Roy Halladay: The Workhorse Who Made You Believe

Roy Halladay: The Workhorse Who Made You Believe

Brotherly Love From A Philadelphian

I love Roy Halladay.
As Alex pointed out, we tend to analyze and overanalyze our athletes these days, and that’s all well and good. We should use advanced metrics, more details and learn as much as we possibly can about our athletes.
But Alex is right — with Roy, it’s as simple love. The love of the game. The love of the work. The love of a player who always shows up, always works his tail off, always takes the ball and always gives it what he’s got — which just so happened to be better than anything else anyone else had on most nights.
Yes, Roy Hallady was only in Philadelphia for four of his 16 MLB seasons, and injuries and age made him a stranger in the final two. But I love Roy Halladay nonetheless, and I love him for so many reasons.
For starters, Roy Halladay chose to come to Philadelphia. Yes, he was technically traded to the Phillies, but he was the one who chose Philadelphia as his destination. The best pitcher in baseball, the one Toronto player who was the envy of the Yankees and Red Sox and everyone else, chose to come to Philadelphia in his quest for that elusive World Series ring.
That alone made Phillies fans so happy that some brilliant genius started a blog with the express purpose of going to the zoo with him.
The second he donned those red pinstripes, every Phillies fans imagined more parades down Broad Street, a dynasty led by the best pitcher in baseball. We had heard all about Roy Halladay, but we only knew what we heard. I hadn’t watched much of Halladay over the years, him playing for an American League squad that didn’t exactly conjure good memories for Phillies fans. But the expectations were so sky-high it would be near impossible for anyone to meet them.
Anyone but Roy Halladay, that is. Because not only did Roy live up to expectations, but he far, far exceeded them. In his first season, all he did was toss a perfect game, win a Cy Young, dominate from start to finish and lead the Phillies to the best record in all of baseball. Then, in his long-awaited postseason debut, he no-hit the Cincinnati Reds and later staved off elimination pitching with a pulled groin.
It was far and away the greatest pitching season I’ve ever seen from a Phillie, and he damn near did it again in 2011.
Roy Halladay was perfect. Roy Halladay was masterful. And Roy Halladay made everyone believe he could do damn near anything. He struck out batters yet was economical with his pitches. Walks were a four-letter word for him. He threw more complete games, more innings than all the rest. And he just kept going and going and going, giving his team not only a good chance to win every five days, but an absurdly great chance to win.
Watching him the past two seasons struggle with injury and age and command was one of the most difficult things to take, witnessing a legend fade. Here was the workhorse who made us believe, the workhorse who made Blue Jays fans believe and Phillies fans believe and baseball fans believe, failing to be what he always was.
But these past two seasons haven’t change a damn thing. Halladay — injured, aged, battered — kept going out there, kept taking the ball, kept working his ass off and kept making no excuses. For 16 seasons, he dominated the way few ever have. And in five more years, he should be taking his rightful place in Cooperstown.
This morning, Roy Halladay took out an ad in the Philadelphia Daily News thanking the Phillies and the fans, being the class act that he is. But really, he shouldn’t be thanking us. We all should be thanking him.
I love Roy Halladay, and I sure as shit would love to go to the zoo with him. — Joe aka @RevPaulRevere
- See more at: http://www.thesportsfanjournal.com/sports/baseball/roy-halladay-workhorse-made-believe/2/#sthash.gYBPF6Vr.dpuf

Brotherly Love From A Philadelphian

I love Roy Halladay.

As Alex pointed out, we tend to analyze and overanalyze our athletes these days, and that’s all well and good. We should use advanced metrics, more details and learn as much as we possibly can about our athletes.

But Alex is right — with Roy, it’s as simple love. The love of the game. The love of the work. The love of a player who always shows up, always works his tail off, always takes the ball and always gives it what he’s got — which just so happened to be better than anything else anyone else had on most nights.

Yes, Roy Hallady was only in Philadelphia for four of his 16 MLB seasons, and injuries and age made him a stranger in the final two. But I love Roy Halladay nonetheless, and I love him for so many reasons.

For starters, Roy Halladay chose to come to Philadelphia. Yes, he was technically traded to the Phillies, but he was the one who chose Philadelphia as his destination. The best pitcher in baseball, the one Toronto player who was the envy of the Yankees and Red Sox and everyone else, chose to come to Philadelphia in his quest for that elusive World Series ring.

That alone made Phillies fans so happy that some brilliant genius started a blog with the express purpose of going to the zoo with him.

The second he donned those red pinstripes, every Phillies fans imagined more parades down Broad Street, a dynasty led by the best pitcher in baseball. We had heard all about Roy Halladay, but we only knew what we heard. I hadn’t watched much of Halladay over the years, him playing for an American League squad that didn’t exactly conjure good memories for Phillies fans. But the expectations were so sky-high it would be near impossible for anyone to meet them.

Anyone but Roy Halladay, that is. Because not only did Roy live up to expectations, but he far, far exceeded them. In his first season, all he did was toss a perfect game, win a Cy Young, dominate from start to finish and lead the Phillies to the best record in all of baseball. Then, in his long-awaited postseason debut, he no-hit the Cincinnati Reds and later staved off elimination pitching with a pulled groin.

It was far and away the greatest pitching season I’ve ever seen from a Phillie, and he damn near did it again in 2011.

Roy Halladay was perfect. Roy Halladay was masterful. And Roy Halladay made everyone believe he could do damn near anything. He struck out batters yet was economical with his pitches. Walks were a four-letter word for him. He threw more complete games, more innings than all the rest. And he just kept going and going and going, giving his team not only a good chance to win every five days, but an absurdly great chance to win.

Watching him the past two seasons struggle with injury and age and command was one of the most difficult things to take, witnessing a legend fade. Here was the workhorse who made us believe, the workhorse who made Blue Jays fans believe and Phillies fans believe and baseball fans believe, failing to be what he always was.

But these past two seasons haven’t change a damn thing. Halladay — injured, aged, battered — kept going out there, kept taking the ball, kept working his ass off and kept making no excuses. For 16 seasons, he dominated the way few ever have. And in five more years, he should be taking his rightful place in Cooperstown.

This morning, Roy Halladay took out an ad in the Philadelphia Daily News thanking the Phillies and the fans, being the class act that he is. But really, he shouldn’t be thanking us. We all should be thanking him.

I love Roy Halladay, and I sure as shit would love to go to the zoo with him.

 

Brotherly Love From A Philadelphian

I love Roy Halladay.
As Alex pointed out, we tend to analyze and overanalyze our athletes these days, and that’s all well and good. We should use advanced metrics, more details and learn as much as we possibly can about our athletes.
But Alex is right — with Roy, it’s as simple love. The love of the game. The love of the work. The love of a player who always shows up, always works his tail off, always takes the ball and always gives it what he’s got — which just so happened to be better than anything else anyone else had on most nights.
Yes, Roy Hallady was only in Philadelphia for four of his 16 MLB seasons, and injuries and age made him a stranger in the final two. But I love Roy Halladay nonetheless, and I love him for so many reasons.
For starters, Roy Halladay chose to come to Philadelphia. Yes, he was technically traded to the Phillies, but he was the one who chose Philadelphia as his destination. The best pitcher in baseball, the one Toronto player who was the envy of the Yankees and Red Sox and everyone else, chose to come to Philadelphia in his quest for that elusive World Series ring.
That alone made Phillies fans so happy that some brilliant genius started a blog with the express purpose of going to the zoo with him.
The second he donned those red pinstripes, every Phillies fans imagined more parades down Broad Street, a dynasty led by the best pitcher in baseball. We had heard all about Roy Halladay, but we only knew what we heard. I hadn’t watched much of Halladay over the years, him playing for an American League squad that didn’t exactly conjure good memories for Phillies fans. But the expectations were so sky-high it would be near impossible for anyone to meet them.
Anyone but Roy Halladay, that is. Because not only did Roy live up to expectations, but he far, far exceeded them. In his first season, all he did was toss a perfect game, win a Cy Young, dominate from start to finish and lead the Phillies to the best record in all of baseball. Then, in his long-awaited postseason debut, he no-hit the Cincinnati Reds and later staved off elimination pitching with a pulled groin.
It was far and away the greatest pitching season I’ve ever seen from a Phillie, and he damn near did it again in 2011.
Roy Halladay was perfect. Roy Halladay was masterful. And Roy Halladay made everyone believe he could do damn near anything. He struck out batters yet was economical with his pitches. Walks were a four-letter word for him. He threw more complete games, more innings than all the rest. And he just kept going and going and going, giving his team not only a good chance to win every five days, but an absurdly great chance to win.
Watching him the past two seasons struggle with injury and age and command was one of the most difficult things to take, witnessing a legend fade. Here was the workhorse who made us believe, the workhorse who made Blue Jays fans believe and Phillies fans believe and baseball fans believe, failing to be what he always was.
But these past two seasons haven’t change a damn thing. Halladay — injured, aged, battered — kept going out there, kept taking the ball, kept working his ass off and kept making no excuses. For 16 seasons, he dominated the way few ever have. And in five more years, he should be taking his rightful place in Cooperstown.
This morning, Roy Halladay took out an ad in the Philadelphia Daily News thanking the Phillies and the fans, being the class act that he is. But really, he shouldn’t be thanking us. We all should be thanking him.
I love Roy Halladay, and I sure as shit would love to go to the zoo with him. — Joe aka @RevPaulRevere
- See more at: http://www.thesportsfanjournal.com/sports/baseball/roy-halladay-workhorse-made-believe/2/#sthash.gYBPF6Vr.dpuf

In Defense of Roy Halladay’s Critics

In Defense of Roy Halladay’s Critics

Roy Halladay and Watching a Legend Fade

The day Ruben Amaro Jr. traded for Roy Halladay had everyone in the city of Philadelphia envisioning more parade floats driving down Broad Street in the cool November air. Even after Ruben inexplicably and, quite frankly, stupidly traded away Clifton Phifer Lee for reasons that made very little sense given how insanely dominant Lee was in his brief first stint with the Phillies, Roy Halladay was here to help Cole Hamels rebound from a subpar 2009, stabilize the pitching staff and lead the Phillies right back to the World Series for a third straight year and more. He was one of, if not the, best pitcher in baseball, after all.



