to do this in his first postseason start is simply remarkable; I wonder what else he has up his sleeve for the World Series.
(AP PHOTO)

Halladay wins his 20th as Phillies take 5 game lead

I think we can all agree that wins are an overrated stat for pitchers. That said, you still have to be a damn good pitcher to win 20 games, which Roy Halladay did on Tuesday night against the Braves. More importantly for the team, with the 5-3 win, the Phillies have taken a solid 5 game lead in the National League East and lowered their magic number to 6.

Halladay becomes the first pitcher since Steve Carlton (23 wins in 1982) to win 20 games for the Phillies. It's also the third time in his career that Halladay has won 20 games. While there is much more to pitching than just wins, it's pretty safe to say that Halladay will be the favorite to win the NL Cy Young award.

With two wins in the books, everything has gone right for the Phillies in their series against the Braves. They made an effort to line up their three aces in the series and both Cole Hamels and Halladay haven't disappointed. While it isn't a must-win, I would expect the third ace, Roy Oswalt, to have a strong showing tomorrow as the Phillies look to sweep the Braves out of town and out of the division race.

Phillies sweep Fish, take commanding 3 game lead in the NL East

It's been a long, long time since the Phillies had a comfortable lead in the NL East. While they still shouldn't get too comfortable, they certainly took another step towards a playoff berth today as they completed a sweep against the Marlins on Wednesday night in a 10-5 win. With the Braves continuing to scuffle, losing another game to the Nationals, the Phillies added another game to their lead in the NL East to give them a nice three game cushion. Not only that, the Phillies also jumped up to 2.5 games above the Reds in the race for home field advantage throughout the playoffs, something the best National League team will have since the NL finally won the All-Star game this year.

Roy Halladay did the work on the mound on Wednesday, going 6 innings and giving up 10 hits and 3 runs, a mediocre outing by his standards. Luckily the Phillies offense did plenty of damage against the Marlins, who turned this one into a bullpen game as they used 6 different pitchers with none lasting more than two and one thirds innings. While Halladay probably isn't happy with how many hits he gave up, he did pick up his 19th win of the season, the most by any pitcher in the NL and tied with C.C. Sabathia for the most in MLB.

Despite the nice three game lead, the Phillies in no way can let their foot off the gas. With the Nationals, who played the Braves tough over the last few days, coming up next and six games with Atlanta on the horizon, an offensive lull or a few bad pitching outings could make for a very stressful final few weeks of the season. With the way Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt continue to take care of business, however, the postseason seems to be more of a certainty every day. With those three the only Phillies pitchers that will take the mound against Atlanta for the rest of the season, one can't help but start looking ahead to October.

Oswalt struggles in Phillies debut but there is no reason to overreact

As Phillies fans, we've grown accustomed to our newly acquired aces having impressive debuts with our team. About a year ago, it was Cliff Lee who pitched a complete game 4-hitter and gave up only 1 run. Then, on Opening Day this season, Roy Halladay threw a gem of his own, striking out 9 batters and giving up 1 run in 7 innings. Fast forward to tonight's Phillies debut by Roy Oswalt, though, and you saw a much different outcome: Oswalt struggled against the Nationals, giving up 5 runs (4 earned) and 7 hits in 6 innings of work as the Phillies win streak came to an end. That's not what I would call a good first impression on his new team.

Most of you know, however, that there is no reason to panic. In Oswalt, the Phillies have acquired a known commodity who has established himself as an above average pitcher, not someone who is going to fizzle out and be terrible for the entire second half of a season. These types of starts happen to every pitcher, even Lee and Halladay, who weren't dominant pitchers every time they took the mound for the Phillies. For example, take a look back at three starts Lee made back in late August and early September of last season where pitched a total of 15 innings and gave up 17 earned runs. Even our beloved Roy Halladay has also had four starts this season where he gave up 5 or more runs.

