Well, you knew this post was coming. Halladay was brilliant on Tuesday vs. the Yankees, throwing yet another complete game. His final line against the Bronx Bombers: 9 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 103 pitches. At one point during the game, he had retired 17 Yankee batters in a row. His record now stands at a MLB-leading 7-1 with a 2.95 ERA.In his 8 starts in 2009, Halladay has yet to last less than 7 innings in any of them. His IP totals for his 8 starts: 7, 7, 7, 8, 7, 8, 8, 9. He has seven walks over 61 innings pitched this year.
He has now received a decision in his last 25 starts (19-6 over that stretch). A true credit to his consistency in pitching late into every game he starts.
Since 2003, Halladay has 36 complete games to his credit. That is more than 20 major league teams over that same time period. Ridiculous.
Doc, I bow down to your greatness. You provide me three hours of joy every five days for which I am truly appreciative. He's the best thing to come from Canada since...um...Elisha Cuthbert? (Halladay is actually from Denver, but we don't dwell on details here at SLAE.)
Since I can't get enough, I will also point out the following:
ReplyDeleteHalladay used no more than 15 pitches in eight of his nine innings last night and threw first-pitch strikes to 24 of the 30 hitters he faced.
Halladay also improved his career record against the Yankees to 16-5.
I've been searching the major sports web sites today for a good article singing Halladay's praises after last night's performance. Alas, I have found nothing. Plenty of articles on Manny (yuck), Clemens (ugh), and Zimmerman's hit streak (deservedly so), but nothing on Halladay. If he was doing this for a big market team in the United States, he would be all the rage.
Those numbers are staggering. It goes without saying that there is no one with the durability and consistency of the Doctor. What is even more amazing, though, are the control numbers. How does the guy get through so many innings, with such great success, while staying around the plate so much.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see stats on the number of swings and misses that Halladay gets. Are guys looking at strikes? Is his stuff so good that guys whiff consistently? I can't say for sure, but my sense is that he has that maddux-like quality to allow guys to hit the ball, but juuuust off the sweet spot enough to get guys out.
I am reading a book about Sandy Koufax, and a large portion of the initial chapter is a discussion of the amazing biomechanics Koufax brought to the game. I have to think if you broke down Halladay's motion it would be as close to perfect as any current pitcher. There can be no other explanation for his durability.
It is staggering that he is not the face of baseball, especially since he is -- by all accounts a true "old-school" ball player, a guy who just loves to work and play the game. What more could baseball want than two guys like Halladay and Zimmerman to showcase? Oh, I know, two guys like that who don't play either in Toronto or for the worst team in baseball.