All Doc did from there was go 21-10 in his first season in red pinstripes, toss a perfect game, lead the Phillies to the best record in baseball, win the National League Cy Young, toss a no-hitter in the first playoff start of his career, and help the Phillies stave off elimination for one more day pitching with a pulled groin.

He was everything we hoped he'd be and more … but sadly the Phillies succumbed to Cody Ross and his stupid face, as the pesky San Francisco Giants wound up winning the whole damn thing.

It was annoying and disheartening to see the Phillies bow out in the NLCS, but it was hardly the fault of Halladay. It's hard to get to the World Series if your bats are silent.

In year one, Halladay was everything Phillies fans and the front office had hoped for and more. He was the best pitcher in the game, or at least the best pitcher in the National League, and he was all ours for at least three more years. Certainly another parade was in store … especially after Ruben righted his insanely stupid wrong by swooping in during the darkness of the night and bringing back Cliff Lee to join forces with Halladay, Hamels and Roy Oswalt.



Well, in 2011, Roy was Roy yet again, going 19-6 with a 2.35 ERA and a career-high 220 strikeouts, finishing second behind Clayton Kershaw in the NL Cy Young race. The Phillies won a franchise-high 102 games, best in the Majors yet again, and were the odds-on favorite to win the World Series. Halladay was still as dominant as anyone, Lee was coming off one of the most remarkable two-year playoff runs in history, Hamels was back to his 2008 postseason form and Oswalt was there as the steady veteran to round out the league's best rotation.

Roy did his job to give the Phils a 1-0 series lead in the first round against the St. Louis Cardinals, going 8 innings and securing the victory. And when the Phillies went up by four in game two, it looked like they were all set to run right through the National League and on to the World Series. Only Lee couldn't hold the lead, a shocking revelation given his prior postseason success, and the wheels came off. Halladay was outdueled by his good friend Chris Carpenter in game 5, ending the season without even a playoff series victory, and neither the Phillies nor Halladay have been the same since.

Early on last season, Roy just didn't seem right. Opponents were jumping all over him in the first inning, and his command was nowhere near what we've come to expect — which is to say nearly perfect. Shit, this is a guy whose goal every year is to have less walks than games started, something he's done several times in his career. He was getting knocked around, and Halladay just didn't look like himself.

A guy whose "bad outings" would be giving up four runs over 7 or 8 innings was suddenly getting shelled. Turns out, Doc was pitching hurt, and he eventually landed on the DL with shoulder troubles in his pitching arm. His arm has been dead ever since.

Stupidly, Halladay came back last season when it was pretty clear the Phillies were going to have to go on a miracle run to make the postseason. Admittedly, they almost did, and while you can't fault Halladay for wanting to be out there for his teammates, he still wasn't himself. As it turned out, he wound up doing more harm than good.

His arm and his team have never recovered. He doesn't have the same velocity, the same command or, perhaps most importantly, the same bite to his pitches. He's become a guy with average stuff, and thus he's become an average pitcher. Actually, after last night's debacle against the Indians — lasting just 3 and 2/3 innings while surrendering 8 earned runs on 9 hits, including three home runs and two walks — his numbers suggest he's not even that.

In the blink of an eye, Roy Halladay went from the best in the game to mediocre at best. His legend has faded, and it continues to fade.

It's always sad to see this happen to the superstars of the game. They usually look the same and sound the same, still have the confidence that they can do what they've always done, but their bodies betray them.

Halladay's body, specifically his arm, simply won't allow him to be the pitcher he's accustomed to being. As a result, he's trying even harder to pinpoint his pitches that no longer have the same movent, which is resulting in command problems — both in the zone and out. Last night, he threw meatball after meatball, while also throwing an inordinate amount of balls. His pitches simply don't go where he wants them to go anymore, don't move like he wants them to move anymore, which is sad beyond belief for a guy who has made a career off pinpoint accuracy.

As David Murphy alluded to today, Halladay isn't necessarily done. He'll still give you good outings, some really good outings. However, they'll be followed by bad outings, some really bad outings — just like a lot of MLB pitchers. But the Roy Halladay the baseball world has known over the years is done. He's gone. And the Roy Halladay we saw dominate the National League his first two seasons in Philadelphia is fading away.

So are the Phillies are their chances for that parade we've been expecting ever since Doc arrived.

Championship-less Since 2008: Evaluating Ruben Amaro Jr.

Mercifully, the 2012 Philadelphia Phillies have an off day today after getting swept by the Florida Marlins over the weekend. Yesterday's 5-2 loss was the Phils' fifth straight L, as they continue to fall further and further behind in the standings.

It's become a season of despair. Not many fans can even muster up much hope in the return of Chase Utley and soon-to-be (hopefully) returns of Ryan Howard and Roy Halladay. The season has been that bad, something we have been spoiled enough to not endure the past five seasons, but something that Phillies fans are also pretty well-versed in over the years. The troubles of the team have been hashed and rehashed time and time again all over the place, so there's no need to go into depth about them again here.

However, with the season now at its halfway point in now year four of the Ruben Amaro Jr. era as Phillies general manager, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at RAJ's moves since taking the helm from Pat Gillick following the last Philadelphia team to be crowned World Fucking Champions.



2009



Following the championship in 2008, the Phillies had a lot of housekeeping to tidy up. While the core of the team was still fairly locked up, RAJ had plenty to deal with in his first offseason as the man in charge. His first and biggest move of the offseason came in December 2008, when he signed Raul Ibanez to a three-year contract that everyone thought was too long for an already old, streaky hitter who wasn't so great in the outfield. Raul was taking the place of Pat Burrell, who literally road off into the sunset leading the parade down Broad Street in his final farewell to Philadelphia.

As we all know, Raul started out white hot, then slumped, but overall was pretty good in 2009. After that, not so much. As predicted, his contract appeared to outlive his usefulness, as Ibanez became a platoon player who struggled quite a bit in his final season before heading to the Yankees here in 2012. Not a terrible signing, but also not exactly the best foresight giving such an old guy a three-year deal.

That same offseason, RAJ tendered one-year contracts to Joe Blanton, Chad Durbin, Ryan Madson, Cole Hamels, Greg Dobbs, Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth, all key contributors to the championship that the Phils needed to bring back. Before the calendar flipped to 2009 officially, Amaro also signed Eric Bruntlett and Clay Condrey, not to mention acquired Ronny Paulino from Pittsburgh for Jason Jaramillo.

Once the new year rang in, RAJ got to work. He singed Werth to a two-year deal (well worth it), Durbin to a one-year deal (necessary at the time), Madson to a three-year deal (excellent signing), Victorino and Blanton to one-year deals, Hamels to a  three-year deal (at a bargain, great move), Dobbs to a two-year deal, Jamie Moyer to a two-year deal (not so good) and inked Chan Ho Park to a one-year contract.

We all know Werth, Madson, Victorino and Cole were well worth their deals, big contributors necessary for the team. Moyer almost had to be brought back given the championship, but giving a guy who was that old two years just because backfired, as Moyer eventually lost his starting position down the line and became pretty cranky about it.

Blanton has been a disaster the past two years, but he was huge in getting the Phils to the World Series, so can't kill Ruben for that one. Durbin same thing, I like the one-year deal. And Chan Ho was excellent in his bullpen role during his one year in red pinstripes.

In February, RAJ also extended Howard three years and just as importantly released Adam Eaton. Can't argue with either of these moves.

March saw RAJ flip the recently acquired Paulino for left-hander Jack Taschner, while also signing Rodrigo Lopez to a minor league contract.

Of course, even bigger than the Ibanez signing, RAJ made his move at the trade deadline, trading Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson, Jason Donald and Jason Knapp for Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco in a move that can be considered nothing short of awesome.



Lee came to Philadelphia, dominated and put forth one of the most impressive postseason pitching performances of all time, despite the Phils coming up short to the Yankees in the World Series.

Following up the acquisition of one Cy Young winner, RAJ also then signed Pedro Martinez in the middle of the month, with Pedro pitching surprisingly well for a guy who had been away from the game for a while.

The Phillies again won the NL East and then the pennant, looking to repeat. If it wasn't for a down year by Hamels following his NLCS and World Series MVP postseason in 2008, the Phils very well may have repeated. They did not, losing the Yanks in 6, but it's hard to argue with Ruben's first year on the job. There were a few old guys he signed for too long, but he also stole Lee from Cleveland and helped the Phils return to the World Series. Off to a pretty good start.

2010



After signing a few bit pieces, like Wilson Valdez, Brian Schneider, Ross Gload and Juan Castro, not mention bringing Placido Polanco back in another deal that was too lengthy but did sure up the team, RAJ went for broke. Roy Halladay had been the apple of Ruben's eye ever since he became GM, with rumors swirling throughout 2009 that the Phils would be the team to pry him away from Toronto. The hitch was the Phils didn't want to give up their top prospects, Kyle Drabek and Domonic Brown. But after the Phils were bested by the Yankees, Ruben was determined to get his man.