My point isn't that Lee and Halladay aren't stud pitchers, though, my point is that bad games happen to every pitcher. You can chalk it up to nerves, chalk it up to trying too hard to impress his new team or just simply say that Oswalt had an off night; whatever the case, don't overreact to this one start and compare it to how J.A. Happ did in his Houston debut (0 runs in 6 innings) and rant about how the Phillies made a bad trade. Bad starts happen to good pitchers and Oswalt is going to do just fine with the Phillies.
(AP PHOTO)

Domonic Brown lives up to the hype in major league debut

Talk about making an instant impact. In his first major league at-bat, just moments after the crowd at Citizens Bank Park gave him a standing ovation, Domonic Brown showed just why he has everyone in Philadelphia excited, rapping a double off the wall and driving in the first run of his career. It was nearly a perfect debut for Brown, who also had a single and had an RBI on a sac fly, as he helped the Phillies beat the D'backs 7-1 and win their 7th straight game.

While Brown will deservedly get most of the hype after his first game, Roy Halladay was the real reason the Phillies won. Doc was as sharp as ever on Wednesday night, going the full 9 innings and striking out 9 batters en route to his 12th win of the season. While the Phillies hitting has turned around and will get most of the credit for the recent hot streak, it's important to note that the pitching staff has given up only 2.1 runs per game during the 7 game win streak. Even the most inept offense can win plenty of games when your pitching is that hot.

Hopefully you got a chance to catch Brown's debut tonight, it was definitely an event that lived up to the hype. While we all run the risk of getting a little too ahead of ourselves with the kid, it's hard not to get excited about a player with his combination of power and athletic ability. I have a feeling we all just witnessed the beginning of something really special.
(AP PHOTO)

Phillies stumble out of second half gate, lose 3 of 4 to Cubs

Remember all those good feelings we had about the Phillies heading into the All-Star break after they swept the Reds? Yeah, that's all gone now after the lowly Cubs trashed the Phillies on Sunday night, 11-6, to give them a 3-1 series win. It would have been a four game sweep, too, if Cubs closer Carlos Marmol hadn't lost his ability to throw a strike on Saturday.

It's hard to put too much blame on Phillies ace Roy Halladay, who gave up 5 earned runs in 6 innings on Sunday, considering the offense once again didn't show up until the game was over. The bullpen didn't do anyone any favors, either, as J.C. Romero and David Herndon took a relatively close game and turned it into a Cubs blowout. Sure, if Halladay had been his usual self and only gave up a run or two, the Phils would have easily won, but not even Doc is perfect every time out.

With a 4 game series against the first place Cardinals starting on Monday, things look grim for the Phillies once again. While they are still 5 games above .500 and there is still plenty of season left, the Phils find themselves 5 and a half games behind a Braves team that doesn't know the meaning of the word slump. All season long, we've been using the injury excuse when explaining why this Phillies team hasn't played up to their ability. Now, with the exception of Chase Utley, everyone is back for the Phillies, so when are they going to start winning again?

I'm not quite ready to write off this season for the Phillies but I'm much closer to that point than I ever thought I would be in mid-July. There is still plenty of time for the Phils to right the ship, but if they are going to start making up ground in the division, they need to start beating up on bad teams like the Cubs. When they don't do that, they put themselves in the position of needing to win a handful of games against good teams, like Cardinals and Rockies, their opponents for the next eight games. That's a pretty big order for a team that can't hit and has spotty pitching at best.

A third straight World Series appearance sure seems like a pipe dream now, doesn't it?
(AP PHOTO)

Charlie Manuel manages NL to All-Star victory

Leave it to the genius of Charlie Manuel to finally break the stranglehold the American League has had on the All-Star Game. Okay, so Manuel really didn't have that much to do with it and probably over-managed the game if anything, but he is the skipper behind the first National League win in the All-Star Game since 1996. While it wasn't a particularly thrilling game, the NL did win 3-1 and therefore have earned the home field advantage in the World Series.

As for the rest of the Phillies at the game, neither Ryan Howard nor Roy Halladay did anything of note. Howard started the game at DH and ended up 0 for 2 with a strikeout and a groundout. Given that both of his at-bats were against lefties, including one against former Phillie Cliff Lee, you couldn't really expect much from Howard. As for Halladay, he pitched 2/3rds of an inning and gave up a pair of hits before being pulled out of the game by Manuel. He only threw 17 pitches but that was plenty in a game that means almost nothing.

As a Phillies fan, I have always rooted for the NL in the All-Star Game and I am therefore thankful that the American League's long winning streak is finally over. While I also think that making the game count for something is beyond stupid, it's nice to know that the Phillies will get home field advantage if they get to their third straight World Series.

(Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)