So RAJ went ahead and pulled the trigger, trading Travis d'Arnaud, Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor for the great Roy Halladay. Incredible move, no matter how you slice it. The Phils went out and got one of, if not the, best pitchers in baseball to join forces with Lee and Hamels … or so we thought.

Instead, we were left dumbfounded, as the following day RAJ traded fan favorite and playoff MVP Cliff Lee to Seattle for Phillippe Aumont, Tyson Gillies and Juan Ramirez, three minor-leaguers who have yet to do a damn thing. Ruben broke up the three-headed monster Phillies fans were salivating over before it even had a chance to get together, and it was the single worst trade since the turn of the millennium for the Phillies. Don't get me wrong, getting Roy was awesome, proven by his Cy Young season, perfect game and playoff no-hitter. But to trade Lee for really no reason — RAJ claimed it was to restock the farm system, as well as a financial move — was devastating.

I will never fully forgive Amaro for dealing away Cliff Lee after just one short half season and one playoff run of brilliance.

To make matters worse, RAJ also signed Danys Baez, who was Chad Qualls before Chad Qualls was Chad Qualls. That means he sucked donkey balls, in case you were wondering. He also signed the million-year-old Jose Contreras, who was good until his arm fell off.

He also inked Ryan Howard to a five-year, $125 million contact, a deal that was questioned immediately and labeled by some as one of the worst contracts in baseball.

Of course, Ruben wouldn't stand pat at the trade deadline. In almost an admission that he screwed up by shipping Lee out west, he called up old pal Ed Wade and swung a deal to bring Roy Oswalt to Philadelphia, dealing J.A. Happ and two minor leaguers for Houston's ace.



So much for "restocking the farm system" and saving some dough.

Either way, the Phils flourished and won the NL East yet again, finishing with the best record in the National League and placed squarely as the favorites to win it all with Halladay, Hamels and Oswalt leading the way. Instead, the Giants' rotation of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez stifled the Phillies on their way to the World Series in the NLCS, continuing the postseason regression under Rubes. While it was another really good season, you can't help but wonder what would have happened had Lee been teamed with Halladay and Hamels for an entire season. Of course, Lee would not have helped the Phillies' offense agains the Giants so maybe it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

2011



2010 was the end of the line for Moyer and Dobbs, both of whom were not good at all in 2010 for the Phillies. Signed for too long. That offseason also saw Jayson Werth head down to D.C. by signing a massive deal with the Naitonals, one the Phillies were wise not to match but nonetheless creating a hole in right field. Durbin was also gone to free agency, wisely.

But let's be honest, no one cares about any of that. All anyone cared about is that somehow, some way Ruben was able to reel back in the one he sent packing, as Cliff Lee shunned bigger dollars and longer deals from the Yankees and Rangers to head back to Philadelphia and finally put together the dream rotation Phillies fans had wanted: Halladay, Lee, Hamels, Oswalt, Blanton.

It was a coup that made the Phillies everyone's favorite for the World Series.

The season was going according to plan. The pitchers were brilliant. The only real trouble was the hole created by Werth, since Domonic Brown was unsteady, and the continued decline of Raul Ibanez. But that was all settled when John Mayberry flourished playing part time to spell Ibanez and RAJ went and got Hunter Pence to be the right-handed right fielder the Phils needed.



Hunter took off, the pitching was outstanding and the Phils won a franchise-record amount of games, running away with the division and heading into the postseason as the dead-on favorites. Instead, they got bounced in the first round by the eventual champions, the St. Louis Cardinals, as the offense struggled yet again and Lee blew a lead that turned the series around. Not good.

To make matters worse, Ryan Howard ruptured his achilles on the final at-bat of the season, the roster was aging, the bullpen in flux and Ruben did pretty much nothing to address the situations. There was a lot of tinkering needed for the 2012 season, tinkering that Ruben seemed to completely ignore.

2012



The biggest move RAJ made was to sign Jonathan Papelbon to an exorbitant contract. Sure, it sured up the closer's role with Brad Lidge losing his effectiveness and heading to Washington and Ryan Madson testing the market, but it also cost a ton of money, money that could have been spent more wisely elsewhere. Instead of trying to reconnect with Ryan Madson after he initially refused an offer from the Phillies, he went and splurged on Papelbon as really the only big move of the offseason. Madson meanwhile signed just a cheap, one-year deal with the Reds, a deal that would have been much more manageable for the Phillies. Of course, Madson is out for the year due to injury, but who knows if that happens if he comes back to Philadelphia.

Anyway, after the Papelbon signing — and Papelbon has been the one lone bright spot in the bullpen this year — RAJ didn't do much to help the team. He brought back Jim Thome, which is a great story and all since everyone loves him, but Jim Thome is useless in the NL. It was proven given he sucked before getting hurt, then finally hit the crap out of the ball as a DH in interleague play, but then couldn't get back out there because he can't play the field. Thus he has already been traded to Baltimore.

He also traded for Ty Wigginton, a good move, and then tried to sure up the rest of the bench with Laynce Nix, Hector Luna and Juan Pierre. But he also traded utility man Wilson Valdez, who was valuable with his glove, particularly backing up Jimmy Rollins at shortstop, giving really no insurance behind Rollins, who was re-signed to a three-year deal despite his age and declining numbers.

Then to try and fill out the bullpen, RAJ signed Dontrelle Willis, who got cut before opening day, and Chad Qualls, who was recently traded after sucking and being demoted, while also attempting to rely on the ancient, injured Jose Contreras. Not a good plan.

Worse, Amaro had no plan in place for holding the fort while Howard was/is out. Maybe he was hoping Thome, Wigginton and Nix — who has been hurt — along with Mayberry would suffice, but that hasn't happened. Also, he once again seemed blindsided by Chase Utley's absence, something that is inexcusable at this point. That meant the Phillies had to go with light-hitting Freddy Galvis and then light-hitting Michael Martinez/Mike Fontenot to try and replace the team's three-hole hitter. Terrible.

And he also assumed Mayberry/PIerre could be everyday players despite one only succeeded one season in a platoon role and the other nearing the end of his carer. All this while piecing together a makeshift bullpen that has been one of the worst in the league.

Yeah, this has not been a good year for RAJ at all, and it's showing in the standings. Now, I'll concede that the injuries and poor performances have done him no favors, but it's hard not to put a lot of blame at Ruben's feet.

In his tenure, he's been aggressive and certainly tries his best to win it all every year, but he hasn't exactly been flawless. The deals to get Lee, Halladay and Oswalt were brilliant. So was the move to get Pence. But it's been offset by a habit of signing old guys to contracts that are too long and not focusing on filling out a well-rounded roster. Now it's all catching up to Ruben, and it has put the Phillies in the precarious position of trying to decide if they should be sellers here in 2012 or hope that a full, healthy roster can turn things around, if not this season than next.

Adding to the complications is the impending free agency of Cole Hamels, which only makes the trade talks swirl even more.

Ruben certainly has been bold as the GM, but just as the Phillies have regressed each postseason, RAJ has seen his stock start to fall as well with shortsighted moves and an aging roster.

Phillies, Dead or Alive?

It has been a strange two months in baseball, and no team has represented this odd start than the Philadelphia Phillies.

Everyone knew scoring runs in the early season would be an issue with the team's two highest-paid and most talented offensive players on the shelf.



Putting even more pressure on an aging and injured Phils squad, many thought, would be an improved division basically from top to bottom. The Braves were already a good club, now with a full year of Michael Bourn to build on. The Nationals brought in Gio Gonzalez to team with Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmerman, not to mention the eventual call-up of Bryce Harper to infuse the lineup. Miami hired Ozzie Guillen, inked Jose Reyes and nabbed the reliable Mark Buehrle and talented - albeit insane - Carlos Zambrano. And the Mets, well, they couldn't get any worse.

Things weren't going to be easy for the Phillies at the start. And they weren't. As expected, Philadelphia struggled early on to score runs. Jimmy Rollins couldn't get going. Shane Victorino was his streaky self. Hunter Pence tried to make up for the absence of Utley and Howard every at-bat. Placido Polanco continued to age. John Mayberry took a step back. Utley's replacement, Freddy Galvis, was fantastic in the field but nothing to write home about with the stick. The only players doing any sort of consistent hitting were Carlos Ruiz and Juan Pierre, a career eight-hole hitter and a slap hitter.

To make matters worse, the starting pitching was not quite as great as it has been. Roy Halladay, while still better than 90 percent of the pitchers out there, didn't look as dominant as he has. Cliff Lee is awesome, but the man still is winless. Though Cole Hamels has elevated his game yet again, pitching at a Cy Young level.

Still, it wasn't enough. The losses were piling up, the Phils fading, and even more injury has begotten the Fightins. Vance Worley was shelved. Laynce Nix hurt. Cliff Lee had his issue. Cole Hamels got suspended. Now Roy Halladay's shoulder is falling apart and the Phillies are dead last. The sky is falling on Ruben Amaro's grand experiment.

That's how it feels anyway. Then you look at the standings this morning, following the Phils' 10-6 victory over the Mets last night, and you realize this depleted, struggling team is just three games back from first place.



Judging by the way both fans and media alike have many times left this team for dead, you'd think they were already looking at a 9, 10, 11 game hole. I have to admit, it certainly feels that way. Watching the 2012 version of the Phillies is painful. They aren't cruising by people with either insane pitching completely neutering the opposing offense or a slew of home runs carrying them to a power surge. Many of the games are close, low-scoring and utterly agonizing to witness. Yet they are two games over .500 and just three games out of first with plenty of games to play and potentially some reinforcements coming in.

How have they done it? Well, two men have carried this club more than any others. The first is the man this franchise desperately needs to find a way to sign, the left-handed former World Series MVP who only gets better with every passing season.

Cole Hamels has been nothing short of phenomenal. Where Halladay and Lee have had hiccups, Cole has been brilliant. This is now his staff, at least for this year, and his team. He's among the league leaders in damn near every pitching category, and now with Halladay on the shelf, he's the man who will be tasked with leading the rotation. Judging by the way he's been going and the resolve he's developed the past few years learning from the likes of Halladay and Lee, the Phils are in good hands there.



The other man helping keep this team afloat is the man Hamels chucks the ball to, the one and only Carlos Ruiz. I've already written about Chooch and what he's been doing this season. Simply put, he is right there with Yadier Molina as the best catcher in baseball right now. The man has continued to handle the pitching staff magnificently, and now he's become the team's most lethal and reliable hitter. Hell, even when he doesn't start, he's coming in and turning the game around like he did last night. It's frightening to think where this offense would be without him, and where this team would be without Ruiz and Hamels.

Thankfully, behind the strength of those two, the development of Galvis and some strong play from the likes of Juan Pierre and Ty Wigginton, the Phils are well within striking distance, even if no one realizes it.

Of course, they still are in last place. And now, they are without Roy Halladay for 6-8 weeks, yet another injury to one of the team's aging stars. It makes it all feel like this is a lost season for the Phillies, like they are dead in the water.

But then you look up and see those standings, see how close they really are, and you wonder if maybe they are in a better position than it seems. Yes, Halladay is out. That is a huge blow. And the timetables on the return of Utley and Howard are still unknown. But at some point, they will be back, giving a boost to the offense. The rotation still has Lee and Hamels as a dynamic 1-2 punch, not to mention a closer who remains perfect in save opportunities. If they can hold it together and keep within striking distance, the second half could be their time to strike.

Still, it's hard not to wonder where exactly the team is right now. No Halladay, no Utley, no Howard. A shaky bullpen, inconsistent offense. It's not inconceivable to envision this season becoming a lost cause.

But it's not lost yet. Not by a long shot. Just look at the standings. It feels like the Phillies are dead, but they are very much alive.

The Idiocy of ‘Going by the Book’

Last night, I attended my first Phillies game of this slow-starting 2012 season. I might as well have just stayed home in my warm, dry living room, because what I witnessed was a travesty of logic by Phillies manager Charlie Manuel.



Things started out all well and good, with the Phillies scoring a run in each of the first two innings to take a 2-0 lead. Roy Halladay was mowing down Mets and cruising, even if he was throwing a decent number of pitches.

Then in the 6th, after getting two quick outs, Roy thought he had Mets leadoff hitter Andres Torres struck out. The home-plate umpire disagreed. I couldn’t really tell if it was a strike or not from my seats, but Halladay was peeved. And he let it get to him. As in, he lost his cool, then lost his command, then lost Torres for the dreaded two-out walk.

Then some guy I never heard of with a long name singled, followed by David Wright smoking a double down the third-base line to tie the game. Roy went from a perfect 6th with a shutout intact to allowing the Mets to pull even in a matter a minutes. Not good.

However, the Phils came storming back an inning later, with Juan Pierre getting a leadoff walk pinch-hitting for Halladay, followed by a Jimmy Rollins single. Off to a good start. Here’s the thing, because Charlie Manuel inexplicably batted the struggling John Mayberry second, a guy who probably hasn’t bunted once in his entire MLB career was up in a clear bunt situation. It was an odd choice to hit Mayberry second to begin with, seeing as both Shane Victorino and Placido Polanco are much more prototypical two hitters, where Mayberry is much better suited for hitting down in the order (well, prior to this year, when he hasn’t been suited to hit anywhere).

Now it all came to a head. The Phillies needed a bunt. John Mayberry most likely cannot bunt. And while he did square around at first, he ultimately swung away, flying out to shallow right and not even moving one runner, let alone both. Dumb move number one by Charlie. But hey, at least Mayberry made two very fine plays in the field.

The good news is that Shane followed with an infield single to load the bases with one out. Excellent. All the Phils needed now was for Hunter Pence, a guy who has power and certainly is capable of hitting it to the outfield, to hit a fly ball that didn’t even have to be all that deep with Pierre on third. Instead, Pence hit a dead double-play ball because he’s an undisciplined hitter. And while at first he was called safe by beating out the throw (he looked out to me in real time anyway), the run was wiped off the board as Victorino was called for being out of the base path on his breakup attempt or something. Or maybe the call was overturned. They don’t tell us anything at the game, obviously, and Twitter was of little help.

Either way, double play, inning over, game still tied. Fantastic. Dumb Phillies baseball at its best. And it was only just beginning.

After Antonio Bastardo got through the 8th with no damage, the Phils started to get cooking again. Ty Wigginton led off with a single. Carlos Ruiz followed with a nice bunt that turned into a bunt single when the pitcher fell down. Then Polanco, who conceivably could have done this in the previous inning had he been hitting second, laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to get Ty to third and Ruiz to second. Here’s where Charlie made another stupid move.

We’ve all seen that Freddy Galvis cannot hit. Roy Halladay is almost his equal in average this season. So with Galvis up, naturally Charlie would pinch-hit for him right? Bring in Pete Orr and force the Mets’ hand. That way, they can decide whether or not they want to take their chances with Orr or walk him to load the bases to bring the force at home into play. Instead, Charlie keeps in Galvis and the Mets wisely decide to pitch to him. Freddy has one of the most awful at-bats I’ve ever seen and grounds into a fielder’s choice out by hitting the ball about 30 feet right back to the pitcher. Two outs. Awesome.

But wait, it gets even better. Laynce Nix stepped into the on-deck circle and was announced as the pinch-hitter. As expected, the Mets then brought in a lefty. Obvious, but sometimes those are the breaks. Nix is the team’s best RBI man on the bench, he was brought in for this very type of at-bat, so you take your chances with him, right? I mean, the guy is one of the few Phillies actually hitting over .300 and he has 10 RBI in 50 plate appearances. He’s the guy you want up there.

That is, unless you’re Charlie Manuel, who decided to “go by the book” at the stupidest time ever. When the Mets brought in the lefty, Manuel replaced Nix, his best bench hitter, at least powerwise, and completely wasted him in a tie game in the 8th. And who did he replace him with? Erik Kratz, a 31-year-old who had a cup of coffee with the Pirates, where he sucked, and an even shorter cup of coffee with the Phils last year.



He’s a career minor-leaguer. And since he’s been called up, he hasn’t gotten a single hit, entering the game with a .000 average in a couple appearances. Let me make this as clear as possible: Charlie Manuel wasted his best bench hitter in a tie game in the 8th in a clear RBI spot against a division opponent in favor a career minor leaguer who quite literally cannot hit. A braindead toad could not have made a dumber decision. Shockingly, Kratz struck out to end the inning. And by shockingly, I mean expectedly.

We all know the rest. The new closer came in in a non-save situation, sucked and gave up a home run to some scrub, a guy who had never had a Major League hit before in his life. Game over. After five years of being spoiled beyond belief, we have been reminded in this early going of what being a Phillies fan has been like the majority of my life, and the majority of their existence. Minus Utley and Howard and with an aging roster, they just aren’t the fun, enjoyable team they’ve been the past half decade. That doesn’t mean they can’t turn it around, but right now watching the Phillies is like pulling teeth. And the dumb decisions by the manager aren’t helping.

Play Ball

As we all know, tomorrow the Phillies will open the 2012 season tomorrow in Pittsburgh. They will begin their quest for their 6th straight NL East title. There is a bit of an odd feeling as the season begins, with injuries and the offensive ineptitude of the past two postseasons looming over the club.

Several of my friends, including the Rev and Arkansas Fred, have expressed their lack of excitement over the beginning of the season. I could not disagree with them more. On opening day, hope springs eternal, and despite the questions and the playoff disappointments of the past two seasons, the Phils have plenty of reasons for optimism and excitement.

Yes, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard are out, and there is no definitive timetable for their return. Yes they are two perennial all-stars. And yes they will be missed. It will certainly be hard to replace their production in the lineup. But the Phillies have what is necessary to keep the ship afloat while they await the return of two of their main cogs. And when they do return, hopefully in the May/June timeframe, it will be equivalent to trading for two all-stars mid-season, only the Phillies won't be giving anything up for them.

The main reason to think that the Phils will be able to hold on while they wait for the team to get completely healthy is obviously the pitching staff. Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Cole Hamels are still three of the best pitchers in the game, and still make up the most formidable staff in all of baseball. Roy is arguably the best pitcher in the game, Cliff is steady and solid and sometimes dominating, and Cole has steadily progressed towards what the Phillies expected him to be and what he showed during the glorious fall of 2008, an absolute stud. Expect big things from Mr. Hamels this season. They will go out there day after day and perform, keep the Phillies in games, and flat out win some games by themselves.



It's also not as if the rest of the Phillies lineup is full of bums. Jimmy Rollins is aging, but we all know what he is capable of. We get a full season of Hunter Pence. Placido Polanco still knows how to hit and do small things like move runners. Shane Victorino is still a spark plug. Chooch is rock steady behind the plate and knows how to handle hitting in the bottom of the order in a National League lineup. John Mayberry Jr. has shown signs of developing into a very solid major league player. And with the additions of Jim Thome, Laynce Nix, Ty Wiggington, and Juan Pierre, the Phillies have strengthened their traditionally weak bench.

Thome can still hit for power. And Pierre appears rejuvenated, adding another dynamic to the lineup. The ability of Wiggington and Mayberry to play multiple positions adds some versatility to the lineup and gives Charlie more options. Freddy Galvis has shown signs of being a solid player, being able to contribute while we await the return of Chase. And I am one of the few people who have not yet given up on Dom Brown.

And finally, during the two-game exhibition series against the Pirates the Phils showed the ability to play some small ball, something they have sorely lacked with this core group.



Sure, the Phils have some question marks and some reasons for concern. The injuries and offensive problems I mentioned above, and the fact that the Braves are a really good team and the Marlins and Nationals are quickly improving. This opening day is different in that the Phils aren't a complete lock to win the division and "only" in the conversation as World Series contenders instead of being everyone's pick to come out of the National League. This is different than we've been accustomed to the past few years.

But the Phillies still have tons of talent, tons of experience, the support of the greatest fan base in the country, and reinforcements coming later in the season. They are still a very, very good team. There are plenty of reasons to hope for and believe in another division title and another run at a championship. So let's not become like those spoiled Braves fans that we all hated while the Braves where on their run who stopped even bothering showing up to games. Let's sit back, enjoy the ride, and appreciate the fact that we are experiencing the best era of Phillies baseball ever.

A Familiar Feeling

Throughout my 27-plus years on earth, there has been one common theme to being a Philadelphia sports fan: disappointment. It is something I grew up experiencing as a sports fan in this city. The Phillies being perennial losers. Two blown saves in the World Series. Buddy Ryan. Rich Kotite. Ray Rhodes. Four NFC Championship losses. One Super Bowl loss. The Flyers bowing out spectacularly, whether way too early or painfully too late. John Lucas and everything else the Sixers have done. It's been a city full of sports teams destined to disappoint.

The 2008 Phillies changed all that for a time.



And what the Phillies have done since, becoming a National League powerhouse and bringing in big-name pitcher after big-name pitcher, has spoiled us. But in the back of all our minds, that old familiar feeling began to creep up. When the Phillies couldn't repeat despite Cliff Lee's brilliance, the thought started to resurface. When Michael Leighton let in the softest Stanley Cup winning goal of all time, you could really feel it coming. When the bats went silent last year against the Giants, the first real tinge of disappointment reappeared. And now this. That old, familiar feeling is back in full force.

This was supposed to be the year of Philadelphia. The Phillies pulled off the biggest offseason coup in recent memory, reacquiring Cliff Lee to join Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt to all but ensure another parade down Broad Street. The Eagles nearly matched them, bringing in high-priced free agent after high-priced free agent, headlined by Nnamdi Asomugha and the trade of Kevin Kolb for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. In August, there was no better place to be as a sports fan than Philadelphia.

Now here we are, two months later, with the Phillies sent home after just five games in October and the "Dream Team" sitting at a disgusting 1-4. If that's not disappointment, I don't know what disappointment is.

The real shame of it all is that Roy Halladay has to get lumped into this disappointing team that the Phillies ultimately became. That man deserved way better. Yes, his first-inning troubles were incredibly annoying this series, spotting the Cardinals three runs in game 1 and another in game 5, but all he did is retire 21 in row to win game 1 and go 8 innings of 6-hit, 1-run ball in the final game. That man pitched his balls off for this team, and his teammates let him down.



I honestly don't know how his teammates can look him in the eyes after Friday night. I really don't. Sure, Roy is the one who gave up consecutive extra-base hits to start the game and spot the Cards a run, but the Phils were left with nine god damn innings to just put one or two on the board to stay alive and they couldn't do it. Without a doubt, give Chris Carpenter credit. He deserves all the credit in the world. The guy showed exactly why he is an ace, pitching an incredible game, finishing off the complete-game shutout. But it's inexcusable for this team to do so little at the plate, and compound that with boneheaded plays in the field, on the base paths and at the dish.

Three hits with the season on the line, with two of them coming off of Shane Victorino's bat. Chase Utley getting thrown out on the base paths yet again. No production from the high-priced slugger, a guy who ended the season as terribly as you can, making the final out for the second straight season and then seriously injuring his achilles. God knows what effect that will have on Ryan Howard. Placido Polanco became a dinosaur overnight. Carlos Ruiz seems to have used up all his October magic. Cliff Lee let us all down with his game 2 performance. The only guys you can really say didn't disappoint are Doc and Hamels. Maybe Jimmy, who had a great series, but ultimately even he failed to get a hit in game 5 as the Phils went out with a whimper.

A franchise record in wins, four supposed aces and a lineup full of accomplished players turned into one giant ball of disappointment. The Phillies have reached the point that those Andy Reid teams with Donovan McNabb did all those years. Making the playoffs and having a good record no longer matter, it's what you do in the postseason. And just like the Eagles always found a way to come up short, so have these Phillies since that surprising 2008 title. Every year, this team got better in the standings and added more talent on paper, yet ultimately they came up short, seeing diminishing returns in playoffs year after year.

It would be foolish to say that the Phillies are done. Roy and Cliff and Cole are all coming back, and some youth will be infused with the veterans in the lineup. But Chase and Ryan and Polanco aren't getting any younger. Shortstop is a question mark if Rollins walks. No one knows what to expect from John Mayberry and Dom Brown. Oswalt may be gone. There are question marks where this team had so few. This was supposed to be the year, just like it was supposed to be the year for so many years for McNabb and Reid. Then it wasn't.

Sadly, that theme is back with the Eagles as well, and with them, it's not even possible to get worked up anymore. No one on the planet thought they should run a play with 8 seconds left in the half and no timeouts except for the morons on that sideline, so of course Michael Vick held on to the ball too long, then tossed it out of the end zone as time expired, leaving three points on the field.



Of course this defense gave up 24 points and couldn't stop the run. Jarrad Page keeps exposing himself as a terrible football player. Killer penalties from rookie Danny Watkins, making his first start, and King Dunlap derailed a touchdown drive. Vick got pounded all day, and made things worse by throwing four horrendous interceptions. Fred Jackson had a field day running all over this team. Jason Avant, who had an otherwise outstanding game — 9 catches for 139 yards — had a killer a fumble and another ball that got ripped from him for another turnover. That's become another habit for this team, a wide receiver having a huge game only to make a crippling mistake at an inopportune time.

LeSean McCoy, clearly this team's best player period, got too few touches yet again, as Reid and Mornhinweg abandoned run for the thousandth time in their tenure. And then all hope ends when Juqua Thomas Parker jumps offsides on a 4th and 1 when all the Bills were trying to do was get the Eagles to jump offsides.



He should be cut today for something so stupid. He really should. It's not like Parker is any good anyway. Cut him now. Send these players a message, because it's clear they need a wake-up call. Or maybe a new head coach.

Plain and simple, this is beyond a bad football team, it's an absolutely terrible one. They can't tackle, they can't protect the quarterback, they can't even cover despite having three of the best cover corners in the league. It is the softest football team in the NFL, one that looks defeated. One that looks like it has lost respect or at least stopped listening to its coaches, especially the fat one with the mustache.

Before the season started, everyone expected the Super Bowl to at least be in the equation. Now it's looking more like Andrew Luck could be the best prize this franchise could win. Pathetic. Disgusting. And disappointing. A familiar feeling that has resurfaced here in Philadelphia.

The only saving grace is that the Flyers have done things in two games that they failed to do in 82 last year. In the opener, they scored two goals in the final minute of the first period, after not scoring a single goal in the final minute of any period in any game the entire 2010-11 season. Then on Saturday night, Ilya Bryzgalov shut out the Devils in a dominant 3-0 victory, stopping all 20 shots he faced. As we all know, the 2010-11 Flyers, with their goalie carousel, didn't record a single shutout all year. Through two games, Bryzgalov has surrendered a grand total of 1 goal, earning a shutout in just his second game in the Orange and Black.



It's impossible not to be impressed with the Flyers in their first two outings. Claude Giroux has scored in both games, Matt Read got his first NHL goal and newcomer Wayne Simmonds scored his first as a Flyers Saturday night. Sean Couturier is quickly becoming my new favorite Flyer, doing an excellent job on the penalty kill. And there is no lack of toughness, evident by Simmonds absolutely destroyed David Clarkson.



Very good start for the Flyers.

Plus, Penn State actually came out and physically dominated a BCS conference team for the first time in a long time, besting Iowa 13-3 by completely controlling the line of scrimmage. Exercising some of the demons, the Nittany Lions were able to run all over the Hawkeyes, racking up 231 yards on the ground led by Silas Redd and his 142 yards.



It was without a doubt the most impressive performance by Penn State all season. The defense continued to dominate, with everyone making plays. I was particularly impressed with Devon Still and Jordan Hill yet again, the two guys who continue to be the best players on the team, along with Malcolm Willis, who finally saw a lot of playing time. Willis played really well last year when Nick Sukay went down, to the point where I thought he was Penn State's best safety, and he impressed me again. He looked like the best safety out there again Saturday to me.



True freshman Adrian Amos also did an outstanding job at corner filling in for the injured D'Anton Lynn and Stephon Morris. It's easy to see why the coaches are so high on him. Amos did an outstanding job on McNutt all game.

Offensively, things started to look a little better as well. The offensive line for the first time really all season got consistent push, clearing the path for Redd and Curtis Dukes to gash the Iowa defense. And once and for all, a Penn State quarterback clearly set himself apart. I don't see any possible way Rob Bolden should see the field again unless Matt McGloin gets hurt.

I was openly pulling for Bolden to take the job, but McGloin simply has been and is better than Bolden. Honestly, Bolden couldn't even make the simplest of throws on Saturday, while McGloin was making plays and controlling the huddle. He still made some mind-blowingly stupid throws, namely his inexcusable interception in the red zone and another jump ball tossed into triple coverage, but he is clearly the guy. Even with how ugly and terrible this team has looked this season, Penn State sits at 5-1 and 2-0 in the conference following this win. If Penn State sticks with McGloin and lets him grow, hopefully the offense can build on Saturday's performance against Purdue and Northwestern in preparation for the tough games to close out the season.

A surprising run by the Nittany Lions and continued success from the Flyers would go a long way to distracting us from the disappointment of the Phillies and Eagles. Though we all know that feeling is back, so disappointment for those teams could be right around the corner.

That familiar feeling of disappointment has returned, and really it probably never left. Now it's back out there for everyone to see, and I have to admit, it feels like Philadelphia again.

No Lead Is Ever Safe, Especially for the Eagles

In general, people grow tired of hearing sports cliche after sports cliche. But there's a reason cliches are uttered by coaches, managers and athletes over and over again — because they often are true. This weekend leant credence to one of the oldest cliches in the book: No lead is ever safe.

Not a 16-3 lead against a conference doormat. Not a 3-0 lead in the first inning on the road. Not a 20-3 halftime lead at home. And not a 4-0 lead with one of your aces on the mound.



Everything started to unravel on Saturday as I put myself through the torture that was watching Penn State take on Indiana. It was a terrifying game in which Penn State trailed freakin Indiana for most of the first half and went in at halftime tied 3-3.

While the defense was awesome almost all game, making the 16-3 lead seem like 50-3, Indiana found a way to finally move the ball downfield and score a touchdown, making it a six-point game. Honestly, Penn State could have easily lost that game and it was just more of the same. The quarterbacks stink. Both of them. Matt McGloin and Rob Bolden are both terrible, and they're both getting worse because the coaching staff won't let one develop. Even when they make a good play, like McGloin's 74-yard touchdown pass to Derek Moye, it was the wrong throw. Moye was actually covered, while the tight end had no one within 20 yards of him over the middle. Worked out, but still, these guys stink.

I'm not even going to waste any more of my breath on this game other than to say I hate pretty much everyone on the team right now except for Devon Still and Justin Brown. This is just a bad football that also happens to be terribly coached. It's going to be extremely painful here as the Big Ten season is underway.

Here is what can be loosely described as the highlights.



I really shouldn't have even bothered watching that travesty of a football game.

And things went from ugly to bad in the first inning of the Phillies game. Roy Halladay continued his strange trend of being exponentially worse in the first inning than he is in every other inning, giving up a leadoff single to Rafael Furcal, walking Albert Pujols and then giving Lance Berkman a hanger, which he quickly deposited in the rightfield seats. It was just like the last time Doc faced the Cards, with Furcal hitting the first pitch and Berkman blasting a home run.

Making it infinitely worse, Adam EatShit was going off the deep end of despair, proclaiming the series all but lost. Thankfully Roy and the Phils did not maintain that same mentality.

As frustrating as it was watching Kyle Lohse deal, you could see Halladay flip a switch and bear down. After that first inning, Halladay went out and retired 23 of the next 24 batters he faced, including 21 in a row.



After the Phils scratched one out against Lohse in the 4th, you got the feeling something good was going to happen, and boy did it ever. With Doc rolling, the offense got a jolt of energy with that run in the 4th, and Jimmy Rollins got things kickstarted in the 6th with a leadoff single. After Chase struck out, Hunter Pence singled and we all started to get really excited with Ryan Howard at the plate.

What happened next is exactly why the Phillies overpaid for the big man. Howard worked one of the best at-bats of his entire career, laying off bad pitches, fouling off a great changeup to stay alive with two strikes, and then finally murdering a baseball to the upper deck to put the Phillies ahead 4-3.



All five of us in the room leapt from out seats and began bouncing around, with Adam tossing me back down into my seat. That's why Ryan gets paid the big bucks. One incredible at-bat and a gigantic blast completely changed the complexion of the game. Just like that, the 3-run deficit was erased and now turned into a one-run lead. Two batters later, Raul Ibanez emphatically put the game away.



The Phils put a five-spot up in that sixth and never looked back, tacking on 3 more in the 7th and two more in the 8th to take game 1 pretty easily. After that shaky first inning, Halladay was as good as he's ever been, finishing with 8 innings pitched, 3 hits, 8 strikeouts and just one walk. The only troubling thing after that first was Michael Stutes struggling with a big lead, but Ryan Madson made sure no major damage could be done.

The top of the order was on fire, with Jimmy (2-for-4, 3 runs), Chase (3-for-5, 3 runs), Hunter (2-for-5, 2 runs, 2 RBI), Ryan (1-for-3, 4 RBI), Shane (3-for-4, 1 run, 2 RBI) and Raul (2-for-4, 1 run, 3 RBI) absolutely destroying the baseball. It certainly was a nice way to get the postseason started.

Unfortunately, the good times wouldn't last in Philadelphia. Minutes before the Eagles were set to kick off against the Niners, I received a terrible omen. My arch nemesis was being honored prior to the game as the hometown hero. Right away, when Arkansas Fred texted me about it, I told him the Eagles were definitely going to lose. I just had no idea it would happen by them blowing a 20-3 halftime lead.



Kulp said it best, there's really no point wasting too much energy rehashing the same terrible mistakes this team keeps making.

Michael Vick was phenomenal, passing for a career-high 416 yards, but the Eagles wasted that effort with poor execution, terrible turnovers, penalties and atrocious defense. Alex Henery missed two kicks under 40 yards that would have extended the lead and probably iced the game. No kicker in the NFL should ever miss any kick under 40 yards barring extenuating circumstances like hurricane conditions or 50 mph winds, let alone two. Henery was drafted precisely to avoid misses like that. He failed miserably.

Though not as bad as Ronnie Brown, inexplicably trying to throw a ball as he was swallowed by tacklers down near the goal line, instead fumbling it away. This team's red zone ineptitude has reached new heights.

And the defense, well what more can you say about it? Jason Babin has been great, but no one else on the team has at all. The linebackers are all special teamers. Nnamdi has been a huge disappointment. They can't stop the run. They can't hold leads, which is conceivably what this defense was built to do with the talented corners and good pass rush. And Juan Castillo is clearly ill-equipped to make the proper adjustments. The Eagles are a bad, bad football team right now. In fact, watching them is like watching a bizarro Penn State with the same results.

The offense is talented and explosive, but the defense sucks horribly, the inverse of the Nittany Lions. But they do have a few things in common: they are terrible in the red zone, they shoot themselves in the foot, they get outcoached every week and they are incredibly painful to watch. Rooting for Penn State and the Eagles is incredibly hard to do right now.

Honestly, the best part about football this weekend was hearing the guy near the microphone absolutely killing Ronnie Brown, yelling at him nonstop that he is terrible, asking what he was thinking, and finally my favorite, "I HOPE YOU GET CUT!"

Also, Jim Mora is horrible at calling a football game and sounds like he's never even watched football before. No wonder he was such a terrible head coach.

Oh yeah, and Shady. He's really good. You should probably find a way to hand the ball off to LeSean McCoy more than 9 times, especially when you have a 17-point lead in the second half, seeing as he is the best player on this team and all. God I hate my football teams right now.

At least the Phillies were there to lift our spirits in the nightcap … initially, anyway. The Phils jumped all over Chris Carpenter in the first two innings to spot Cliff Lee a 4-0 lead thanks to Tony La Russa being an asshole.



Carpenter just threw a complete game on Wednesday to get St. Louis into the playoffs. Then he decided after tossing him for nine innings, La Russa would start him on three days rest for the first time in his career. It did not go well, with Rollins continuing to stay hot, and Howard and Ibanez continuing to drive in runs.

Once it was 4-0, the game looked to be all but sewn up. After all, Cliff Lee was on the mound, and he's only been one of the best playoff pitchers ever, not to mention St. Louis had to dip into its very suspect bullpen extremely early. The game was right where you'd want it if you were a Phillies fan, set up perfectly to go up 2-0.

Only baseball doesn't work that way. Lee never quite looked comfortable all night. He had to work around a leadoff triple on the first pitch he threw to Rafael Furcal in the first, then work around a leadoff double in the 2nd. He just couldn't seem to get his command where he needed it, and it came back to bite him in the ass.

After getting ahead of Lance Berkman 0-2 in the 4th, Lee lost him and walked him to lead things off. Then he got lit up for three runs that could have been four had it not been for a great throw by Raul Ibanez and an incredible job of holding on to the ball by Carlos Ruiz as he got trucked by John Jay at the plate.



Meanwhile, the Phils couldn't do anything against the much-maligned St. Louis bullpen. It was incredibly frustrating after watching the Phils bash 14 hits and score 11 runs in game one, including five runs off the Cards' bullpen, then touch up Carpenter for 4 runs in the first two innings, only to come up empty the rest of the game against six relievers.

And Lee simply didn't get the job done. Let's face the facts, if you score four runs for Cliff Lee, you should win the game, simple as that. I don't want to let the offense off the hook, because you can't stop hitting in the 2nd inning and have everything be OK, but this loss was more on Cliff and Charlie Manuel than the bats.

Cliff just couldn't command his pitches. He was leaving lots of balls over the plate, often missing his spots with Ruiz having to reach across himself to catch the ball. And the Cardinals, namely the bottom of the order, hit him around. After he surrendered the tying run in the 6th and had given up 9 hits on 101 pitches, I was certain his night was done. It should have been done, because Lee just didn't have it. Forget about the high pitch count, Lee didn't deserve to go out for the 7th because he wasn't pitching well.

Yet there Charlie was, sending his ineffective starter who couldn't locate to save his life back out there, and Albert Pujols made him pay, driving in what turned out to be the game-winning run.



I don't make it a habit of questioning Charlie Manuel these days, but there is no way Lee should have been back out there. Again, not because of the 101 pitches, but because he was just not pitching well. Just because he's Cliff Lee doesn't mean he is immune to getting yanked a little early. Tony La Russa didn't hesitate to lift his ace. Charlie shouldn't have hesitated either. Now this series is all tied up, and the Phils will have to face a pitcher that has owned them in Jaime Garcia tomorrow.

It's frustrating because the Phillies had the game right where they wanted it, giving Lee an early four-run lead. But as we saw this weekend, the old cliche really is true: no lead is ever safe. Especially when you're the Eagles.

P.S. At least the Phillies don't have the huge whining assholes that are La Russa and Carpenter. Those two guys can get fucked, seriously. Tony calls out the home-plate umpire during an in-game interview, and Carpenter carries on like a child, which he's been known to do. La Russa just is just a prick who thinks he's god's gift to baseball, and I can't tell you how many times I've seen highlights of Carpenter screaming at his teammates for missing a play or making an error. It's gotta be hell to play defense behind him. Thank god the Phils don't act that way. Now go out and beat those assholes in their own stadium. That is all.

Would You Eat a Mustard Packet for $10?

I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: I've been the black cloud hanging over the 2011 Phillies. So once again, I was in attendance as the Phillies suffered yet another loss, with Roy Halladay uncharacteristically walking four batters and taking the loss.



I mean, before I was even completely settled, Roy had given up a leadoff double to Rafael Furcal, let him advance to third on a passed ball, scored on a ground out and then gave up a home run to Lance Berkman. Not even an inning in the books and the Cards were up 2-0. And here I thought Doc would clinch home field throughout the playoffs with ease. After all, the guy was on the mound last season when the Phils clinched the NL East with a dominating performance against the Nationals and again on the mound when the Phillies clinched a playoff berth this year. But it was not to be, probably because I was there.

The only wins I've seen this year were when Vance Worley was pitching. That's a pretty remarkable feat given that Halladay and Cliff Lee have been in the Cy Young conversation, Cole Hamels has had an all-star season and Roy Oswalt is on the team. But that's just the way things have gone for me this year.

On the other side, the Cards hit Halladay hard all game, led by Lance Berkman, who was 2-for-2 with the aforementioned home run and another RBI hit, and former Phillie Kyle Lohse picked up the win with 7 and a third of one-run ball, with that run being unearned. I still can't believe the Phils let him walk and allowed Adam Eaton to remain in the rotation for a short while, but I guess it all worked out in the end.



Oh, another former Phillie, Nick Punto, also scored a run and was the one who drove in Furcal with an RBI ground out.



For once, I'd love to see a former Philadelphia athlete not do well against the team he used to play for. It always seems like those guys kill the Phillies (or Eagles or Flyers or Sixers) every time they play them.

Even with the loss, the Phils clinched home field throughout the postseason because the Brewers lost, making the remaining games in the regular season completely meaningless in the standings. Thus the boredom starts to set in, as it did last night, seeing as clinching home field was all but inevitable at some point.

So with the Phillies losing and the atmosphere really not very electric until the 9th-inning comeback that came up a run short, silver fox, Toonces and I had to find a way to entertain ourselves.

Since it was dollar dog night, we had purchased a few hot dogs and grabbed several packets of condiments. That led to me offering silver fox or Toonces, whoever accepted first, $10 to eat a packet of mustard — plastic packet and all. Toonces gladly accepted, then proceeded to struggle for nearly three full innings to get the thing down. A few times, he looked as though he was going to puke. But I'll be damned if he didn't actually eat an entire mustard packet including the plastic.



I then jumped at the opportunity to get $3 of the $10 I paid Toonces back by eating three peanuts shell and all, which is a no-brainer. Hell, my cousin always eats peanuts shells and all because he is weird as shit. Eventually, that led to me offering silver fox the opportunity to eat an entire paper Coke cup for $3, but he wisely declined.

Did I mention that we're all 27 and 28 years old? We are. Yet that's what we still subject ourselves to, because we are idiots. And that Phillies game was boring as hell until the 9th inning.

Anyway, go read about what pitcher I'd choose with my life on the line over at Ed the Sports Fan as well as who the rest of the crew would choose.

But the even bigger question than who you would choose is if you'd eat an entire mustard packet, plastic and all, for $10.

On Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Pitching Greatness

Yesterday, the Phillies clinched a franchise-record fifth straight trip to the playoffs, something that five years ago would have been inconceivable given the fact that the team had only made the postseason once in my entire life prior to 2007. They accomplished this feat behind a 1-0 complete-game shutout victory by Roy Halladay, one of the many dominant pitching performances from this team this year.



To be perfectly honest, the notion of the Phillies clinching yet another playoff berth wasn't all that exciting. I guess that's what happens when expectations grow and your team is atop the standings from essentially day one on. But what has been remarkable this year — and was on full display yesterday afternoon — is the sheer dominance of this pitching staff, and it's something no Phillies fan in his or her right mind takes for granted, especially those from my generation.

I was born in 1984, too young to recall the greatness of Steve Carlton or the incredible Cy Young seasons of John Denny in 1983 and Steve Bedrosian in 1987. In fact, the only truly excellent pitcher I really had the pleasure of watching take the mound for the Phillies was Curt Schilling in his workhorse days in Philadelphia.



Sure, there were the occasional good seasons from starting pitchers like Terry Mulholland, Danny Jackson, Paul Byrd, Vicente Padilla and Randy Wolf. And youngsters like Tyler Green, Mike Grace and Brett Myers gave us hope. But none of them panned out to perennial all-stars or Cy Young candidates, though we all know how vital Myers was to this current string of success. In reality, prior to this new winning era of Phillies baseball, good pitching was an anomaly, not the norm. It was hard to watch, to be honest, especially as the Braves were winning pennant after pennant behind three of the best pitchers this game has ever seen — Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine.

So to see the arsenal of starting pitchers this team has assembled and watch how incredibly dominant these guys have been this year is a complete and utter joy. For two decades, the Phillies were among the worst pitching staffs in baseball. In 2011, behind the quintet of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt and Vance Worley, the Phillies lead all of baseball in ERA (3.03), starters innings pitched, WHIP (1.17), complete games (18) and shutouts (21). They also have surrendered the fewest runs in baseball, walked the fewest batters, thrown the fewest wild pitches and have the best numbers against opponents in on-base percentage and slugging. Only the Giants' pitching staff has surrendered fewer home runs, and only the Giants and Rays have yielded fewer hits. Oh yeah, they're also fourth in baseball in strikeouts and fourth in opponents' batting average.

Basically, these guys are perhaps even more dominant than people expected. I mean, they have three pitchers who were all-stars and have been or are in the Cy Young conversation, a rookie who has pitched as well as any rookie in baseball since being inserted into the rotation, not to mention Roy Oswalt, who has battled injuries but is now back as the postseason approaches.



All Roy Halladay has done this year in following up his NL Cy Young in his inaugural season on the senior circuit is go 18-5 with a 2.34 ERA and 1.04 WHIP, while leading the National League in complete games with 8, trailing only James Shields' 11 in the majors. He also has 211 strikeouts to just 30 walks in 219.2 innings. Most years, he'd be squarely in the Cy Young discussions, but right now, he may not even be the front-runner on his own team.

That's because Cliff Lee leads everyone with six shutouts this season and had two of greatest pitching months in MLB history, going 5-0 in June with a 0.21 ERA and 5-0 in August with a 0.45 ERA en route to being named NL Pitcher of the Month each time. Overall, Cliff is 16-7 with a 2.44 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 211 strikeouts and just 42 walks in 210.2 innings. That's just not fair.

Lost in the shuffle is Cole Hamels, who prior to the all-star break was arguably having a better season than either Halladay or Lee. To date, Hamels is 14-8 with a 2.71 ERA, a ridiculous NL-leading 0.98 WHIP (tied with LA's Clayton Kershaw), to go along with 177 strikeouts to just 41 walks in 199 innings. Then there is rookie surprise Vance Worley, who filled in for the injured Joe Blanton and overtook Kyle Kendrick while going 11-2 with a 2.92 ERA. And that doesn't even include Roy Oswalt, who has been up and down this season, and his credentials.

To a lifelong Phillies fan, it has truly been something to behold. Honestly, it has been one of the biggest privileges of my life, watching these guys go out there and master their craft.

Every day, we get treated to the brilliance and work ethic of Roy Halladay, the effortless, nonchalant dominance of Cliff Lee, the once-young prospect Cole Hamels maturing into an ace before our very eyes, the fire and professionalism of Roy Oswalt, and the surprising rise of Vance Worley.

As the Phillies wind down the regular season with yet another hopeful October looming, we should all recognize just how special it is to watch these guys day in and day out. It's something we've never seen before, and perhaps something we'll never see again.

Roy, Ryan and Raul

Roy Halladay: 7 innings pitched, 2 hits, 0 runs, 9 strikeouts, 2 walks; 1-for-3 with a bases-clearing double for 3 RBIs. He's better than everyone at everything.

Ryan Howard: 2-for-5, 2 runs, 3 RBI, 2 home runs. I don't care what anyone says, Ryan Howard is good.

Raul Ibanez: 3-for-5, 2 runs, 2 RBIs, home run. Welcome back, even if everyone else in Philadelphia hates you besides me.

Hunter Pence: 2-for-5, 2 runs, 1 RBI, home run. I like that trade very, very much.

Here they are in video form, though you'll probably have to go to MLB.com to actually see the pictures move since MLB.com has the most archaic embedding policies known to man.









Not bad when your 4-5-6 hitters go 7-for-15 with 6 runs scored, 6 RBIs and 4 home runs. Or when your starter drives in three more runs than he gives up because he's the best pitcher alive. In case you haven't noticed, the Phillies are pretty good.

Oh, and Cliff Lee starts tonight.

The National League: Home of the Best Starting Pitching Staffs

During the early innings of last night's MLB All-Star game, when Roy Halladay was breaking faces as per usual, Phil (Giants fan) Ed (Braves fan) and I (take a guess) were trading jabs about each others' teams and debating which of our teams were going to benefit with home-field advantage in the World Series. That friendly debate led to a conclusion we could all agree on: The National League most definitely has all the best starting pitching staffs in baseball right now.



Don't get me wrong, the American League has its share of dominant starting pitchers, no question about it. Hell, just the all-stars that were unavailable for the AL last night read like a Cy Young ballot: CC Sabathia, Justin Verlander, Felix Hernandez, John Lester, James Shields, David Price. And then you add others like Jered Weaver, Josh Beckett, Gio Gonzalez, Michael Pineda (who looked filthy last night), Ricky Romero, the list goes on. The AL has a bunch of individual studs. But when you take a step back and look at each American League team's staff and compare that to some of the NL counterparts, it's clear who comes out ahead.

I mean think about it, you'd be hard-pressed to find one team in the AL with three legit studs in their rotation, while the NL has a few teams that can claim that and a few others that aren't far from it. Sure, the Red Sox have Beckett and Lester, but there's not much to fear after that. And Beckett always seems to get hurt these days. In fact, he tweaked something while warming up last night and didn't pitch.

The Mariners have Felix and Pineda, then a bunch of average guys. The Yankees have CC, and Phil Hughes is alright, but does anyone fear him? And can Bartolo Colon really keep this up? The Angles have Weaver and Haren, and Ervin Santana has potential, but Santana is hardly ace status and Haren always seems to struggle as the season wears on. The Rangers have a very good C.J. Wilson and the surprising Alexi Ogando, but those two aren't quite aces yet.

Honestly, the only team with three guys that really strike fear in you is the Rays with Shields, Price and Jeremy Hellickson, but Hellickson is still green and the Rays are a third-place team.

Conversely, the National League has three staffs that really blow anything the AL can throw out there, as far 1-4, out of the water.

Philadelphia Phillies



The first and most obvious staff to mention is the Philadelphia Phillies. Three of the team's starters were named all-stars this year, led by NL starting pitcher Roy Halladay, who just so happened to pitch two perfect innings last night, followed by Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels. There simply isn't another trio this accomplished on any other roster in baseball. Halladay is a two-time Cy Young winner and reigning NL Cy Young winner, with a perfect game and playoff no-hitter on his résumé. Cliff Lee is a former Cy Young winner who has been dominant in every playoff game he's pitched with the exception of last year's World Series. And Cole Hamels, who leads this staff with a 2.32 ERA, is an NLCS and World Series MVP who looks like a perennial Cy Young candidate.

As good as the staffs that follow are, none have three players with those credentials. And right now, all three are about as good as it gets in baseball. Hamels and Halladay are tied for second in baseball with 11 wins. Halladay leads the NL in complete games and innings pitched and is second in strikeouts. He also has a 2.45 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. Lee has 9 wins himself, four of those being complete-game shutouts, which leads all of baseball. He's also third behind Clayton Kershaw and Halladay in strikeouts in the NL, and he has a 2.82 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. Hamels is 5th in the NL in strikeouts, and he leads the league in WHIP at 0.93 while leading the Phils with a 2.32 ERA. So yeah, these guys are good. Really good.

And that's without even mentioning former 20-game winner Roy Oswalt, who has suffered this season from personal issues and injury. But Oswalt's always been a money second-half and playoff pitcher, and if he comes back healthy, this rotation gets that much better. It's pretty frightening.

Atlanta Braves



If you want to know how the Atlanta Braves have the second best record in the NL (behind the Phillies) and the third best record in baseball, look no further than their pitching. As great as the Phillies' rotation is, Atlanta's right now is even deeper, throwing out five really good starters at you: Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Hanson, Tim Hudson, Brandon Beachy and Derek Lowe.

Jurrjens started out the season on disabled list, yet he's tied for the MLB lead in wins with 12. The guy has has started 16 games this year, winning 12 and only losing 3. Oh yeah, he also leads the NL in ERA at 1.87, second only to Jered Weaver's 1.86 in baseball. He's not the strikeout-type pitcher some of the other guys are, but Jurrjens is pitching as well as anyone, rarely allowing a batter to make solid contact on anything.

Meanwhile, young, hard-throwing righty Tommy Hanson has continued his quick maturation. Currently, Hanson is 10-4 with a 2.44 ERA, good for fourth in NL, and his 1.02 WHIP is third in the league. Hudson isn't quite having the season as his younger teammates, but he's a damn good pitcher and a veteran that any team would love to have. Youngster Brandon Beachy has been a pleasant surprise, starting 12 games and going 3-1 with a 3.21 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. And Derek Lowe is this team's fifth starter. Try and wrap your head around that. Sure, Lowe isn't having a great season, currently sitting at 5-7 with a 4.30 ERA and 1.38 WHIP, but how many teams can claim their fifth starter is a former No. 1 or No. 2 and typically an excellent playoff pitcher? I certainly can't think of any.

When you add in the awesomeness of lefty reliever Jonny Venters and closer Craig Kimbrel, who leads baseball in saves, the Braves aren't going anywhere, no matter what their offense does.

San Francisco Giants



And of course, who can forget the reigning World Series champions? I know I just said the Braves have maybe the deepest rotation in baseball right now, but there's a chance San Fran's rotation is even deeper, because the Giants actually have six starting pitchers on the roster. Tim Lincecum already has two Cy Youngs and he's just 27 years old. Then you add Matt Cain, Ryan Vogelsong, Jonathan Sanchez and youngster Madison Bumgarner and you have talent all over the place. Oh yeah, the Giants also have a former Cy Young winner ready and available when needed in Barry Zito. That's a lot of pitching.

Lincecum leads the staff with 132 strikeouts, and while the rest of his numbers aren't great by his standards — 7-7, 3.06 ERA, 1.20 WHIP — they're hardly bad. It's just that he's set such a high standard that you expect even more. But he's the unquestioned ace of the NL West-leading Giants and a guy you wouldn't hesitate to hand the ball to in a big game. Cain has had similar numbers as Lincecum, with his 3.06 ERA and 1.10 WHIP, and he leads the Giants with 8 victories. Again, he's not having his best season, but he's still pitching well and the doing more than his share for this team.

Then there is the surprise of all surprises, Ryan Vogelsong. On a staff that includes Lincecum, Cain and Sanchez, Vogelsong is the one leading the way in ERA, posting a 2.17 ERA, second only to Jurrjens in the NL. He's 6-1 this year and made his first all-star game at age 33. The former Phillie prospect and Kutztown player is having the season of his life. It may be a fluke, but the Giants will certainly take it. Sanchez has been his typical wildly effective self. He has an unimpressive 1.42 WHIP, and his 3.81 ERA isn't exactly where you want it to be, but the guy has as good a stuff as anyone on this staff. Plus, his wildness makes batters even more uncomfortable facing him. And Bumgarner, who came into the season with high expectations, started out about as awfully as you can. Currently, he's 4-9 with a 1.34 WHIP and 3.87 ERA. However, he's pitched much better of late, and you have to think the young lefty is only going to get better, which is not good news for the rest of the league.

And if he doesn't, there's always Barry Zito. The man has not been the same pitcher he was in Oakland since migrating to San Francisco with that ridiculously huge contract, but this year Zito has started 6 games, going 3-1 with a 3.18 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. He's basically a spot starter with the potential to move into the regular rotation when needed. Think about that, San Fran's sixth starter is a former Cy Young winner. Damn.

Just try and tell me there's an AL team that can stack up 1-4 or 1-5 with these staffs. There isn't. And then there are other teams with pretty damn good starters as well. The Brewers have a pretty good staff that many thought would put them in contention if Zack Greinke wasn't having such an off year, considering they have Greinke, Yovani Gallardo and solid guys in Shaun Marcum and Randy Wolf. And if you think about what the Cardinals could have next year with a healthy Adam Wainwright and a bounceback by Chris Carpenter, along with Jaime Garcia and Kyle Lohse, not to mention the potential of, yes, the Nationals next year with Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmerman to build around, it's clear that the NL these days has the deeper staffs.

We'll see what that means come October and November, but it's pretty clear that the National League is the home of the best starting pitching staffs right now.